Actresses, Acting
In a film industry so heavily driven by the male gaze and gender performance, what does it mean for a woman to act? How do female characters influence reality? This Spotlight's films explore actresses' experiences with gender, identity, memory, appearance, parenthood, friendship, and relationships, as well as the nature of performance itself.
The Truth
(La Vérité)
A French film superstar's decision to publish her memoirs causes old tensions, feelings, and conflicts with her daughter to resurface.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Japan, Switzerland • 2019
- Director Hirokazu Kore-eda
- Cast Catherine Deneuve, Juliette Binoche, Ethan Hawke, Clémentine Grenier, Manon Clavel, Alain Libolt
- Genre Drama
- Available on AMC+ Amazon Channel, IFC Films Unlimited Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
Clouds of Sils Maria
A veteran actress faces some uncomfortable truths when she agrees to take part in a revival of the play that launched her career.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Germany, Switzerland • 2014
- Director Olivier Assayas
- Cast Juliette Binoche, Kristen Stewart, Chloë Grace Moretz, Lars Eidinger, Johnny Flynn, Brady Corbet
- Genre Drama
- Available on MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel, fuboTV, Criterion Channel, AMC+, AMC+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ with Showtime, IFC Films Unlimited Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel
Millennium Actress
(千年女優)
A documentary filmmaker interviews an aged actress about her legendary career.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2002
- Director Satoshi Kon
- Cast Miyoko Shoji, Mami Koyama, Fumiko Orikasa, Shozo Iizuka, Masaya Onosaka, Showko Tsuda
- Genre Animation, Drama, Romance
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Fandor Amazon Channel, Crunchyroll, RetroCrush Amazon Channel, Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus, Retrocrush, AsianCrush, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Shout! Factory TV, Freevee, Cineverse
Mulholland Drive
An aspiring actress tries to help a woman with amnesia solve the mystery of her identity.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, United States • 2001
- Director David Lynch
- Cast Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Justin Theroux, Ann Miller, Dan Hedaya, Brent Briscoe
- Genre Thriller, Drama, Mystery
- Available on Criterion Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Microsoft Store, YouTube
All About My Mother
(Todo sobre mi madre)
After Manuela’s teenage son Esteban is tragically killed, she searches for Esteban’s biological father, a transgender woman.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Spain, France • 1999
- Director Pedro Almodóvar
- Cast Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes, Penélope Cruz, Candela Peña, Antonia San Juan, Rosa María Sardà
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
Irma Vep
A Hong Kong actress goes to France to star in a remake of a French silent film.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1996
- Director Olivier Assayas
- Cast Maggie Cheung, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Nathalie Richard, Antoine Basler, Nathalie Boutefeu, Alex Descas
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max
Ginger and Fred
(Ginger e Fred)
After thirty years apart, two impersonators of iconic dance duo Ginger Rogers and Fred Astair reunite in this homage to 1930’s Hollywood.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, France, West Germany • 1986
- Director Federico Fellini
- Cast Giulietta Masina, Marcello Mastroianni, Franco Fabrizi, Friedrich von Ledebur, Augusto Poderosi, Martin Maria Blau
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
The Last Metro
(Le Dernier Métro)
A story of love and conflict in Nazi-occupied Paris.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1980
- Director François Truffaut
- Cast Catherine Deneuve, Gérard Depardieu, Jean Poiret, Andréa Ferréol, Paulette Dubost, Jean-Louis Richard
- Genre Drama, Romance, War
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Amazon Video
The Girls
(Flickorna)
A group of female actresses revolt in their personal lives, inspired by their performance of Lysistrata.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Sweden • 1968
- Director Mai Zetterling
- Cast Bibi Andersson, Harriet Andersson, Gunnel Lindblom, Gunnar Björnstrand, Erland Josephson, Frank Sundström
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel
Persona
Two separate people. Will they combine into one?
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Sweden • 1966
- Director Ingmar Bergman
- Cast Bibi Andersson, Liv Ullmann, Margaretha Krook, Gunnar Björnstrand, Jörgen Lindström
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Amazon Video, JustWatchTV, Darkroom
Floating Weeds
(浮草)
Members of a traveling theater troupe meddle in the personal life of the troupe's leader.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1959
- Director Yasujirō Ozu
- Cast Ganjiro Nakamura, Machiko Kyō, Hiroshi Kawaguchi, Ayako Wakao, Haruko Sugimura, Chishū Ryū
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel, Darkroom
Hiroshima Mon Amour
(Hiroshima mon amour)
The story of a young French actress and her affair with a Japanese man while on assignment in Hiroshima.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Japan • 1959
- Director Alain Resnais
- Cast Emmanuelle Riva, Eiji Okada, Stella Dassas, Pierre Barbaud, Bernard Fresson
- Genre Drama, History, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Darkroom
La Strada
(La strada)
Gelsoma, a circus performer, endures her husbands coldness and abuse as they travel the Italian countryside performing together.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy • 1954
- Director Federico Fellini
- Cast Anthony Quinn, Giulietta Masina, Richard Basehart, Aldo Silvani, Marcella Rovere, Lidia Venturini
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy