AWFJ Women on Film - Rotten Tomatoes

AWFJ Women on Film

AWFJ Women on Film is not a Tomatometer-approved publication. Reviews from this publication only count toward the Tomatometer when written by the following Tomatometer-approved critic(s): Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Betsy Bozdech, Brandy McDonnell, Carol Cling, Cate Marquis, Courtney Howard, Diane Carson, Jen Yamato, Jennifer Merin, Joanna Langfield, Karen M. Peterson, Leslie Combemale, Loren King, Maitland McDonagh, Martha K. Baker, MaryAnn Johanson, Nikki Baughan, Pamela Powell, Roxana Hadadi, Sandie Angulo Chen, Sarah Knight Adamson, Sarah Ward, Sherin Nicole, Susan Granger, Susan Wloszczyna, Valerie Kalfrin
Rating
Title/Year
Author
1
Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché (2022)

Susan Wloszczyna

While other punk female artists conformed to sexy, haughty and gutsy attitudes, Styrene cared more about the state of humanity and of the world at large.
Posted Feb 2, 2022
2
Watcher (2022)

Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

Watcher is a dark, smart treasure of a film, with the collaborative energy of Okuno and Monroe very much at the heart of what makes it such a compelling viewing experience.
Posted Feb 1, 2022
3
Poppy (2021)

Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

Poppy is a very sweet film, with Libby Hunsdale's performance at the center allowing Niccol's to get away with what at times could come across as excessively sentimental.
Posted Jan 28, 2022
4
4.5/5
Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power (2022)

Leslie Combemale

There's nothing wrong with loving movies using the patriarchal gaze. Menkes argues we need to also have movies with visual language that goes beyond that one perspective. Required viewing.
Posted Jan 28, 2022
5
4/5
The Janes (2022)

Leslie Combemale

Co-directors Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes remind viewers of the importance of knowing our collective history in order to avoid repeating it.
Posted Jan 28, 2022
6
5/5
Living (2022)

Leslie Combemale

As the exquisite and moving Living shows, sometimes filmmakers can show respect for a classic and still bring something new. Bill Nighy turns in yet another career-defining performance.
Posted Jan 28, 2022
7
Therapy Dogs (2022)

Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

Therapy Dogs, is at once, a war cry, a manifesto, and an absolute jewel for those of us who love the energy and intensity of true indie filmmaking.
Posted Jan 27, 2022
8
The Conductor (2022)

Susan Wloszczyna

Watching Bernadette Wegenstein's doc The Conductor is an uplifting and educational treat as we get to know Marin Alsop.
Posted Jan 25, 2022
9
4/5
Framing Agnes (2022)

Leslie Combemale

It's fascinating to hear words by a diverse group of trans men and women from the distant past made real, performed by some of the best and most well-known trans actors working today.
Posted Jan 22, 2022
10
5/5
Nothing Compares (2022)

Leslie Combemale

In part through the artist's own words, Ferguson reveals O'Connor as an insightful, emotionally damaged artist with unshakeable integrity.
Posted Jan 22, 2022
11
4/5
Breaking (2022)

Leslie Combemale

Truly a tour-de-force for lead John Boyega who heartbreaking, intense, and wholly believable as Brian Easley.
Posted Jan 21, 2022
12
4.5/5
Breaking Bread (2022)

Leslie Combemale

A look at one fine example of gastrodiplomacy via the A-Sham festival in Haifa, in addition to the appealing chefs profiled, Breaking Bread has some great food cinematography.
Posted Jan 21, 2022
13
4.5/5
The Conductor (2022)

Leslie Combemale

If, like Alsop, you believe 'can't' is the worst four letter word in the English language, you'll love this inspirational, feel-good documentary.
Posted Jan 21, 2022
14
Stop-Zemlia (2021)

Susan Wloszczyna

In Stop-Zemlia, Ukrainian filmmaker Kateryna Gornostai, known for her documentary work, uses her tools to crack open what it's like to be Sweet 16 and in high school in this Eastern Europe country.
Posted Jan 20, 2022
15
Stop-Zemlia (2021)

