“I like the freedom inherent in being on my own, and I like the growth and learning processes that develop from taking chances … I am well aware of the hardship I will be facing. And the first to admit, I’m remarkably unqualified for such a hazardous undertaking. But this is precisely the point of my journey.”
Robyn Davidson (from her book Tracks)
Very effective, tough, influential, powerful, aggressive, exciting, can also be applied to the more abstract, or mental, aspects of a character. It could reflect their life status, impact on someone else, the grand affection of love, survival, independence. Learn from these remarkable females on International Women’s Day, as life takes its toll you can still have the lust for dancing across the streets of New York to Bowie’s “Modern Love”. These characters, these women, whatever it is they do, however great or grim, their actions change what you feel about them. The following 40 film characters over four glorious pages rock the world of cinema, all in their own unique, brilliant way. It’s not a definitive list, and is in no particular order. Feel free to scream your own from the rooftops.
Robyn Davidson – Tracks (2014)
In 1977, Robyn Davidson set off on a nine-month trek across the Australian desert wilderness. Amounting to something close to 2,700 kilometers covered in distance. Tagged The Camel Lady, Robyn took with her Diggity, her dog, and four camels: Dookie, Bub, Zeleika, Goliath. She did not initially want anyone to talk to, nor did she want photos taken, or any verbal account for that matter.
Robyn just wanted to be by herself – “I can deal with pigs really easily, but nice people confound me.” Adapted from the book by Davidson of the same name, John Curran directed a very fine film, with Mia Wasikowska providing a stunning portrayal (as Davidson herself declared) of the woman on the vast walkabout.
With minimal assistance, and a seemingly dynamic strength, Robyn achieves her goal, reaching the finish line of a race not many of us would ever challenge in our own lives. There is plenty of pain and anguish in the journey for Robyn, but also an unfathomable determination, and a heart-strong will to literally stand on her own two feet.
Frances Halladay – Frances Ha (2013)
Noah Baumbach’s muse Greta Gerwig gives it her all in possibly their finest collaboration. Frances is a New York dancer, whose best friend Sophie is about to embark on a new life, forcing Frances to reconsider her own life status. A little bit hopeless, a little bit vulnerable, Frances is all guns blazing with free spirit and a zest for life.
In the wake of struggling as a dancer, no money, no permanent residence, and a friction in her tight friendship with Sophie, the sprightly Frances stands tall, on her own two restless feet, and pursues a change in fortunes. Via Chinatown, Sacramento, Poughkeepsie, even Paris, before returning to New York City. Her magnetic personality and big smile withstand the social turbulence she encounters. And we can’t help but wish her all the best.
Scarlett O’Hara – Gone with the Wind (1939)
As a mere child watching movies, and God as my witness, I first found Scarlett O’Hara to be a little self-centered and stubborn, something of a feisty brat. I still loved her though. I discovered of course that Scarlett is much, much more than that. An iconic, important, epic character, full of depth and strength, from a likewise motion picture experience. Given the time the film depicts she is without racial agenda, has an unabashed resilience, she is a strong-willed woman, a fool for love and carrying a natural survival instinct.
In Gone with the Wind, a grand movie set in the American South during the civil war, Scarlett has to endure the conflict and tragedy around her. Determined to maintain the family cotton plantation following the death of her mother, and then eventually her father, Scarlett experiences a seemingly unrequited love, is widowed at a young age, helps deliver a baby, later suffers her own miscarriage, and then the death of her young daughter Bonnie Blue. Not to mention the turbulent romance with Rhett Butler, which is misunderstood by audiences as the be-all and end-all of the movie. It is not.
Scarlett O’Hara (the outstanding, mesmerizing, incomparable Vivien Leigh) is a platform for female characters of the past, the future, and today, her fist clenched vows and undefeatable spirit make her one of the strongest, most influential characters in cinematic history. Frankly my dears, we do give a damn.
Ma / Joy – Room (2015)
Seven years is a long time to be away from your parents, your friends, the world you once knew. It’s a far more unimaginable experience when you’re kidnapped as a teenager, kept in a shed, and routinely raped. Joy (a remarkable, Oscar-winning Brie Larson) somehow maintains a wondrous spirit, developing and maintaining her role as a mother, a protector, in the most dour, horrific of circumstances, to the now 5-year-old Jack (a spirited turn from Jacob Tremblay). They share the enclosed space, the skylight keeping them from total darkness – a bed, a bathtub, a toilet, a cupboard, make-shift kitchen, a TV.
