During the last decade, the great female characters have become more visible and relevant in the seventh art. Something that was reflected almost immediately in the series, especially on streaming platforms. streaming like Netflix. This is a phenomenon of considerable interest, which allowed a whole new pleiad of women to star in new stories.
Women in search of their existential purpose, with a kind of strength that goes beyond the physical to celebrate the spiritual and intellectual. A journey that brought to the cinema and now, to television, several of her most interesting interpretations. But especially, a deep understanding of the feminine nature, its motivations and objectives.
Of course, this is the high point of a valuable evolution of women in the world of entertainment. Of damsels in distress, scapegoats and idealized sex objects, female figures have become complex concepts about pop culture. So much so, as to reconstruct the idea of power, vulnerability and value to a completely original layer. Most of the new Hollywood productions carry by banner the possibility of giving women new places of emotional exploration, and some of them are original Netflix productions, either in the form of a movie or a TV series.
Whether in search of their own space or an interpretation of the world around them. The new heroines of the cinematographic universe are symbols of a renewed vision of what is sensitive and eloquent. A journey towards a more realistic reflection on women and their space in history and culture. We leave you five great films about female characters that you can see right now on Netflix that prove it.
Spirited Away
For over thirty years, Studio Ghibli has been distinguished by its extraordinary female characters. Also, by emphasizing the richness of the world, the context and the stories that surround them. And in particular the movie Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki, is a celebration of a kind of heroine who combines a huge heart with a strong will, and is available on Netflix.
The film is a tribute to a whole series of seemingly simple ideas about women, which the plot turns into powerful allegories. From the mix between fragility and strengthto Chihiro’s ability to become her own heroine.
Miyazaki manages to weave the perception of a kind of inner power, which creates an extraordinary emotional landscape. Little by little, the adventure becomes an exploration of what gives meaning to the essentials of the human spirit. Everything, through the very young Chihiro, turned into the center of a surreal and mysterious plot that is increasingly beautiful and complex. Quite a leading figure in the midst of a new kind of powerful woman of considerable plot value.
This is the only movie on our recommendation list that is not an original Netflix production, but is found in its catalog in many countries.
lost girls
The exploration of crimes involving women is often incomplete in the cinema. From the fact of turning the victim into an allegory to larger themes, to the morbid perception of the crime. On very few occasions, the reconstruction of a violent circumstance, includes the reflection of the environment. In the best of cases, from the context that surrounds those who suffered it. So that lost girls by Liz Garbus, with her direct air and well-constructed, is an exception. Netflix’s original production also touches on all kinds of issues around aggression, sexism and misogyny in an appropriate and intelligent way.
When Mari’s (Amy Ryan) daughter goes missing, the character will discover that appealing to the law means traversing a complicated bureaucratic loophole. Even worse, a painful journey amid discrimination and omissions. The film, based on a true story, delves into Mari’s long journey to find answers. It also portrays, in an anguished way, the way in which judicial systems sometimes put prejudice before justice. An unsettling topic the director ponders from a sensitive point of view.
In the end, Mari will discover that finding her daughter is just the first step toward a disturbing crack in the legal system and how it perceives women. A creepy connotation about good and evil in our time. But also, a questioning of considerable interest about the way in which contemporary culture rationalizes the idea of the victim.
more than mothers
Relationships between mothers and children are often a complicated subject in the cinema. Specifically, because they involve narratives that usually lead to tearful or moralistic drama. But more than mothers by Cindy Chupack is a fun and poignant insight into a sensitive bond. It is also an intuitive celebration of the perception of contemporary motherhood, with its gray dots and, ultimately, its search for answers. The film, a Netflix original, was released in early August 2019.
Carol (Angela Bassett), Gillian (Patricia Arquette) and Helen (Felicity Huffman) begin to rethink the way they communicate with their respective children. Everything, in the middle of Mother’s Day and perhaps, a sensitive moment that unites them at an intermediate point of uncomfortable questioning. “Was I a good mother?” Carol wonders aloud, formidable and brilliant. “Or do I just think I was and I haven’t fully understood what I failed at?” It is just one of the many questions that the film raises from a certain mocking air, but without a doubt, with more depth than it seems.
For more than mothers, the great dilemma lies in expectations. Is there a way to comply with all that society and culture harbors about motherhood? The film offers no direct answers on the subject. Still, it comes to a thrilling conclusion: in the end, the love between mothers and children is a mystery. A strange, powerful and in constant transformation. Perhaps the deepest message of an apparently simple argument that ends up surprising for its sensitivity.
Moxie
Stories about women, told from a female point of view, are often difficult to narrate in depth. Especially because of the ease with which the story can skirt the stereotype. Something worrying at a time when the look at the genre is subject to constant scrutiny. Amy Poehler, bittersweet comedy veteran and of a kind of twisted humor that made her a star, she has enough enthusiasm to do it.
In fact, his movie Moxie, based on the book of the same name Jennifer Mathieu, is an endearing analysis of adolescence. Also, a journey about how ideals become something more powerful than abstract perceptions about justice and morality. The film, a Netflix original, was released in March 2021.
Poehler shows the halls of American high schools as difficult spaces for young women. Particularly when most have to endure judgments about how they look and how they understand their gender and sexuality. But instead of turning her approach into a drama, she makes a benevolent, agile and unprejudiced transit through great themes. From sexual orientation to the power of women. The director explores the roots of the new visibility of female political thought.
At the same time, it mixes criticism with an eloquent look at the lives of young women today. The narration raises the point of hostility between students and the culture of violence as a social wound. His look encompasses all the little rituals of passage and even the feeling that adolescence is an inevitable transformation. To that, the director adds an ingredient on social and cultural issues, which creates a solid mix. A reflection on the concerns of a generation of women in search of answers to the great questions of the time.
story of a marriage
Married life is often portrayed in Hollywood in a Manichaean and, more often than not, simplistic way. It is viewed from the extreme idealization — great sweetened dramas — or in works of painful cruelty. In the middle of both things, the figure of the woman is usually interpreted as a victim or a villain. That’s why, story of a marriage by Noah Baumbach is fresh and sensitive. In particular, for raising a connotation that does not show heroes or opponentsbut characters full of emotional wounds.
In fact, the film breaks with an old tradition in cinema. Marriages on the big screen have a purpose and their dissolution, a lesson. A formula that was repeated for decades until it became superficial. Rarely do the arguments revolve around a broader idea of coexistence and the small cracks in everyday life. But production manages to convert the rupture of a greater bond, in a reflection on human nature. And specifically, the figure of women in the midst of a situation of profound suffering.
Charlie (Adam Driver) and Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) are a couple like any other. One who sincerely fell in love and walked a path through adult disenchantment. In the end, the debacle of their life together shows the transformation of both in the midst of dilemmas that overwhelm them. But it is Nicole, especially, who must dialogue with her most personal ideals about love and romance. A firm and sincere look at contemporary women and the way in which they deal with small private tragedies. story of a marriage is also a Netflix original production and premiered in early December 2019.