Episode 2 - Little Women

12/18/23 • 117 min

There’s nothing little in the story of this film nor in the significance of the topics it touches on. Greta Gerwig’s Little Women (2019) is a wonderful, fierce, and modern adaptation of this classic, bringing all the themes that have made it one of the most beloved books of the last 150 years.

Centered on the character of Jo March, an aspiring writer, Little Women tells the story of the March sisters, four deeply loving but very different young women, all trying to find their path in life within the restrictions of 1860s American society.

Join us as we review Little Women with a special guest and talk about feminism, safe female spaces, pervasive gender roles, how they impact men and women, and much more.

***Spoiler alert! While reviewing this film, we go through key scenes and may reveal the ending, so be warned of spoilers!***

Sources and links:

In-depth interview with the director and cast

Greta Gerwig on her idea for the film

Join us as we review Little Women with a special guest and talk about feminism, safe female spaces, pervasive gender roles, how they impact men and women, and much more.

***Spoiler alert! While reviewing this film, we go through key scenes and may reveal the ending, so be warned of spoilers!***

Sources and links:

In-depth interview with the director and cast

Greta Gerwig on her idea for the film

Previous Episode

Episode 1 - Chevalier

In a baroque opera hall in Paris sometime in the late 1700s, there’s a concert taking place.

The audience is hypnotized by the virtuosity of the main violin player and the beauty of the music. And still, the most puzzling fact about the scene is the player’s skin colour: it’s Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint Georges, and he’s Black.

Born in Guadeloupe to an enslaved African woman and a French aristocrat, Joseph grows up in Paris and enjoys a high-class education. His talent for music can only benefit from this, making him a renowned musician and composer and gaining the favor of Queen Marie Antoinette and her entourage.

It sounds as if the boundaries of race and class are diluted in this story. Only to discover that, by crossing a line that seemed unimportant, the colour of the skin is the only thing that suddenly matters.

The story of Chevalier is fascinating, and is still hard to believe that it has remained untold for over two centuries.
While reviewing this movie, we learn about hidden jewels in history, what it takes to bring them back to light, and what effect they have on a wider audience.

***Spoiler alert! While reviewing this film, we go through key scenes and may reveal the ending, so be warned of spoilers!***

Sources and other links:

Interview with cast and crew

Kelvin Harrison Jr. on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon

Interview with the Cast and crew on the TIFF 2022 by “The Hollywood Reporter”

Cast, crew and other facts

Next Episode

Episode 3 - The Woman King

In this episode, Andreina and Gabriela discuss the 2022 filmThe Woman King.
Written by Dana Stevens and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, The Woman King tells the true story of the Agojie, an all-female warrior force in the Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1830s, in what is present-day Benin.
Starring a formidable Viola Davis as the military general who eventually would become the woman king, the film tells a story of bravery, sacrifice, and female empowerment hidden within the history books during one of the darkest periods in modern times: the transatlantic slave trade.
Andreina and Gabriela discuss the main cast performances, the power of representation, and their efforts to expand their knowledge of the history of women across the globe.
***Spoiler alert! While reviewing this film, we go through key scenes and may reveal the ending, so be warned of spoilers!***
Sources and links:

Interview with cast at TIFF 2022

Interview with Viola Davis and Cast

Thuso Mbedu in “The Daily Show” with Trevor Noah

Lashana Lynch and Thuso Mbedu in Good Morning America

Film review on The New York Times

Warrior Women with Lupita Nyongo