Ma’s optimism goes beyond heavenly, building a make-belief world for her boy’s sanity. And when she has had enough and plans the escape, she has to somehow give comprehension about the real world that exists outside the room. When eventually free, the struggles in re-adapting are tough for Joy too, even in her former family home. A challenge to the senses nobody can understand – even for a mother of such true devotion and strength.
María Álvarez – Maria Full Of Grace (2004)
What a refreshing discovery Catalina Sandino Moreno – winning Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival and earning an Oscar nod with AMPAS for her terrific turn in Maria Full of Grace. The Colombian actress plays a teenager, Maria Álvarez, struggling to support family, working a shitty job, and then falling pregnant to a boy she knows there is no future with. Pushed to the edge, Maria takes on the risky task of a drug mule. Having to swallow down tens upon tens of drug capsules and flying to New York City with another girl.
After a dodgy moment at U.S customs, complications arise during the “passing” of the drugs, and Maria makes life-changing choices that were never part of this desperate plan – though are will-intended and noble. Her last minute decision to stay in America and not return to her home in Colombia may be the hugest, bravest she has to make.
Michelle – 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
A huge dilemma for Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), and the audience watching the movie 10 Cloverfield Lane, is whether or not the suspicious, paranoid Howard (John Goodman) is protecting her from an apocalyptic, hostile environment, or holding her captive in the daunting underground bunker. Having been in a car accident, Michelle wakes up in a concrete cell, unable to get free. The introduction of Howard and his informing her that the Earth is in fact uninhabitable after it was attacked only adds to her anxiety.
Michelle has her eye on the ball though, attempting to escape, playing along with the habitational routine, discovering a missing girl was kept here, manages to avoid death by perchloric acid, and assembles her own biohazard outfit. When Michelle does wriggle free, she finds she can breath the air, only to be tracked by an extraterrestrial ship that omits a deadly gas. And her human survival instinct help her fight back. As open-ended as the finale is, our heroine earns the title as she turns her car toward further alien activity on the horizon.
Selina Kyle / Catwoman – Batman Returns (1992)
Michelle Pfeiffer has sunk her teeth into some juicy roles. One of her most memorable was to join Tim Burton as he returned to his own revival of the Batman franchise as none other than Catwoman – and the somewhat bipolar secretary Selina Kyle. A small debt is owed to Annette Bening, who was originally set for the part but fell pregnant. Pfeiffer was just meant to be.
When Selina is pushed through a window by her corrupt boss, a bunch of cats seemingly gather around her. And the rest is comic book history. Latex-suited-up, she may lose a couple of squabbles with enemies or allies alike, and become unmasked at the story’s close, but Catwoman remains the phenomenon with the biggest, shiniest balls. And a catty attitude to boot.
The Christmas setting only adds to Catwoman’s allure it seems. Even with the bold, brash characters of Max Shreck (Christopher Walken), Penguin (Danny DeVito), and also Batman / Bruce Wayne (a thankfully recurring Michael Keaton), it has always felt like Catwoman’s movie. Batman returns, sure, but the delicious Catwoman reigns supreme. The final shot of her illustrious silhouette only exemplifies this.
Ellen Peterson / “The Gamin” – Modern Times (1936)
Perhaps there is nothing like the defiance of out-witting the law to stand, head held high, and eat the banana you have just stolen. Ellen, the poor, penniless young woman in Charlie Chaplin’s immense Modern Times does not endorse crime or wrong-doing, but rather shaking a fist at society’s shackles and lives life with a smile and spirited determination. Paulette Goddard, even dressed in her rags and splashed with dirt, as Ellen (or The Gamin’) brings with her a warm glow of optimism wherever she goes.
Like Chaplin, she is mischievous and spontaneous. Her spirited aura of adventure goes a long way in teaching the Little Tramp a thing or two – a perfect alliance forms quickly. Ellen, in all her down-to-Earth wisdom, survival instinct, and willing to make the world a better place, could certainly teach us a thing or two on how to live today, not just 1936.
Rosetta – Rosetta (1999)
On paper, a teenage girl from a trailer park, with barely a pot to piss in, and a drunken mother, might not seem to be the most exhilarating of movie experiences. This is the Dardenne brothers though, a remarkable film-making duo who bring the realism of social struggles to cinema with consummate perception and depth.
What also makes Rosetta a gem is Cannes Best Actress winner Émilie Dequenne as the title heroine. Rosetta, down-trodden, but extremely determined – ruthlessly so – has both survival and escape on her mind. Struggling to hold down a job so she can earn a living and look after her useless mother, Rosetta fights (quite literally) her way through her tough day-to-day routine. Running (quite literally) from dilemma to new job to wherever she can find salvation or personal fulfillment.
