Women with Chutzpah
Films or TV about women with courage. Not weapon-wielding amazons, but women confronting real situations - sometimes unimaginable hardships, sometimes challenges that are all too common.
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- DirectorErik PoppeStarsJuliette BinocheNikolaj Coster-WaldauLauryn CannyRebecca is one of the world's top war photographers. She must weather a major emotional storm when her husband refuses to put up with her dangerous life any longer."I want to tell the story."
- DirectorAlan RickmanStarsKate WinsletAlan RickmanStanley TucciTwo talented landscape artists become romantically entangled while building a garden in King Louis XIV's palace at Versailles.Just be who you are and do what only you can do. [Caveat: watch for the scene when Sabine is introduced to the women at court -- one of the sweetest scenes in contemporary film...]
- StarsMaggie GyllenhaalStephen ReaLubna AzabalCenters on Nessa Stein, a woman who inherits her father's arms business and finds herself in an international maelstrom as she continues to promote the reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians.
- DirectorBeth MurphyStarsSusan RetikPatti QuigleyTom FlemingSusan Retik and Patti Quigley are two ordinary soccer moms living in the affluent suburbs of Boston until tragedy strikes. Rather than turning inwards, grief compels these women to focus on the country where the terrorists who took their husbands' lives were trained: Afghanistan. Over the course of two years, as they cope with loss and struggle to raise their families as single mothers, these extraordinary women dedicate themselves to empowering Afghan widows whose lives have been ravaged by decades of war, poverty and oppression - factors they consider to be the root causes of terrorism. As Susan and Patti make the courageous journey from their comfortable neighborhoods to the most desperate Afghan villages, they discover a powerful bond with each other, an unlikely kinship with widows halfway around the world, and a profound way to move beyond tragedy. From the ruins of the World Trade Center to those of Kabul and back, theirs is a journey of personal strength and international reconciliation, and a testament to the vision that peace can be forged - one woman at a time.If you think that wars cannot be stopped, you haven't seen this film.
- DirectorPhillip NoyceStarsHilary SwankBrenda BlethynSam ClaflinTwo mothers lose their sons to malaria.Helping others heals the grief.
- DirectorMick JacksonStarsClaire DanesJulia OrmondDavid StrathairnA biopic of Temple Grandin, an autistic woman who has become one of the top scientists in the humane livestock handling industry.My name is Temple Grandin. I'm not like other people. I think in pictures and I connect them.
- DirectorSydney PollackStarsDustin HoffmanJessica LangeTeri GarrMichael Dorsey, an unsuccessful actor, disguises himself as a woman in order to get a role on a trashy hospital soap.Dustin: "There's too many interesting women I have not had the experience to know in this life because I have been brainwashed. 'Tootsie' was never a comedy for me."
- DirectorVictor FlemingKing VidorStarsJudy GarlandFrank MorganRay BolgerYoung Dorothy Gale and her dog Toto are swept away by a tornado from their Kansas farm to the magical Land of Oz, and embark on a quest with three new friends to see the Wizard, who can return her to her home and fulfill the others' wishes.Oh dear! I keep forgetting I'm not in Kansas!
- StarsKate WinsletGuy PearceEvan Rachel WoodDivorced single mom Mildred Pierce decides to open a restaurant business, which tears at the already-strained relationship with her ambitious elder daughter, Veda.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsSusan SarandonGeena DavisHarvey KeitelTwo best friends set out on an adventure, but it soon turns around to a terrifying escape from being hunted by the police, as these two women escape for the crimes they committed.
- DirectorMary Olive SmithStarsCatherine Hamlin"A Walk to Beautiful" tells the story of five women in Ethiopia suffering from devastating childbirth injuries. Rejected by their husbands and ostracized by their communities, these women are left to spend the rest of their lives in loneliness and shame. We follow each of these women on their journey to a special hospital in Addis Ababa where they find solace for the first time in years, and we stay with them as their lives begin to change. Through the intimate experiences all five share, we are no longer in the heart of Africa-we are in the hearts of these women. The trials they endure and their attempts to rebuild their lives tell a universal story of hope, courage, and transformation.Few of us in developed countries can imagine that this happens regularly to women, even in 'developed countries.'
- DirectorStephen DaldryStarsKate WinsletRalph FiennesBruno GanzPost-WWII Germany: Nearly a decade after his affair with an older woman came to a mysterious end, law student Michael Berg re-encounters his former lover as she defends herself in a war-crime trial.Controversial. Powerful. Complex. Subtle. Winslet's tour de force.
- DirectorJean-Marc ValléeStarsReese WitherspoonLaura DernGaby HoffmannA chronicle of one woman's 1,100-mile solo hike undertaken as a way to recover from a recent personal tragedy.Witherspoon delivers a believable performance of a woman's humbling transformation.
