"Antonia's Line" is a beautiful, poignant film which skillfully manages to celebrate life in all its fertile richness while it simultaneously throws a richly deserved counter-punch into the face of 2,000 years of arrogant, church-sponsored misogyny.
When a modern film such as this one cleverly turns the tables on real historical injustice, I do not find it offensive at all. I'm a man and I found this film admirable for giving a hoot about redressing a justified, legitimate grievance. Until very recently, women were not regarded as significant beings in their own right; they were deemed valuable only as helpmates to be utilized and governed by men - significant only to the extent that they were subordinate to a father and later a husband, and they were supposed to accept this secondary status without complaint, protest or challenge. Such traditional subjugation of women is rubbish and this movie plainly says so. That's a good thing. I see no reason to be offended by such truthfulness. These are not matters of conjecture but of historical fact.
This movie features wonderful, strong female characters who are people in their own right - they are not compliant appendages of domineering male characters. Strong, independent women are found in cinema with extreme rarity, and this film has five of them! There are at least three male characters who are good human beings in this film: Farmer Bas; Crooked Finger; and Simon; so you can forget the reviews falsely complaining that all the male characters are creeps. Refreshingly, this movie also celebrates sexual joy without censorship or hand-wringing. It's even quite amusing, bringing a life-affirming smile to the viewer's face despite some of the violent and somber events which occur in other parts of the film.
I found Dennis Littrell's review on this web site to be excellent, because it cites the ancient mythological underpinnings of this film.
The soundtrack is beautiful.
I suggest paying especially careful attention to the conversations between older and younger female characters, because they contain a complex interplay of emotion, intelligence, belief and intuition - and so, just when you think you have a character pigeonholed (for example, Antonia is completely atheist), you notice a nuance pointing in another direction. Sarah's final pronouncement in the film also alludes to new possibilities, if you're listening carefully.
A fabulous, unique film, "Antonia's Line" gets my highest recommendation.
When a modern film such as this one cleverly turns the tables on real historical injustice, I do not find it offensive at all. I'm a man and I found this film admirable for giving a hoot about redressing a justified, legitimate grievance. Until very recently, women were not regarded as significant beings in their own right; they were deemed valuable only as helpmates to be utilized and governed by men - significant only to the extent that they were subordinate to a father and later a husband, and they were supposed to accept this secondary status without complaint, protest or challenge. Such traditional subjugation of women is rubbish and this movie plainly says so. That's a good thing. I see no reason to be offended by such truthfulness. These are not matters of conjecture but of historical fact.
This movie features wonderful, strong female characters who are people in their own right - they are not compliant appendages of domineering male characters. Strong, independent women are found in cinema with extreme rarity, and this film has five of them! There are at least three male characters who are good human beings in this film: Farmer Bas; Crooked Finger; and Simon; so you can forget the reviews falsely complaining that all the male characters are creeps. Refreshingly, this movie also celebrates sexual joy without censorship or hand-wringing. It's even quite amusing, bringing a life-affirming smile to the viewer's face despite some of the violent and somber events which occur in other parts of the film.
I found Dennis Littrell's review on this web site to be excellent, because it cites the ancient mythological underpinnings of this film.
The soundtrack is beautiful.
I suggest paying especially careful attention to the conversations between older and younger female characters, because they contain a complex interplay of emotion, intelligence, belief and intuition - and so, just when you think you have a character pigeonholed (for example, Antonia is completely atheist), you notice a nuance pointing in another direction. Sarah's final pronouncement in the film also alludes to new possibilities, if you're listening carefully.
A fabulous, unique film, "Antonia's Line" gets my highest recommendation.