Finding work at a waffle stand, a co-worker, Riquet (Fabrizio Rongione), never quite makes friend material – in fact Rosetta hesitates to save him when he falls into water, and later rats him out to the boss when she discovers he is conning him. Cruel, but a dog eats a dog if it has to. Rosetta is hard as nails, gutsy as hell, she can tend to period pains with a hairdryer, and carry heavy gas canisters all by herself. But she is human, a young girl, close to breaking, but mentally stronger than most. When she falls to the ground at the film’s close and sobs, frustrated by it all, she’ll get back up and on her feet again, we just know it.
Erin – You’re Next (2011)
Erin appears to be merely along for the ride when invited and arriving at the parental house of her boyfriend Crispian. The social occasion caters for many, the mother, father, and their grown up sons and daughters, and their respective partners. As a brotherly squabble breaks out at the dinner table, the infliction of shocking violence begins as one brother is killed via a crossbow fired from outside. As all bedlam and terror breaks lose the family are plucked and killed one by one.
In the middle of the flutters of utter anguish, Erin appears to be the most clued up. Alert, assertive, quickly taking action, and holding off her own personal panic that devours the house. As people trapped in the house are slaughtered, Erin is stabbed, finds glass shard in leg, is shot, hurls herself through a window, is bitten, but brutally fights back.
Much of Erin’s heroic, inventive instincts makes this film, with all its gutsy gore and ferocious manner, feed into the human longing for vengeful violence against unimaginable evil doers. Thanks largely to Sharni Vinson’s tenacious performance, the movie certainly showcases the kick-ass female character to its fullest, essentially executing a story-line with that premise directly in mind.
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Mary Poppins – Mary Poppins (1964)
One of the great musicals, heck, one of the greatest films ever made, provides us with one of the most comforting, thrilling characters ever seen on screen. Mary Poppins (a super, calmly fragile, mystic, exceptional, audacious Julie Andrews) arrives to tend to the children of wealthy parents, too preoccupied to give them their full attention.
Poppins is unorthodox in her methods of child-minding, as well as her means of transport, and provides a prickly reception to those who meet her. First impressions of stern and strict don’t last though (unlike the original book), the awe-inspiring, poignant coat of warmth and care she leaves in her path is enough to melt the human heart.
Mary Poppins, with the poise of a guardian angel, an idol for children and adults alike, oozes so much love and magic through her meaningful methods. That chores work best through song, being transported from Edwardian London to animated rural setting, the literal bond of laughter and levitation etc. Before she is off and gone with the wind.
Éowyn – The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
J. R. R. Tolkien created the character of Éowyn, and countless others, in his epic fantasy compendium, long before Miranda Otto brought her to live on screen in Peter Jackson’s extraordinary trilogy. Not until the third installment does Éowyn really get her teeth into the action. Having to somehow be advised by other characters, including Aragorn to whom she holds a special place in her heart, that her female duties are with the people back home.
Éowyn, with her huge spirit and brave soul, is listening to nobody shackling her good intentions, she armors up and travels with Merry to the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. Her crowning moment comes after seeing her uncle Théoden mortally wounded by the witch-king riding a fell-beast. Éowyn stands herself between her uncle and her enemy, quickly severing the head of the fell-beasts before being out fought by the witch-king – “No man can kill me.” Intervening Merry gives the upper hand back to Éowyn – “I am no man!” before jolting her sword full force through the witch-king’s head.
Théoden witnesses with pride. Although disguising herself as a man, it was far better that Jackson and his team allowed the audience to know of her identity, rather than trying to surprise us with the gender reveal. Éowyn may not be chosen by Aragorn in the end, but that was ultimately his loss.
Marquise de Merteuil – Dangerous Liaisons (1988)
Marquise de Merteuil has transcended Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ book Les Liaisons dangereuses and the following play by Christopher Hampto. Then Glenn Close took on the role with immaculate disposition in Stephen Frears’ marvelous film version – also adapted for the screen by Hampton. Accompanied by the remarkable John Malkovich and magnetic Michelle Pfeiffer, not to mention Philippe Rousselot’s photography and James Acheson’s costumes, Merteuil shines in Close’s hands – a villainous, relentless woman of stealthy wit and power.