- DirectorGabriel AxelStarsStéphane AudranBodil KjerBirgitte FederspielDuring the late 19th century, a strict religious community in a Danish village takes in a French refugee from the Franco-Prussian War as a servant to the late pastor's daughters.How generosity opens hearts and palates.
- DirectorLasse HallströmStarsHelen MirrenOm PuriManish DayalThe Kadam family leaves India for France where they open a restaurant directly across the road from Madame Mallory's Michelin-starred eatery.A rigid widow learns flexibility.
- DirectorSimon CurtisStarsHelen MirrenRyan ReynoldsDaniel BrühlMaria Altmann, an octogenarian Jewish refugee, takes on the Austrian government to recover artwork she believes rightfully belongs to her family.Tenacity.
- DirectorShekhar KapurStarsCate BlanchettLiz GilesRod CulbertsonThe early years of the reign of Elizabeth I of England and her difficult task of learning what is necessary to be a monarch.Self-explanatory.
- DirectorLasse HallströmStarsJuliette BinocheJohnny DeppJudi DenchA French woman and her young daughter open up a chocolate shop in a small remote village that shakes up the rigid morality of the community.Single mom moves into a small village (read, small-minded) and proceeds to not only make a living to support her daughter, but teaches the villagers about pleasure and love.
- DirectorCarl FranklinStarsLuke GanalonJoseph A. GarciaMiriam ColonA drama set in New Mexico during WWII, centered on the relationship between a young man and an elderly medicine woman who helps him contend with the battle between good and evil that rages in his village.
- DirectorRichard GlatzerWash WestmorelandStarsJulianne MooreAlec BaldwinKristen StewartA linguistics professor and her family find their bonds tested when she is diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease.It takes guts to watch this film, but Moore makes it worthwhile.
- DirectorStephen FrearsStarsJudi DenchSteve CooganSophie Kennedy ClarkA world-weary political journalist picks up the story of a woman's search for her son, who was taken away from her decades ago after she became pregnant and was forced to live in a convent.
- DirectorMartin ProvostStarsYolande MoreauUlrich TukurAnne BennentIn 1912 German collector Wilhelm Uhde rents a flat in Senlis to write and take a break from Parisian life. He hires a 48-year old cleaning lady, Séraphine. Some time later, he notices a small painting on wood at a local notable home.
- DirectorKrzysztof KieslowskiStarsJuliette BinocheZbigniew ZamachowskiJulie DelpyA woman struggles to find a way to live her life after the death of her husband and child.
- DirectorSteve AntinStarsCherChristina AguileraAlan CummingA small-town girl ventures to Los Angeles and finds her place in a neo-burlesque club run by a former dancer.The music is fantastic and Cher & Aguilera's stunning talent no surprise. But watch Cher's performance as the aging, wise maven who is graceful enough to step aside. It's not an overt part of the plot and Cher pulls it off with subtlety and elegance.
- DirectorNigel ColeStarsBrenda BlethynCraig FergusonMartin ClunesA small-town English widow, facing financial troubles after her husband's suicide, turns to agriculture of an illegal kind.
- DirectorRob MarshallStarsRenée ZellwegerCatherine Zeta-JonesRichard GereTwo death-row murderesses develop a fierce rivalry while competing for publicity, celebrity, and a sleazy lawyer's attention.Hyperbole for fun, but situations so common, every woman can relate. Plus, the music is great.
- DirectorAnne FontaineStarsAudrey TautouBenoît PoelvoordeAlessandro NivolaThe story of Coco Chanel's rise from obscure beginnings to the heights of the fashion world.“How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone.”
- DirectorJames KentStarsAlicia VikanderKit HaringtonTaron EgertonA British woman recalls coming of age during World War I - a story of young love, the futility of war, and how to make sense of the darkest times.Based on the best-selling WWI memoir of Vera Brittain, a leading writer, feminist, and pacifist.
- DirectorDavid O. RussellStarsJennifer LawrenceRobert De NiroBradley CooperJoy is the story of the title character, who rose to become founder and matriarch of a powerful family business dynasty.
- DirectorSarah GavronStarsCarey MulliganAnne-Marie DuffHelena Bonham CarterIn 1912 London, a young working mother is galvanized into radical political activism supporting the right for women to vote, and is willing to meet violence with violence to achieve this end.Few realize how much it cost those women who fought for equality.
- DirectorLenny AbrahamsonStarsBrie LarsonJacob TremblaySean BridgersA little boy is held captive in a room with his mother since his birth, so he has never known the world outside.How a mother's love can survive anything.
