Currently Browsing: Roza Melkumyan
From October 30 to December 13, 2020, in conjunction with Netflix’s release of the limited series The Queen’s Gambit and the highly anticipated fourth season of The Crown, the Brooklyn Museum has debuted a virtual exhibition featuring select costumes from both shows. Incredibly exciting is the opportunity for exhibition goers not only to see and learn about costumes from The Crown’s fourth season but to hear from Emmy-award winning designer Amy Roberts herself, who also worked as principal designer for the third season.
Set on the Uruguayan coast, Lucía Puenzo’s XXY (2007) tells the story of a 15-year-old intersex person, “Alex” (Inés Efron), who has been living as female and suppressing the development of masculine features with medication. At the start of the film, she has stopped taking this medication and begins to explore her sexual identity while trying to cope with the difficulties that come with living outside of the classifications that society assigns us.
For me, Márta Mészáros’ Adoption (1975) crashed over me in a wave. In this Hungarian black and white film, 43-year-old factory worker “Kata” (Katalin Berek) desperately wants a baby. When her married lover “Jóska” (László Szabó) rejects the idea of having one together, Kata looks into adoption. During this time, she grows close to the orphaned teen “Anna” (Gyöngyvér Vigh), who wants to leave the orphanage and marry her love “Sanyi” (Péter Fried).
Anyone familiar with the old controversy surrounding the Chicks knows that when they were labeled as politically outspoken, it wasn’t exactly meant to be a compliment. Even I, with my limited knowledge of the whole affair, felt its negative connotation. Upon watching Barbara Kopple’s documentary on the subject, Shut Up & Sing (2006), I had only a shadow of an idea of what I would be watching. But boy, was I in for an eye-opener.
With a sparse plot, Davaa’s allows the audience to hone in on the details of a nomadic family’s everyday life in the Mongolian steppes. Through their story, we also learn about Mongolian culture, folklore, religion, as well as the way in which the modern world encroaches upon these elements of nomadic life. Furthermore, through a film such as this, we can learn implicitly; Davaa does not merely tell us about the Mongolian lifestyle, but invites us into the family’s actions while weaving their culture into their speech and thinking.
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.