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Amidst newspaper stacks and overfilled bookshelves, “Mithat” (Mithat Esmer) sits alone in his easychair. He wears a face of wearied determination as if he’s just been served an ultimatum, which he has. According to the authorities, he has only a few weeks to clear out of this apartment so that the building can be demolished and rebuilt. As the weight of this news settles in, I hear only the mismatched ticking of dozens of clocks. The sense of urgency they carry insists on being felt, and I oblige.
Mary’s essential qualities are faithfulness, devotion, humility, and purity. This imagery is in stark contrast to La Ciénaga, between the rampant mess of Mecha’s household against the gravitas that comes with Catholicism. Martel explores her favorite subject in the film––the troubled mind.
At first glance, El Camino and Hollow City might not seem like they have much in common. Yet, after having watched the two, I find that they complement each other remarkably well. Both offer the beginnings of a coming-of-age story in which the audience looks at the world through a child’s point of view. Together, they offer both parallels and juxtapositions of how such a child must grow — as seen through the lenses of death, setting and agency, and friendship.
Prata’s work, Sleepwalking Land, is an adaptation of Mia Couto’s novel of the same name about wartime in Mozambique between 1977-1992 and the common people’s struggles to survive the conflict. Quite often, when a woman creates a film, she is labeled a “female filmmaker.” Her work is limited by her gender role and the stigma which comes attached to it. Men are not labeled in the same fashion. Teresa Prata, the director and writer of Sleepwalking Land, separates herself and her work from that label.
When someone considers whether to watch a film at the theaters, it’s standard practice to Google search the movie name and look at reviews. Reading the film’s summary and the reviewer’s feelings are usually enough to tip the balance on whether or not to purchase a ticket. However, these reviews are often not gender-balanced.
Director Dorothy Arzner was the only female director in Hollywood’s Golden Age. According to IMDb, from 1928 to 1943, she directed 20 films.