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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.
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will premiere the lauded 14-part documentary Women Make Film, introducing weekly episodes from the series beginning on the television channel TCM September 1, 2020, at 8 pm EST and subsequent Tuesdays through December 1, 2020.