Women's Tales III

 

Seed (Naomi Kawase) is about a young woman whose encounter with a dress she finds in a creek has her in touch with not just nature but also the spiritual world. Starring Sakura Ando, the 9-minute short is shot on many locations with recurring images of waterfalls and other natural elements as this young woman who feels alive in this dress would meet a couple of different men including a homeless elderly where they make a simple swap that would bring joy to both them. It is an enchanting short from Kawase who takes something simple and showcase how wondrous the world can be.



That One Day (Crystal Moselle) revolves around a girl in her late teens who goes to a skate park in New York City hoping to fit in with the many inhabitants at the park only to befriend a bunch of other young women who love to wear designer clothing and skateboard. Starring Rachelle Vinberg as this young skateboarder who wants to fit in, it is a 9-minute short that showcases a young woman wanting to belong in a culture that is often dominated by men yet it is these young women that would later be known famously as the Skate Kitchen that Vinberg is a part of as it show these young women not just these incredible skate boarders but do it with style as they would wear these expensive dresses while skateboarding yet they make it look so fucking cool as it also features an awesome music soundtrack.



Carmen (Chloe Sevigny) is about a comedian who does a stand-up performance as she talks about her life as a single woman and the difficulties in the world of dating. Starring Carmen Lynch who also co-wrote the short with Sevigny, it is a film with a simple premise although it does meander at times since it never really goes anywhere. Visually, Sevigny does create some unique visuals including a few shots where everything stops while Lynch’s character continues to talk. While it does feature Lynch in a few beautiful dresses, it is one of the weaker entries in the short series.



(The [End) of History Illusion] (Celia Rowlson-Hall) is a short that is presented as this 1950s Cold War piece where there’s a bunch of women and two twin brothers living in an underground bunker of sorts as it is presented as some weird musical commercial. Featuring Caroline Polacheck as the woman bringing voice to this thing as well as the musician in the home, it starts off as this comical moment features a ballerina doing all of the cooking while a model does interpretive dancing while vacuuming. Everything would unravel through nuclear sirens blaring in the room where everyone is wearing something fashionable but it would be all of these women including a woman wearing a mermaid costume as it plays into this false illusion with an ending that has a lot of revelations about the artificial world as it is an excellent short.



Hello Apartment (Dakota Fanning) stars Eve Hewson as a young woman who purchases her very first apartment as it would be this important figure in her life where she would have parties as well as a whirlwind relationship with her boyfriend. It is a short that plays into a young woman dealing with elements of her life as the story is fascinating with Eve Hewson as the young woman and Christina Rouner as the older version of the character at the end of the short. The only gripe about the short is the appearance of Tom Sturridge as the boyfriend as he just maintains that muggy look he’s known for as he is a sore to watch every scene he’s in.



Related: Part I - Part II - Part IV – Part V

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