Looking to take vengeance on her former lover, arranging the seduction the virgin Cécile, Merteuil enlists sometimes lover Vicomte de Valmont into her torrid plans. His unexpected love for Madame de Tourvel turns the cogs of human impulse on its head, but Valmont being embroiled heavily already in Merteuil’s wicked games means this does not end well. Merteuil subtly pushing people into the wrong arms and places is soon her downfall. Although a disgraced Merteuil’s schemes are later revealed to the entirety of Paris, she remains a character that echoes a dangerous intelligence and unequivocal influence.
Ree Dolly – Winter’s Bone (2010)
Jennifer Lawrence’s breakthrough role in Debra Granik’s gritty, compelling Winter’s Bone is arguably her finest. As teenage Ree stuck in rural America, taking it upon herself to look after her brother, sister, and mentally unstable mother, here is a character dealt a very rough hand, but will not be backed into a corner without a fight. On the verge of losing their home because of the long time absent father, Ree wants not only to protect her family from this hardship, but is determined to, and kind of pushed towards, finding proof of either their father’s disappearance or his death.
Stepping into the neighborhood of drugs and violence, and amidst all the threats on the family’s livelihood, Ree is assaulted by the hostile folk she seeks out for answers, but gets to her feet again and digs a little deeper. The horrific truth uncovered paradoxically settles the waters. And we can take solace in the resolution with a handful of hope, that Ree can return to teaching her younger brother and sister the basic survival skills they might need to survive.
Lisbeth Salander – The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
Adapted by Steven Zaillian from the Stieg Larsson novel, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo got the David Fincher treatment, released just two years after the Swedish film. Rooney Mara delivers a smart, introverted computer hacker onto the screen. Under some dodgy legal guardianship, heavily pinned down by emotional and sexual abuse, this is a character with endless depth and strength.
Assisting (and background checking) Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) to investigate the disappearance of a girl decades earlier, Lisbeth appears self-sufficient, her punk / goth demeanor, distinctly-shaped black hair. In the meantime, oozing slick, super-cool, Salander dons a disguise in Switzerland, has a subway punch-up, takes a wicked vengeance on her horrid guardian, and later rescues Blomkvist from torture and imminent death. She may ride off alone and jilted at the film’s close, but Lisbeth has long since earned the audience’s loyalty.
Sandra Bya – Two Days, One Night (2014)
The Dardennes brothers set up the brilliant Two Days, One Night in a matter of moments, your commitment to Sandra (Marion Cotillard) is immediate. A woman faced with losing her job through the votes of her co-workers – they in turn would lose their thousand Euro bonus if she remains. Sandra is vulnerable and in dire mental health, but is she in control of her own destiny? She has a supportive husband, and two kids, Sandra has plenty to live for, but poverty is a destructive barrier.
With little left in the tank she still manages to find the strength to walk the streets of her town to approach her colleagues. She is a generous, straight-up woman, she can understand the sensitivity of the situation and everyone’s own social dilemma. Through all the heartache, near-misses, and sheer fight, Sandra achieves her goal, but in a final moment of redemption can stroll onward and upward, taking her own future by the hand.
Maud Watts – Suffragette (2015)
What great power and significance lies in the women’s rights movement early in the twentieth century, depicted through the story of the women’s suffrage in Britain, a film directed by Sarah Gavron and written by Abi Morgan. The devastatingly good Carey Mulligan heads a terrific cast, playing laundress Maud Watts, who bit-by-bit builds a determined and unbreakable force to defend the oppressed women of the day’s society.
Maud speaks out to parliament, spends time behind bars, jeopardizes her marriage and custody of he son, is outcast by those she knows, loses her job, and partakes in a horrific hunger strike. Her ruthlessly taking a hot iron to the hand of her sexually violating male employer is a metaphor for the triumph of women, as well as a moment to applaud in its own right. Maud refuses to play dead, risking everything for the greater good of the female demographic. Her actions and those of the women fighting the same battle soon changed history forever.
Lucy Burrows – Broken Blossoms (1919)
One of the greatest actresses of the era, Lillian Gish, reminds us of the heavy subject matter as well as the timeless entertainment the silent age of cinema provided. In 1919, D.W. Griffith and United Artists brought the tragic tale of Broken Blossoms to the screen. A tale of the young Lucy Burrows, longing to escape the torrid life her physically abusive father, Battling Burrows, a boxer, drags her through.
Lucy meets a Chinese man, Cheng, also on the journey of self-fulfillment, and such an impact she makes on him, he falls in love with her. His devotion to Lucy is clear to see, he does his best to take care of her. When Lucy takes drastic measures to protect herself, Cheng and her father cross paths, resulting in the kind of tragedy Shakespeare could have penned – two men fighting for Lucy Burrows, even after she has departed. So sad the stuff of legends.
