Customer Reviews

To Desire Differently

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Dr. Flitterman-Lewis has truly written a fabulous well-researched book about three very different French female filmmakers. Germaine Dulac films are often lost in today's film criticism because they were silent films. She was ahead of her time even without sound. The images itself are memorable. She focuses Marie Epstein's La Maternelle about motherhood, poverty, abandonment and life in the streets of France. La Maternelle was one of the first film using dialogue. It would have been more interesting to read about the live of these two women who are no longer around particularly why Marie Epstein never became a mother herself. Germaine's life is even more interesting for other reasons. Of course, the final French filmmaker is Agnes Varda and her film, Vagabond. While I loved all the films presented in her book, Varda speaks to us about why she directs and her motivations. It would have been complete with a detailed biography of Marie Epstein and Germaine Dulac. This information of their own lives would help us understand why they wrote and directed their films. But this book is strictly for film buffs and French enthusiasts.