I've watched a lot of great films this year so far and I'd love to share some current favorites with you! I'd love to hear what your current favorites are and/or if you've seen any of the below:
WORKING GIRL (1988) - trailer
This film really stood out to me when I watched it last month. Working Girl was the first of a series put on by a friend of ours called Working Girls: America's Career Women on Screen (you can watch the trailer for that series, here). If you haven't seen the movie (go watch it!), it's a story about a hardworking women named Tess (Melanie Griffith) who is trying to work her way up the career ladder, only to keep running in to pesky barriers (one example is a sleazy Kevin Spacey, which is surprisingly timely). She's offered one last shot at a job working for Katharine Parker (Sigourney Weaver), but that comes with its own complications. You'll follow along her journey of career growth, which takes some fun twists and turns.
THE SQUARE (2017) - trailer
If you've seen Force Majeure, you know that Ruben Östlund is incredible at creating worlds where you feel like you're living through someone else's existential crisis. The Square will have you feeling uncomfortable in ways you probably won't be expecting, but not necessarily in a bad way. It's beautifully shot and the way he taps into the senses is extraordinary. This film in particular is about a highly respective museum curator (Claes Bang) who appears perfectly put together, but slowly unravels to show that keeping up with the ideals he curates for the museum isn't that easy when it comes to a busy life. The below scene with Elizabeth Moss was a personal favorite.
THE FLORIDA PROJECT (2017) - trailer
This movie was SO REAL. I was blown away. In it, you follow 6-year-old Moonee (Brooklynn Prince as she grows up in a budget motel with her young mom. You mostly see her out with her friends, wreaking havoc around the area. The motel manager, Bobby (Willem Dafoe), is trying his best to make the motel a nice place for tourists, while simultaneously doing more than is expected of him and allowing guests to live there. He has a soft spot for the kids and you'll LOVE him in this film. In the end, it will open your eyes to a situation where right around the corner from Disney World, there are kids that are unable to make that lifestyle a reality.
ALL THESE SLEEPLESS NIGHTS (2017) - trailer
About five minutes into this movie, Mark paused it and told me "Just a reminder, this is a documentary." I'm so glad he did because it plays like a narrative! It's unlike anything I've ever seen before. The reason it feels this way is partly because the director (Michal Marczak) is close with the two main subjects in the film, so it feels extremely intimate. You follow the lives of Michal and Krzysztof, two young friends that seems to be part of an endless party. You see them fall in love and fall apart. It's one of the most beautiful things I've watched in a long time.
NORMA RAE (1979) - trailer
This film was also part of the series Working Girls: America's Career Women on Screen. It's about a strong-willed woman named Norma Rae, who takes risks to make the workplace a safer place to be. After multiple examples of poor treatment in the textile factory where she works with both her mother and father, Norma Rae joins a movement to unionize her factory. You'll see some of the struggles it takes to organize a labor union in the film, which is truly eye-opening. We listened to a Q&A with two labor workers in Los Angeles after the screening, which showed us that these conditions still exist today.