Otilia Mihartescu – 4 luni, 3 saptamâni si 2 zile (2007)
There’s a grand human subtely to Otilia’s predicament in Cristian Mungiu’s extraordinary 4 luni, 3 saptamâni si 2 zile (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days). A film so entangled in mortal sacrifice and suffering, you might have to take a step back to appreciate what Otilia abides here. Huge credit given to the no-holds- barred turn from Anamaria Marinca. When her university student dorm-mate Găbița (Laura Vasiliu) is pregnant, Otilia springs into action to support her weary friend arrange an illegal abortion. A huge, huge no-no in Romania in the late eighties. But with an understandable chip on her shoulder.
Otilia scrounges from other students, and asks her boyfriend for money, but is uninterested in attending his mother’s birthday meal later. And then has to sweet talk the irrational a-hole Mr. Bebe (Vlad Ivanov) who is to perform the procedure on Găbița. As things snowball, sacrifices are made. As many of the day’s horrid little events are spawned from Găbița’s lies, it is a wonder Otilia continues to be so supportive – but she does.
Shoshanna Dreyfus / Emmanuelle Mimieux – Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Whatever you think about Quentin Tarantino on any given day, there is no question about his imprint of character on his audience. A simply terrific performance by Mélanie Laurent portrays one of Tarantino’s finest, well-rounded characters. But more prominently here she has bigger balls and motivation than most of his male characters.
Inglourious Basterds flips a portion of history on its head, which begins with Shosanna narrowly avoiding being picked off by the Jew Hunter. And closes with her, under the assumed alias Emmanuelle, burning the Nazi Germany big-hitters to their bones. I will never forgive Tarantino for the fate he chose for Shosanna after all we went through with her, but the big screen footage of Shosanna informing the Nazi audience they are being killed by a Jew is priceless.
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Maria Braun – Die Ehe der Maria Braun (1979)
The tragically short film career of the great New German Cinema film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder included a masterstroke with Die Ehe der Maria Braun (The Marriage of Maria Braun) that was two-fold. For one, a fascinating, unforgettable female character, and then, a thoroughly captivating performance by Hanna Schygulla.
The Maria Braun marriage occurs in the very first scene, amidst a war-time bombing. From here the story is set for a journey of paradoxical loyalty and self-sufficiency, the domineering Maria has to, over the years, acclimatize to the horrors of war and post-war, as well as digging the way for her own life progress while her husband Hermann is off fighting and presumably dying. Maria garners wealth and do-well lifestyles, owing much to not just her blatant sexuality, but her cunning intellect. A remarkable woman, however you look at her.
Wilma Dean Loomis – Splendor in the Grass (1961)
The depiction of the turbulent journey of a teenage girl was executed rather differently back in the 1960s given the change in times – but Elia Kazan’s emotionally-taut romance proves that as sex and love in adolescence go, not much has changed at all. Deanie (be still my beating heart, Natalie Wood) is struggling to allocate such desires and depression during her own personal venture to adulthood.
Conflicting with her meddling mother’s advice offering a frosty, archaic template of how to be a correct woman, Deanie is a firecracker, both at her most lustful and melancholy, blending through the passionate and the desolate. The ultra-charged bathtub scene is unforgettable, one of Wood’s absolute finest acting moments. The vulnerable, wonderful Deanie’s own female hysteria, physical and mental longings, and of course Wordsworth, somehow just about balance her on the very rocky road of sanity.
Vesper Lynd – Casino Royale (2006)
The very first James Bond film with Daniel Craig was also an introduction to Agent 007. We discover a much more vulnerable Bond than we have yet seen – and this boils down to one special woman. Bond meets British treasury agent Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) on a train, and from there they collide in all manner of emotional and eventfully dangerous ways. Vesper shows a heart-stopping trauma when she witnesses what Bond is capable of, but stands her ground with him – later saving his life.
Even with the fragile trust, they fall in love, Bond declaring he will quit MI6 so that they can be together – the power of a woman. When first he believes Vesper has betrayed him, he still tries to rescue her. But Vesper’s ultimate selfless sacrifice is to protect Bond – she was never a traitor, more likely his strongest alley
Hushpuppy – Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)
Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild was a wonderful surprise in 2012, not just in the recognition by the Academy, but in the impact on its audience, and the terrific performances by the two leads. Quvenzhané Wallis, at 9 years old, became the youngest Best Actress nominee in Oscar history. Her Hushpuppy (just 6 in the story) grabs the responsibility of tending to her ill, bad-tempered father Wink during an ensuing storm in southern Louisiana with whole-hearted determination.
