In this episode, special guest Debbie Zhou joins us to discuss what defines the Australian Western, featuring True History of the Kelly Gang, Sweet Country, and The Dressmaker.
Women Directors
In honour of #52filmsbywomen, we've collected all of our reviews of films directed by women and interviews with female directors all in one place.
Ep. 37: Meek’s Cutoff and subverting the western
Kelly Reichardt has directed two films set in the 19th century American West, Meek’s Cutoff (2010) and First Cow (2019). To explore how she differs from the traditional Western genre, we compare her films with Oregon-set Bend of the River (1952) and cow film Red River (1948).
What is Céline Sciamma’s best film? A critics survey
In our latest survey, a group of critics pick the best Céline Sciamma film (in their opinion), from Portrait of a Lady on Fire to Water Lilies.
Modern westerns: Andrew Haigh and Kelly Reichardt are deromanticizing the west
Andrew Haigh’s Lean on Pete shares DNA with Kelly Reichardt’s westerns (e.g. Wendy and Lucy): both filmmakers are making modern westerns that deromanticize tired western tropes. This is an excerpt from our ebook on Lean on Pete. We will soon publish an ebook on the works of Kelly Reichardt.
Ep. 36: Never Rarely Sometimes Always and abortion on screen
Inspired by Eliza Hittman’s new drama, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, we discuss various depictions of abortion on screen ranging from this year’s Saint Frances to Obvious Child and 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days. For this discussion, Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney is joined by Executive Editor Orla Smith and guest Lindsay Pugh of Woman in Revolt.
Ebook preview: Céline Sciamma’s 10 best scenes
From Water Lilies to Portrait of a Lady on Fire, we analyse 10 of Céline Sciamma’s best scenes, revealing what makes her a master. This is an excerpt from our ebook, Portraits of resistance.