Cate Marquis

The Ukrainian high school students in Kateryna Gornostai's STOP-ZEMLIA seem like teenagers anywhere in many ways, and yet they don't...
Posted Jan 19, 2022
16
4/5
The Pink Cloud (2022)

Leslie Combemale

The Pink Cloud really invites us to consider, both individually and as a society, how much we do or do not need physical interaction with nature and other humans.
Posted Jan 19, 2022
17
Stop-Zemlia (2021)

Sherin Nicole

Stop-Zemlia is very much like America's Euphoria. That sense of dancing among the tall weeds of teenaged life while wondering if your next dizzied step will lead to adulthood or something worse.
Posted Jan 18, 2022
18
Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America (2022)

Sherin Nicole

Who We Are vivisects the great American disease. Through interviews, historical imagery, and oration: Robinson is a "rebel without a pause"...because a history denied is one that rears up to bite again
Posted Jan 18, 2022
19
Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America (2022)

Betsy Bozdech

Although many Americans, most of them White, are quick to exclaim "but that's not who we are!" when they hear about the kinds of things Robinson talks about, his point is that, yes, that is exactly Who We Are.
Posted Jan 14, 2022
20
Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America (2022)

Susan Wloszczyna

Robinson is actually at his best when he shares his own personal insights on how America built its economy on the backs of slaves and continues to undermine people of color.
Posted Jan 14, 2022
21
Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am (2019)

Nikki Baughan

The true highlight of the film is, of course, the extended interview with the 88-year-old Morrison, which proves the narrative backbone of the film.
Posted Jan 11, 2022
22
Who You Think I Am (Celle que vous croyez) (2021)

Cate Marquis

The tale unfolds as she tells it to a psychologist, and is filled with unexpected twists, and commentary on toxic obsession with youth.
Posted Jan 11, 2022
23
Who You Think I Am (Celle que vous croyez) (2021)

Sandie Angulo Chen

Told in flashbacks as Claire confesses to her therapist, the story highlights what an incredible actor Binoche is, humanizing a woman who crosses moral, ethical and legal lines as she delves deeper and deeper into her lies.
Posted Jan 11, 2022
24
Who You Think I Am (Celle que vous croyez) (2021)

Jennifer Merin

Trust that the wonderful Juliette Binoche carries the film with a beautifully nuanced and relatable performance.
Posted Jan 11, 2022
25
Who You Think I Am (Celle que vous croyez) (2021)

Leslie Combemale

Who You Think I Am presents Juliette Binoche at her most fearless and vulnerable.
Posted Jan 11, 2022
26
Who You Think I Am (Celle que vous croyez) (2021)

Nell Minow

Binoche is one of the treasures of international cinema and her luminous performance is what makes this twisty story as much about our own sense of who we are as much as about the version of herself her character wants to create.
Posted Jan 11, 2022
27
Who You Think I Am (Celle que vous croyez) (2021)

Loren King

Director Safy Nebbou's alternately sharp and sensitive tale of romantic love and obsession in the internet age is layered with many twists and surprises.
Posted Jan 11, 2022
28
Who You Think I Am (Celle que vous croyez) (2021)

Betsy Bozdech

Whether you view the film as a rich character study of a complex woman in midlife or as a catfishing cautionary tale, its bound to keep your attention.
Posted Jan 11, 2022
29
Motherland (Bayang ina mo) (2017)

Nikki Baughan

Audiences are, however, unlikely to have experienced it as presented by Ramona S. Diaz's Motherland...
Posted Jan 11, 2022
30
11/8/16 (2017)

Nikki Baughan

Whatever your politics, it's impossible not to view this remarkable 24 hours as an eye-opening slice of social history.
Posted Jan 11, 2022
31
Only Lovers Left Alive (2014)

Nikki Baughan

A sparkling script and charismatic cast injects a new burst of life into a genre that's become pallid and toothless...
Posted Jan 11, 2022
32
Rebel Hearts (2021)

Sandie Angulo Chen

An educational and moving example of how these deeply faithful women navigated the patriarchy of the Catholic Church.
Posted Jan 11, 2022
33
Rebel Hearts (2021)

