I've (Pam) been having a hard time enjoying movies lately because I've learned about the Bechdel Test. A seemingly simple enough test to pass (does the movie have a conversation between two named female characters about something other than guys?) turns out to be remarkably difficult for Hollywood. Most movies fail miserably, and even those that pass, might just barely. A movie like Chasing Papi -a movie that features three scantily clad women feuding over a man for the first 75 minutes - technically passes because the last five minutes shows them talking to each other 6 months later about how great their lives are with him out of the picture, but we can hardly call this an empowering film. I found the test actually rather hard to apply to How to Make an American Quilt. Certainly a woman-centered film with a feminist perspective, but even with eight strong women characters, was there ever a conversation that wasn't, ultimately, about men?
I believe this was my fourth viewing of this 1995 feature. Our Winona plays Finn, a recently engaged young woman who is working on finishing her Master's thesis. She spends the summer with her grandmother (Ellen Burstyn), and great aunt (Anne Bancroft) in order to complete the project without the distraction of her cute-as-a-bug fiance, Sam. The other women in her grandmother's quilting bee, Anna (Maya Angelou); Marianna (Alfre Woodard); Sophia (Lois Smith); Em (Jean Simmons); and Constance (Kate Nelligan) share their personal stories of love, loss, rejection, and redemption while they create a quilt. I always liked this movie. Our Winona gives a strong performance, as do the other actors, in this lovely story. And I think perhaps it ultimately does pass the Bechdel test because Anna's story, while including male characters, is really about the love for her daughter. Let's let this one slide.
James adds: I enjoyed rewatching the film, the characters are strong and interesting, the cinematography is lush. It includes frequent flashbacks between characters in late middle-age and their youth. As with other films that do this, I gave up "following" the film pretty early on, and treated it more as a dream -- an enjoyable dream that carries the viewer back and forth across decades.
Since learning about the Bechdel test, it has certainly influenced how I view and enjoy films, such as the Chasing Papi mentioned above. Honestly, though, I did not think to apply it to this film until Pam mentioned it at the end. I believe most people would see this as a "chick flick," making it all the more interesting to realize how much time these terrific women spend talking about men.
A strong performance by Our Noni.
Final Verdict: Four coquet balls.