As they both try to remain hopeful, little Hushpuppy stamps her feet and tantrums in the anxiety. But her goals and outlook are that of a trustworthy adult. The loyalty and compassion for her father is beyond words, with a little help from her “friends” and the self-sufficient pursuit, she gives Wink a flaming, but ultimately loving farewell.
Hanna Heller – Hanna (2011)
Joe Wright’s swift shift in direction (in both technique and genre) displays his comfortable ability to produce a rather compelling action thriller. Saoirse Ronan is the MVP here though, still on the journey from childhood to adulthood, the actress is both ice cold and sympathetically warm in her characterization of Hanna, a girl who grows in the wild. Her father is ex-CIA (Eric Bana), and he has dedicated much of his time training Hanna into, well, an assassin.
Cate Blanchett better watch out. And anyone who gets in Hanna’s way. Either on the run or chasing, Hanna has to survive in a world she is not accustomed to, befriending another teenager girl and her family, when not knocking seven bells out of guards and killers. Still somber and sedate at the end, Hanna soon gets her revenge.
Kitty Foyle – Kitty Foyle (1940)
The film Kitty Foyle is not literally The Natural History of a Woman as its sub-title might suggest, but it certainly narrates heavily, though completely accessibly, on the social standing and gender life roles expected in those times. Kitty’s story is told partly in flashback when she was an aspiring teenager, and also in the present were her dilemma appears to be choosing whether to run off to her old flame, or marry the new man in her life, a doctor. Their meet cute as she pretends to faint after setting off the store alarm is a great moment.
Kitty has turbulent events and a critical society seemingly against her, but the strength of the woman is never in doubt, ultimately making her own way and decisions. Ginger Rogers, as you have never seen her before, is perfect, winning the Academy Award for Best Actress, and setting off sartorial trends back in the forties.
Idun Karlsen – Bølgen (2015)
For those not familiar with Norwegian, the English-language title of Bølgen might tell you more about what is essentially a disaster movie. The Wave depicts a small town in danger from a potential avalanche, and then devouring tsunami. As catastrophe strikes, our protagonist Kristian, a geologist who predicted the event, sets out to reunite with his family. His wife Idun (Ane Dahl Torp) works at the local, and grand, hotel.
As Idun, a colleague, and some guest, attempt to flee, the gigantic wave arrives too late and engulfs the hotel, killing many, and trapping others. Having found her son Sondre, Idun goes into full survival-mother mode. In a pivotal scene, Idun is forced to hold a man under water, who whilst panicking for his life was drowning Sondre. It’s a tragic moment, killing to save a life, but you understand exactly why she had to do it.
Hana – The English Patient (1996)
In my view, The English Patient is a movie that is just not the sum of its magnificent parts. It looks gorgeous throughout, Gabriel Jared’s score is mesmerizing and then there is the luminous Juliette Binoche – a deserving Oscar winner, one of nine amidst a very generous Academy hand-out. Binoche’s Hana, a nurse in Italy during World War II, is a natural vessel of kindness and spirit, who tends to the patient of the title (who is not English, but Hungarian it seems).
Just about keeping her wits about, Hana discovers old secrets, shares a love story with Kip, and administers a final, heavy dose of morphine at her patient’s request. A heartbreaking moment of brilliance from Binoche. In that final, beautiful shot as she leaves the dwelling, Hana has an undefeatable glory and a poise even through the undeniable heartache and struggle she has faced.
Ofelia – Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
With Babel (Alejandro González Iñárritu), Children of Men (Alfonso Cuarón), and Pan’s Labyrinth (Guillermo del Toro), 2006 was a dominant year for the cinema of Mexico. And strong depictions of females in varying forms, but the real heroine though was 11 year-old Ivana Baquero’s portrayal of Ofelia in del Toro’s majestic, dark fairy tale of sorts. Ofelia, suspected to be the reincarnation of Princess Moanna, is a bright hope in the shadows of war and fantasy.
Embroiled within a labyrinthine garden, a strange but vivid world, occupying creatures and wonders, Ofelia is tasked by a faun creature to, in turn, find a key from the belly of a toad, retrieve a dagger from a child-eating monster, and bring her newborn baby brother to the labyrinth. Although she may regret the harsh consequences, Ofelia is somewhat defiant at times, still swayed by innocence, temptation, and a good heart. Surrounded by the brutality of the adult world, her mistakes, if you like, represent an admirable independence and bravery.
