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.
The Wedding Singer’s Daughter (Haifaa Al-Mansour) is set in 1980s Saudi Arabia as a wedding singer is performing at a wedding until her microphone goes dead prompting her daughter to find out what is going on. Especially as the bride and groom are set to enter the room as the young girl finds out what had happened to save her mother from embarrassment. It is a short that is definitely filled with a lot of charm as well as a sense of innocence as it has a sense of style told by Haifaa Al-Mansour that also has women wearing beautiful clothing in that world of the Middle East.
Shako Mako (Hailey Gates) revolves around a young actress who is working on a movie where she plays a young woman in Arab country whose town is destroyed by a bomb as she ponders the kind of roles she is playing. Even as she is also involved with the casting and such while is eager to break out from the roles she constantly plays as she even does an audition while on location. It is a film with an uneven narrative but it is still an excellent one thanks to a great leading performance from Alia Shawkat.
Brigitte (Lynne Ramsay) is a documentary short film about the photographer Brigitte Lacombe as she is filmed in black-and-white by Lynne Ramsay who captures Lacombe at work. The 30-minute short is among one of the longer shorts in the anthology series as it explore Lacombe’s methods in her photography as well as Ramsay being photographed. Adding to the brilliance of the film is the layered sound design that is a common element of Ramsay’s short films with a lot of these models wearing the Miu Miu clothes as it is one of the top tier shorts of the series.
Nightwalk (Malgorzata Szumowska) is about two different young people in Raffey Cassidy and Filip Rutkowski who play these young people stuck in their respective genders through the clothes they wear. The former is wearing a designer gown while the other is wearing a track suit as they walk out of their homes into the night stripping away the identity they’re forced to be as they become who they want to really be. It is largely a silent film of sorts with music being the dominant soundtrack yet the short does manage to have a great climax as these two young people would meet and embrace who they really are.
In My Room (Mati Diop) has director Mati Diop in her home apartment near Paris during the COVID-19 pandemic as she deals with her ailing grandmother who is living far from Paris as well as being unable to make something outside of her apartment. It is a phenomenal short that has Diop wear Miu Miu dresses and such to deal with her isolation while lip-syncing to opera music as a way to cope with her grandmother’s impending passing and being alone. Diop would serve as the film’s cinematographer where she would also shoot at the world around her including inside where she does mundane things while writing to Miu Miu about her situation as it is definitely one of the best shorts of the series.
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.
Le donne della Vucciria (Hiam Abbass) revolves around a party in the middle of a town square in Palermo, Sicily in Italy where Lubna Azabal sings and dances to music with many in the town including an old couple who create puppets watch. It is a short that is just full of beauty and liveliness where Abbass keeps things straightforward in the direction. Even as she focuses on the party itself with women wearing these colorful dresses with socks that also have a sense of style.
Spark & Light (So Yong Kim) is about a young woman played by Riley Keough whose car breaks down somewhere in Iceland as she worries about her mother’s health. The 11-minute short that is shot on location in Iceland has Keough’s character trying to get a signal or some sign that leads her to a home where some strange surreal moments that also involves clothes come into play. Even as it play into her worries and such as it is a gorgeous short that features a strong performance from Keough.
Somebody (Miranda July) revolves around a group of people communicating with each other through an app that July has created as a way to connect with one another. It is a short that is offbeat in the style that July is known for as she appears in the film as a woman at a restaurant reading a menu instead of playing herself. Yet, it is a short that has a lot of heart but also things that are off the wall while using the clothes to help play into this sense of quirkiness.
De Djess (Alice Rohrwacher) revolves around a fashion show hosted by nuns who found dresses on a beach wrapped in plastic as one of the dresses comes to life wanting to be worn by a young maid only for a divaesque model wanting to wear it. It is definitely one of the best shorts of the series in its approach to surrealism and humor where the models who wear these dresses are prey to the paparazzi while the main model played by Alba Rohwacher while Yanet Mojica plays the young maid who is in love with this dress as the dress chooses her. It is definitely a tremendous short worth watching as it showcases the brilliance of Alice Rohrwacher.
Les 3 boutons (Agnes Varda) has a young woman who receives a package where it is revealed to be a big pink gown that is filled with wonders as she would walk around Paris trying to discover the world outside of her small farm life. Starring Jasmine Thiere as this young farm girl who talks to the camera about her life and her own desires. The film has her walking around Paris in a simple dress where she would lose three buttons yet there is this lore about losing three buttons which means that the young woman would get three wishes as there is a sense of beauty and wonderment that Varda would display as it is a tremendous gem from one of the great filmmakers that ever lived.
Presented by the fashion brand Miu Miu, Women’s Tales is a collection of short films made by women that in which the filmmakers use the clothes of Miu Miu to each tell a story of their own. Each film is set during a certain collection from that season from the fashion brand where a filmmaker is allowed to create a story through the clothes. There are 25 short films so far that all play into womanhood while wearing beautiful clothing.
I-V:
Powder Room (Zoe Cassavetes) is about a woman going into a powder room at a lavish hotel in London for some beauty rest as she sees other women going in and getting ready for whatever they’re about to do. It’s a three-minute short that doesn’t have much going for it but it does set the tone for what the rest of the series does though it’s not a promising start despite its minimalist tone.
Muta (Lucrecia Martel) is set on a yacht on the Amazon near Paraguay where eight women would be on the yacht wearing lavish clothing though their faces aren’t shown with a couple of them wearing masks. Featuring regular Martel actress Maria Alche, the six-minute short is a surreal one as it features an unseen men trying to get on the boat but fails as it is one of the best shorts of the series.
The Woman Dress (Giada Colagrande) revolves around a woman who enters a room where three women are preparing a ritual in creating a dress. The six-minutes short is a strange one in terms of its mixture of drama with a bit of horror though the latter is presented in a less gory manner than one would expect. It is a fascinating short that has Colagrande create something that has elements of surrealism but does a lot in emphasizing the creation of a dress.
It’s Getting Late (Massy Tadjedin) revolves around four women getting ready to finish their work to attend a concert by Zola Jesus. Starring Patricia Clarkson, Gemma Arterton, Rinko Kikuchi, and Aubrey Plaza, the short shows what these women do on a work day with Arterton being a stay-at-home mother, Clarkson a film editor, Kikuchi as a corporate executive, and Plaza as a blogger. The short has them taking off their work clothes and put on the Miu Miu outfit to watch Zola Jesus as it is an incredible short.
The Door (Ava Duvernay) is a stylish short that stars Gabrielle Union as a woman dealing with loneliness as she would meet three different women who would give her a night out. Featuring Adepero Oduye, Emayatzy Corinealdi, and singer Goapele Mohlabene as these admirers, the short has Duvernay showcase this sense of sisterhood among black women as the short also has Alfre Woodard as either a neighbor or Union’s mother who helps Union’s character as it is a phenomenal short.
