Freeway- 1996
A retelling of little red riding hood, Freeway does an awesome job of showing the modern day wolfs that all little girls can count on. Reese Witherspoon rocks in this movie that shows not only the crazy shit that comes along with poverty, sexual violence, and the judicial system but also a not so squeeky clean view of the girls it creates. I love how campy this movie is, and if you want even more camp check out Freeway 2: Confessions of A Trickbaby starring Natasha Lyonne in a modern Hansel and Gretel tale that stars Vincent Gallo as the wicked witch.
Water Lilies- 2007
This french movie about high school synchronized swimmers does a great job of showing each side of the female sexual awakening experience. The three girls of the movie each have totally different experiences that all end up intertwined. It does a great job of showing the aching obsession of first crushes and also a fair view of the girl everyone seems to be crushing on.
Water Lilies - Movie Trailer from KOCH Lorber Films on Vimeo.
Foxes-1980
Jodie Foster always does an awesome job picking roles of strong women. Foxes is one of the few teen girl movies that manages to be fun, dangerous, and sexy in ways that appeal to both girls and guys.
The Watermelon Woman- 1996
This movie chronicles Cheryl Dunye's independent film exploring the life of "the watermelon woman', a black actress from the 1930s. Its kind of like one of those 90's post college dating type movies only about lesbians and dealing with racial issues and independent film.
Orlando -1992
Orlando is one of my favorite films of all time. Based on the Virginia Wolf novel, the movie is so beautiful and epic while exploring the fluidity of gender and time.
Born in Flames- 1983
Taking its title from the song by the awesome band Red Krayola, this movie is set in the future in a time when a militant feminist uprising must save a social democratic government from turning right again. It takes on all the big stuff from working class issues to gender and sexual orientation discrimination to racism and government control.
I'm pretty sure possible oscar-contending Katherine Bigelow got her start in Born in Flames. oh boy, is Freeway a good movie! Tara Subkoff with leg braces is a masterstroke! A deeply underappreciated film.
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