Part Two of Scarecrow Academy's "Women in Trouble: Great Melodrama in Film," a free online discussion series, continues with another nine weeks of movies that explore the way imaginative filmmakers have put women at the center of their hothouse creative universes. From traditional "women's pictures" to radical zig-zags on the idea of melodrama, these titles blend female-forward dilemmas with articulate cinematic style.
Discussions are led by National Society of Film Critics member Robert Horton, author of the Seasoned Ticket column at the Scarecrow blog and Scarecrow's "Historian-Programmer in Residence." The Zoom-based sessions are free and open to all; there's no homework, but we ask that you register online in advance. We'll meet on Saturdays at 2 p.m., beginning October 7, 2023.
November 11
RAMBLING ROSE (1991)
In the 1930s, a young woman—rumored to be "oversexed"—comes to stay with a kind family in Georgia, where she proves to be a destabilizing presence. Coolidge's frank touch and the superb performances (including hall-of-fame support from Robert Duvall and Diane Ladd) combine to make an underappreciated sleeper.
December 2 (Double Feature)
BLACK GIRL (1966) | NANNY (2022)
Two movies springing from the same situation: A young African woman finds dislocation while working as a nanny in the First World. Sembene's work is an unforgettable classic by a giant of world cinema; Jusu's gripping contemporary film strikes phantasmagorical variations on the theme.
