Women's Tales V

 

Shangri-La (Isabel Sandoval) is set during the Great Depression where it opens with text relating to anti-interracial laws where couples from different races couldn’t marry one another. Notably as Sandoval plays one of the protagonists as she herself is a Filipino-American as she plays a woman who goes to a confession to talk about her love for a white man. Notably as she is having dreams that include futuristic alternate realities that has Sandoval wear the Miu Miu clothing as her dreams to be with this man could come true. It is an incredible short that explores a woman dealing with love that was considered forbidden in the 20th Century.



I and the Stupid Boy (Kaouther Ben Hania) revolves around a young woman texting her boyfriend for an upcoming date until a young man takes her phone and causes trouble for her leading to a lot of trouble as she takes action over his stupidity. Starring Oulaya Amamra and Sandor Funtek, the film that is set in France as it plays into this young woman who wears some cool clothes but deals with this bland pretty boy who is harassing her and trying to get her to go out with him. Yet, he ends up bringing more trouble as well as the fact that he’s a fucking dumbass. It’s the weakest short of the entire series so far though it has a good ending.



House Comes with a Bird (Janicza Bravo) stars Kelsey Lu who watches over a posh house that many rich buyers are interested in but it comes with a bird. Also starring Natasha Lyonne, Pedro Pascal, Katherine Waterston, and Poorna Jagannathan, the short is definitely one of the best as it play into these people wanting this unique house with Lu watching over everything as she also does the score for the short film. It is definitely one of the best shorts in the series.



Letter to My Mother for My Son (Carla Simon) has Simon reflecting on her own pregnancy as she writes letters to her mother about the arrival of her son. Starring Angela Molina as Simon’s mother, the short is shown through different time periods where a lot of the women wear these amazing designer clothing but also play into the idea of womanhood. It is another tremendous short in the series that also stands out as it has a richness that is rarely captured on film.



Eye Two Times Mouth (Lila Aviles) is a 23-minute short film that revolves around a young woman training for an upcoming opera audition as she works in an art gallery where she feels stifled in the world as she turns to two people to help her with her upcoming audition. It is a rich and gorgeous short set in Mexico City as it stars Akemi Endo as Luz who is helping an artist with her gallery but works with a blind musician (Alan Pingarron) and a Japanese interpreter (Irene Akido Iida) to help prepare for her audition in the opera in Madame Butterfly. It is a tremendous short that features stylish clothing inspired by Japanese robes as its climax has Endo do her operatic performance for the audition with all of its tremendous clothing.



Related: Part I - Part II - Part III - Part IV

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