- DirectorSheree FolksonStarsJessica GunningNatalie DormerAneurin BarnardAn 18th-century drama details the scandalous life of Lady Seymour Worsley.
- DirectorDavid Gordon GreenStarsSandra BullockBilly Bob ThorntonAnthony MackieA battle-hardened American political consultant is sent to help re-elect a controversial president in Bolivia, where she must compete with a long-term rival working for another candidate.Sometimes, you just have to walk away from everything to save your soul.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsNicole KidmanJames FrancoRobert PattinsonA chronicle of Gertrude Bell's life, a traveler, writer, archaeologist, explorer, cartographer, and political attaché for the British Empire at the dawn of the twentieth century.She defined worlds.
- DirectorTodd HaynesStarsCate BlanchettRooney MaraSarah PaulsonAn aspiring photographer develops an intimate relationship with an older woman in 1950s New York.
- DirectorJames VanderbiltStarsCate BlanchettRobert RedfordDennis QuaidNewsroom drama detailing the 2004 CBS "60 Minutes" report investigating then-President George W. Bush's military service, and the subsequent firestorm of criticism that cost anchor Dan Rather and producer Mary Mapes their careers.We may not always win when we fight for the truth, but we will still have our souls.
- DirectorHisako MatsuiStarsEmily MortimerKazuko YoshiyukiShidô NakamuraA film about the life and relationships of the early 20th century American educator, editor, and journalist Leonie Gilmour, the mother of the acclaimed artist and architect Isamu Noguchi.
- DirectorChristian DuguayStarsBarbora BobulovaShirley MacLaineOlivier SitrukThe life story of legendary fashion designer Coco Chanel.Elegance is refusal. ~ Coco Chanel
- StarsClaire FoyChristian CookeItay TiranA young British girl travels to Palestine, retracing the steps of her grandfather - a British soldier stationed there in the 1940s.Does not simply the complex issues of 1948 or today but instead tackles the right and wrong of both sides while telling the story of this amazing young woman.
- DirectorTerrence MalickStarsColin FarrellQ'orianka KilcherChristopher PlummerThe story of the English exploration of Virginia, and of the changing world and loves of Pocahontas.When worlds collide so much is obliterated ... but not everything.
- DirectorIgor AuzinsStarsAngela Punch McGregorArthur DignamMartin VaughanJeannie Gunn faced being the only civilised woman in an uncivilised land. A story of personal triumph about one woman who reached out in a hard, hostile, prejudiced world and managed to find love.Tenacity and heart can accomplish anything. An epic story in a stunning, epic land.
- DirectorTony RichardsonStarsStefanie PowersClaire BloomPeter BowlesThe singular life of Beryl Markham - renowned aviatrix, author and adventurer - is depicted. Raised by her father in colonial East Africa, Beryl hunted with the Maasai, bred thoroughbred horses, romanced Denys Finch-Hatton and defied constraining social rules. Based upon her own memoir 'West With the Night'.Markham is one of my heroes. She had the courage of a lion and her soul belonged to Africa.
- DirectorBaz LuhrmannStarsNicole KidmanHugh JackmanShea AdamsIn 1939, an Englishwoman inherits a sprawling ranch in northern Australia and reluctantly makes a pact with a stockman to drive 2000 head of cattle over unforgiving landscape.Gorgeous. Epic. Romance. And cheeky bastards.
- CreatorMichael MacLennanAdrienne MitchellStarsMeg TillyJodi BalfourCharlotte HegeleA drama about World War II women at work in a munitions factory.
- StarsAnna FrielMarc WarrenBarnaby KayEllie's beloved husband is killed in a car accident. A woman was in the car with him and killed too. Who was she? Was he having an affair? Was it an accident?
- DirectorJocelyn MoorhouseStarsKate WinsletJudy DavisLiam HemsworthA glamorous woman returns to her small town in rural Australia. With her sewing machine and haute couture style, she transforms the women and exacts sweet revenge on those who did her wrong.Kate Winslet nails it again with a fantastic, all-star Aussie cast including Hugo Weaving as the cross-dressing policeman. Jocelyn Moorhouse (Proof) directing. Lots of folks say they didn't get it, but pay no attention to those morons-- if you have a wicked sense of humor and an appreciation for sweet revenge, this film will make you laugh and cry and laugh again.
- DirectorRick FamuyiwaStarsKerry WashingtonWendell PierceGreg KinnearJudge Clarence Thomas' nomination to the United States Supreme Court is called into question when Anita Hill, a former colleague, testifies that he sexually harassed her.
- DirectorRobert StrombergStarsAngelina JolieElle FanningSharlto CopleyA vengeful fairy is driven to curse an infant princess, only to discover that the child could be the one person who can restore peace to their troubled land.