Nelia leaves her poor town to work as a maid in the city. Perceived as a lower-class citizen, Nelia gets harsh treatment that she does not deserve from her employer. She toils day and night to fulfill the wishes of her family at the expense of working herself to death. Ultimately, it is also in the city where she discovers an opportunity to move to a better life in the arms of a lover.
“I’m always interested in exploring female fantasy, and the sexy witch is a loaded archetype that is simultaneously about men’s fears and fantasies about women, and women’s feelings of empowerment and agency. So whereas we are used to seeing the sexy witch or the femme fatale from the outside, I wanted to explore her from the inside.” - Anna Biller, on why she made The Love Witch
The 1950s lesbian romance is stunning, emotional, restrained, and, simply put, one of the best movies I’ve ever seen depicting a woman-loving-woman (WLW) relationship.
In Jeymes Samuel's history-infused, neo-spaghetti western, Black women are center stage with a fresh hip hop mixtape keeping rhythm in the backdrop.
Gretel & Hansel falters due to its razor thin story and lack of characterization. It loses sight of horror’s key rule: In order to create an effective tale, characters and emotions must be emphasized.
Pressure is an unambiguously great movie, lead by convincing performances, a well-crafted script, good direction, and at least some social awareness.
