20th Century Women (2016)
February 21, 2017 11:17 PM - Subscribe
The story of three women who explore love and freedom in Southern California during the late 1970s.
I'm deeply prejudiced, but I thought this was so good. Great characters deeply rendered and a fantastic script.
posted by rhizome at 11:52 PM on February 21, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by rhizome at 11:52 PM on February 21, 2017 [1 favorite]
If you enjoy reading scripts, the script for 20th Century Women (among others) is available from thefilmstage.com.
posted by urbanwhaleshark at 6:59 AM on February 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by urbanwhaleshark at 6:59 AM on February 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
I watched this over the weekend. Loved it, loved it, in much the same way I love Mad Max: Fury Road. Beautifully written, stunning performances and great direction. A few thoughts in no particular order:
1. Yes, it was a kind of coming of age film for the boy, but what I loved about it was how it was about opening up to the world instead of coming to know oneself. It was not about a boy becoming a man, but a child starting to unfurl, slowly, into adulthood.
2. I was enraged by some of the criticism I've seen in reviews comparing it to Wes Anderson's films. There is a superficial resemblance in the use of intertitles and montages, but Anderson's films are cold and distant, barely human at all. This was warm and humane and thoughtful.
3. I was really taken by the sense of a time past, and of people gone who were shaped so completely by their time - bearing in mind, of course, that the characteristic of time is that it keeps changing. It's only over the course of the film that you realise the true viewpoint is that of a man pondering the past and trying to come to terms with the presence, and then absence, of the personality at the centre of that past. That's why the music, the photos, the careful, loving attempts to understand, are all so important. I think this is something that many who have lost a vibrant parent can relate to.
4. It's interesting to me that two of my favourite feminist films in recent years were both written/ directed by men, superficially followed traditionally male storylines (boy comes of age/ man goes on adventure) but were actually about women.
posted by tavegyl at 12:35 AM on March 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
1. Yes, it was a kind of coming of age film for the boy, but what I loved about it was how it was about opening up to the world instead of coming to know oneself. It was not about a boy becoming a man, but a child starting to unfurl, slowly, into adulthood.
2. I was enraged by some of the criticism I've seen in reviews comparing it to Wes Anderson's films. There is a superficial resemblance in the use of intertitles and montages, but Anderson's films are cold and distant, barely human at all. This was warm and humane and thoughtful.
3. I was really taken by the sense of a time past, and of people gone who were shaped so completely by their time - bearing in mind, of course, that the characteristic of time is that it keeps changing. It's only over the course of the film that you realise the true viewpoint is that of a man pondering the past and trying to come to terms with the presence, and then absence, of the personality at the centre of that past. That's why the music, the photos, the careful, loving attempts to understand, are all so important. I think this is something that many who have lost a vibrant parent can relate to.
4. It's interesting to me that two of my favourite feminist films in recent years were both written/ directed by men, superficially followed traditionally male storylines (boy comes of age/ man goes on adventure) but were actually about women.
posted by tavegyl at 12:35 AM on March 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Finally saw this and LOVED it. So beautiful, compassionate, kind, curious. I was struck by how the use of un-realism made the movie feel more real to me. Like you could see the whole person by hearing (especially the mother) talk from the vantage point of the end of her life. I can't say enough how much I loved this movie.
The sets and costumes were flawless. I loved how the characters re-wore clothing, as one does in real life! Especially as one did in the late 70s. I felt sadness seeing the world before the rise of BRANDS.
Everything about this movie was good. How it could be a B+ to anyone I don't know!
posted by latkes at 7:23 PM on February 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
The sets and costumes were flawless. I loved how the characters re-wore clothing, as one does in real life! Especially as one did in the late 70s. I felt sadness seeing the world before the rise of BRANDS.
Everything about this movie was good. How it could be a B+ to anyone I don't know!
posted by latkes at 7:23 PM on February 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
Just came across this last night and it was wonderful! Excellent acting, really rich and nuanced characters, beautifully shot. It was great. (And I also really liked that they re-wore the same clothes often.)
posted by aka burlap at 5:02 PM on July 4, 2019
posted by aka burlap at 5:02 PM on July 4, 2019
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Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
posted by rhizome at 11:31 PM on February 21, 2017