Ava – Ex Machina (2015)
Ex Machina was the enduring sleeper hit of 2015. And largely thanks to a breakthrough performance by the seemingly versatile and prolific Alicia Vikander. Her artificial intelligence Ava can understandably be mistaken for a human, luring you in with charm and keenness to learn about the world.
For her own gain it seems in the end, a definition of intelligent translires, as Ava outsmarts the humans, supposed experts and pioneers. Encapsulating a kind of power of the woman, Ava is free to explore the world for herself, equipped with limitless intellect, ambition, and poise.
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Eli – Låt den rätte komma (2008)
Let the Right One In (Swedish title Låt den rätte komma in) still stands as an inspirational diversion of not just the vampire flick, but the romance too. 12-year-old boy Oskar is bullied by idiotic classmates, and privately wants revenge. He starts to come out of his shell when he meets the pale girl who appears to be his age, Eli, having just moved into the next apartment.
Eli, who we soon realise is a vampire child, not only inspires Oskar to defend himself, but also resists the urge to feed off him given a couple of opportunities. Instead they form a warm, loyal relationship. The final sequence as Oskar is held under the swimming pool water by bullies is astonishing, as Eli off-screen rescues him, killing and dismantling the boys – in its violence it is still a triumphant moment.
Atafeh Hakimi – Circumstance (2011)
Written and directed with such seductive realism by Maryam Keshavarz, Circumstance, (شرایط Šar’ayet in Persian) touches the skin and rumbles steadily with the social and political landscape of Tehran. Two teenagers, Atafeh (Nikohl Boosheri) from a wealthy family, and Shireen (Sarah Kazemy), an orphan, gradually take their friendship to a physical relationship, but discretely given how homosexuality is viewed in modern Iran. Not to mention their late-night party scene, and dipping into drink, drugs, and sex.
Atafeh’s brother Mehran is a former drug addict, also taking an obsessive shine to Shireen, damaging his relationship with Atafeh. Their parents are nostalgic about their past, but seem to not want to change the present. As Shireen succumbs to cultural ritual, the defiant, forthright Atafeh continues to represnt a brighter future in these restrictive times and goes her own way.
Lale – Mustang (2015)
Deniz Gamze Ergüven’s remarkable Mustang may be about five girls, but it is Lale at the heart of this gem, played by Güneş Nezihe Şensoy. Who we witness from start to finish, a little terrier and a wild horse all in one. Set in a remote Turkish village, the five sisters face all manner of challenges, as their strict grandmother and uncle take away their simple means of a young life – be it phones, what they wear, boys etc.
Not allowed to leave the house, Lale, the youngest, has the childlike innocence to pursue an escape to a better life. But also the vigor and strength to follow it through, while sisters are married off or deprived of a free adolescence. Lale’s love for football provides the film with it’s funniest sequence, as the older generation of the family go to great lengths to pave the way so the girls can see their team play. Her mischief and rebellious streak continues later when Lale again sneaks out, or attempts to spit into guests tea.
When her sister Nur is due to marry against her will, Lale helps them both escape. Mustang bookends with Lale sadly saying goodbye to school teacher, and them being reunited. It feels like a long, long journey, and we are delighted she made it no matter the circumstances that carried her along the way.
Karen Sisco – Out of Sight (1998)
Jennifer Lopez’s Karen Sisco would never have been cancelled after seven episodes (sorry Carla Gugino). No, in Steven Soderbergh’s super-slick crime flick Out of Sight, the Elmore Leonard character is brought to the screen with a sexy, ice-cool, and unflinching aura by Lopez. Sisco, a U.S. Marshal, is not so arrogant that she can’t pick the brains of her retired police officer father (Dennis Farina). And not so unbreakable that she can’t hold off the attraction to a certain Jack Foley (George Clooney).
On the surface, though, Karen is a smart cat, with her head screwed on right, and her law-abiding brain at the forefront of her intentions, she brings Foley down against her affectionate judgement. Bold and brilliant, Karen Sisco more than holds her own amidst the male cops, crooks, and creepos of the movie.
Aurora Greenway – Terms of Endearment (1983)
I saw Terms of Endearment at a young age, turned out to be one of the most emotional film experiences of my young life. Adultery, raising a family, cancer, a turbulent relationship between a mother and a daughter. Sounds bleak, sure, but the smart execution by James L. Brooks adds a depth of comedy to the melodrama.
Firing on all cylinders is Shirley MacLaine as Aurora, who watches her daughter Emma (a devastatingly good Debra Winger) grow up, build an adult life, only for it to somewhat capitulate when her husband cheats, and then she suffers from a fatal illness. Aurora appears to stand in the shoes of a haphazard mother, trailing her parental mistakes behind her, but we know that is not the case. A powerhouse of a woman, her bond with Emma never frays, no matter how far, how sick, how angry.
She meddles, she stamps her feet, she is never shy about her dislike of Emma’s husband Flap. Eccentric retired astronaut Garrett (Jack Nicholson) soon forms a loving relationship with Aurora, he too has his work cut out, but succumbs to the woman’s ultimate charm and determination. In Emma’s final weeks in hospital, her super-supportive mother is an explosive rock, staying bedside, taming the troubled kids, and of course screaming for that shot for the pain.
Mathilda Lando – Léon: The Professional (1994)
Natalie Portman broke into the movie world in some style. One of Luc Besson’s finest, has slick hitman Léon (Jean Reno) cornered into offering a diverse form of guardianship towards the 12-year-old Mathilda, following the murders of her family. As their partnership develops, Mathilda tames the reclusive killer, turning the dedicated, methodical Léon inside out, revealing a heart and soul.
Learning the tools of the trade, you might say, how to kill, how to survive, Mathilda proves herself a stubborn but smart cookie. Their innocent affections run both ways, she teaches him to read, and I guess in turn how to interact with the outside world. The final gesture from Léon as he takes his victory from the enemy is to say that it was “from Mathilda”. Boom.
Nikita – La Femme Nikita (1991)
Jean Reno’s hitman “cleaner” first appeared in Besson’s earlier La Femme Nikita (the original French title), this time the kick-ass-defining woman is the main event. Part of a gang that robs a pharmacy, Nikita (Anne Parillaud) kills a police officer and is sentenced to life in prison. After her death is faked, she finds herself n the hands of government officials were she is given a choice: die, or become an assassin.
Nikita is trained in computers, martial arts, and weaponry – also gets a boyfriend and dabbles in ravioli. Nikita proves to be a ruthless killer, her final test before “graduating” is her first official kill, which takes place in a busy restuarant. Not only completing the task in hand, but somehow shooting her way out of an almost impossible ambush.
Rey – Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015)
Friends of mine have shown a certain disappointment that Star Wars: The Force Awakens allowed itself to follow A New Hope’s blueprint. But they might forget what they truly want from a Star Wars movie, making me suspect their fan rating of the franchise. Perhaps modelled a little on Luke from Episode IV (and for very good reason), the introduction of Rey (a remarkably assured breakthrough from Daisy Ridley) is so effective, and so truly fitting within the Star Wars mold, we could almost forgive the first three episodes.
Let’s see: Living a poverty-stricken, but hard-working existence, Rey befriends the droid BB-8. She is soon accompanied by Finn, pilots the Millennium Falcon, meets Han Solo and Chewbacca, discovers Luke’s lightsaber, and later out-matches the rookie evil one Kylo Ren both in physical combat and through the power of the mind. You know, she has the force.
Princess Leia Organa – Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Well, what can’t we say about the great Princess Leia? In Star Wars Episode IV she is rescued, but hardly requires heroes, she is a tough cookie with a mouth to match. In The Return of the Jedi Leia puts those men (Han and Luke) in their place once and for all, kicks some Biker Scout ass speeding through the forests of Endor, and is injured by a blaster in battle.
Years and years later she returns in The Force Awakens, in command, and having to live with the fact her now grown-up son has fallen to the dark side. Leia’s truly defining and most dominant chapter comes in The Empire Strikes Back. Still having the upper hand in spite of her repressed rage, Leia’s loving yet turbulent relationship with Hans Solo continues to, can we say, blossom.
Amidst the AT-AT battle, the fatherly revelation, Yoda’s training, The Empire Strikes Back is integral to Leia’s character too. The very moment she feels Luke’s cry for help is an unforgettable projection of her role within the franchise. And humongous credit goes to Carrie Fisher for nailing every nuance of Leia’s essential presence.
Amélie Poulain – Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain (2001)
Paris’ very own Emma Woodhouse is a diamond in a modern French fairy-tale, through the visionary brilliance of Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Amélie is a whimsical child with a vivid imagination, but grows up somewhat lonely, a waitress in Montmartre set on fixing everyone else’s lives. Audrey Tautou lights Amélie up on screen, a character who although isolated, has a noble, unselfish way about her, and wears her heart of gold on her sleeve.
A determined, emotional young woman, taking on and doing what it takes to complete her missions of love and loss. She also has a mischievous side, playing a clever prank on the bully greengrocer. Her ultimate task though is to find love, and the moment it strikes her she goes to extreme lengths to fulfill her own happiness. Finally.