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Yes, that is a shameless use of a cute kitty meant to reflect how snuggled up you are this very moment. Because ADULT SNOW DAY!
What’s the best part of getting snowed in? Making a mug of something warm and curling up with a great (feminist) movie, of course. Here are our top 11 flick picks (based not just on quality but also on streaming convenience) for your next few days.
- Ida
Anna is a novice nun in Poland who travels home to visit her aunt, Wanda, prior to taking her vows. While home, Wanda tells Anna that she is actually Jewish, and her real name is Ida Lebenstein. To reconcile her newfound identity, she and Wanda embark on a journey to find the resting places of her parents, who were murdered in World War II. Nominated for a 2015 Oscar for Best Foreign Language film, we are so pumped to see that this movie is streaming on Netflix. - Pariah
Dee Rees’s 2011 film tells the heart-wrenching story of a 17-year-old African American teenager beginning to embrace her identity as a lesbian. Available to rent on Amazon Instant Video. - Short Term 12
Grace (Brie Larson) is a young supervisor at a foster care facility navigating her past emotional trauma while advocating for the kids in the home. The film tackles childhood abuse in an inspiring yet realistic manner, and features a sweet love story to make sure your tears are both the happy and sad kind. Streaming on Netflix. - Fried Green Tomatoes
Nominated for two Oscars, this 1991 comedy-drama shows the power of female friendship in two different decades (depression-era and 1980s) while exploring serious subjects such as sexuality and domestic violence. Streaming on Netflix. - Dark Girls
If you’re in more of a documentary mood, try this 2011 film exploring and exposing the biases towards dark-skinned women that are ingrained in our culture and cultures around the world (as well as their racist and classist roots), available on Netflix. - Thelma & Louise
This classic starring Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis as destructive road-trippers/BFFs is always on our watch list. We wish it was on Netflix, but it’s definitely worth the few bucks on Amazon Instant Video.
- I Will Follow
Ava Duvernay (director of Selma) wrote, directed, and produced this film about a young woman mourning the loss of her aunt. Checking out her first narrative feature film on Netflix is the least we can do to honor the badass director post Oscar-snub. - Blue is the Warmest Color
15-year-old Adele is determined to fall in love, and when she meets a girl with blue hair on the street, her sexual awakening follows. The film was well-received critically, but received some negative feedback from audiences for its lengthy sex scenes. Watch it on Netflix and see what you think. - Clueless
Not that you need it, but we give you permission to indulge in this classic chick-flick about a rich girl failing her drivers test and sending herself flowers to get a guy. Clueless has its fair share of feminist undertones: it features supportive and sweet female friendships, nuanced portrayals of teenage sexuality, and lady characters with a level of depth we can appreciate. Streaming on Netflix. - The Women The 2008 version was playing on E! this weekend, but we recommend the original of this film starring Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, and Rosalind Russell. The comedy/drama follows the romantic drama of various interconnected women in 1930s Manhattan, and throughout the movie, not even one male is seen (though they are frequently discussed). Not streaming on Netflix, but you can rent it on Amazon Instant Video for a small price.
- The Fall
This is a series, not a movie, but all that means is you get to spend 10 hours rather than two watching X-Files’ amazing Gillian Anderson hunt serial killer Paul Spector (Jamie Dornan) in Belfast, Ireland. We’re so excited about Anderson’s super feminist role as detective Stella Gibson, and if you haven’t started it yet, we’re willing to bet you will be too. Now’s your chance to binge-watch the first two seasons of the BBC show on Netflix. Let it snow!
published January 27, 2015
Image c/o Univers-Felin