Cate Marquis

Told through the voices of the women themselves, director Pedro Kos uses a creative mix of interviews, animation, archival footage combined with old newspaper articles to create an entertaining, lively and unforgettable film.
Posted Jan 11, 2022
34
Rebel Hearts (2021)

Jennifer Merin

Rebel Hearts is a compelling from-the-heart documentary...
Posted Jan 11, 2022
35
Rebel Hearts (2021)

Nell Minow

Rebel Hearts provides an inspirational example for those who want to make a real difference in the world.
Posted Jan 11, 2022
36
Bombshell (2019)

Nikki Baughan

Through interviews with friends, family, Industry players and the late Lamarr herself, Dean builds a richly textured portrait of a fascinating, astute and insightful woman...
Posted Jan 11, 2022
37
You Were Never Really Here (2018)

Nikki Baughan

To say that Lynne Ramsay has a powerful understanding of film may be an obvious statement.
Posted Jan 11, 2022
38
Knots: A Forced Marriage Story (2021)

Cate Marquis

Knots: A Forced Marriage Story is an eye-opening documentary that spotlights something that many of us think of as happening in other countries, not the US...
Posted Jan 10, 2022
39
Knots: A Forced Marriage Story (2021)

Loren King

These three women make for sobering, understanding educators about a prevalent practice that needs the full glare of public attention. It's Reiss who calls the forced marriages for what they are: gender violence.
Posted Jan 10, 2022
40
Knots: A Forced Marriage Story (2021)

Jennifer Merin

The well-crafted documentary is a highly effective call for essential change.
Posted Jan 10, 2022
41
Knots: A Forced Marriage Story (2021)

Nell Minow

This is the story of the women, the horrors they experienced, the courage they found, the triumphs they achieved, and the help they are now giving to help others.
Posted Jan 10, 2022
42
Knots: A Forced Marriage Story (2021)

Betsy Bozdech

This isn't The Handmaid's Tale; it's daily life in the United States right now for thousands...and as Kate Brewer's Knots: A Forced Marriage Story makes abundantly clear, it needs to stop now.
Posted Jan 10, 2022
43
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (Als Hitler das rosa Kaninchen stahl) (2019)

Cate Marquis

The drama, well-acted and filled both dramatic tension and familial warmth, follows the family's journey as refugees wandering through Europe...
Posted Jan 10, 2022
44
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (Als Hitler das rosa Kaninchen stahl) (2019)

Leslie Combemale

We as the audience are so invested in the whole family getting to safety that we are made to feel a surprising spectrum of emotions through the storytelling and performances.
Posted Jan 10, 2022
45
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (Als Hitler das rosa Kaninchen stahl) (2019)

Loren King

For those who don't know children's author Judith Kerr, German director Caroline Link provides an absorbing introduction with her elegant adaptation of Kerr's highly regarded, autobiographical children's novel.
Posted Jan 10, 2022
46
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (Als Hitler das rosa Kaninchen stahl) (2019)

Jennifer Merin

The beautifully crafted film and its narrative, as told from Judith's perspective, are a push-the-envelope meditation on the lasting effects of the politics of hate.
Posted Jan 10, 2022
47
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (Als Hitler das rosa Kaninchen stahl) (2019)

Nell Minow

In this film we see that the humanity and understanding Judith Kerr kept intact in her warm heart are sensitively portrayed by director Caroline Link and her talented cast.
Posted Jan 10, 2022
48
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (Als Hitler das rosa Kaninchen stahl) (2019)

Betsy Bozdech

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit is geared more toward viewers who are the same age as Anna and Max. Their resilience will hopefully inspire empathy and compassion in modern kids who see the film, underlining the destructive impact of nationalism...
Posted Jan 10, 2022
49
Ahead of the Curve (2021)

Cate Marquis

Sound kinda crazy? Yeah, it is that sense of audaciousness and underdog rebellion that makes this documentary so interesting and fun.
Posted Jan 10, 2022
50
Ahead of the Curve (2021)

Sandie Angulo Chen

A nostalgic look at how this Gen X magazine was pioneering, the documentary doesn't shy away from discussing controversies (like the name change) and missed opportunities...
Posted Jan 10, 2022