LW Recommends

LW Recommends

FILM

Lee

This gem of a film moves from young people lounging in the sun in South of France to hard to watch horrors of Nazi concentration camps. It follows the life of an extraordinary model and photographer Lee Miller, based on the biography The Lives of Lee Miller, written by her son. Growing up he had been quite unaware of the role of his mother during World War II.

Kate Winslet plays the main role and was personally involved in the casting, contacting many well-known actors, including Mario Cotillard, Jude Law, Andrea Riseborough and Josh O’Connor. The cinematographer Ellen Kuras made her directorial debut.

There was difficulty in gaining funding and at one point, pre-production, Kate Winslet personally covered the staff wages. She has commented subsequently that male investors did not see the merit in the content of the film or why Lee Millar was a person of interest.

You can see a short documentary with clips on You Tube which gives a great overview here:

Lee Miller: The True Story | Lee | Sky Original

If you are interested to see more of Lee Millar’s work, you can visit her house in Sussex which is now open to the public. Lee Miller Archives | Conserving the legacy of Lee Miller, Roland Penrose and their contemporaries.

Widow Cliquot

La Grande Dame of Champagne is of course Veuve (widow) Cliquot, who inherited substantial business interests on the unexpectedly early death of her husband, leaving her a widow at 27. Against all advice she retains the vineyard and plans to expand its produce, particularly the champagne. This is where Madame Cliquot excelled by introducing new methods producing the famous drink that we all recognise today.

Its beautifully filmed but concentrates on exploring some of the differences in leadership between women and men perhaps at the expense of the rest of the story. Unsurprisingly, there are plenty of reviews using wine terminology to appraise the film, including Phil Hoad in the Guardian: “It’s not quite the full grand cru period drama from the Merchant Ivory vintage, but rather a semi-sparkling biopic.”

General release in cinemas

PODCASTS

Little Women

Louise May Alcott had no interest in writing this book for teenage girls but, as she made her income by writing, she was persuaded by her publisher to produce it. He had spotted that there were plenty of books aimed at teenage boys but none in existence for girls. It was an instant, phenomenal success and made her fortune.

Nearly everyone has read the book or seen one of the film adaptations but this podcast reflects on the legacy of the book and the extent to which it reflects the author’s own life.

In Our Time - Little Women - BBC Sounds

Women’s hour

The Women’s Equality Party plans to disband in order to campaign for equality in a different way.

It lists its main achievements as convincing more women to come into politics, success in challenging the system (and MPs who allegedly involved in sexual harassment against women), changing the dialogue in respect of universal childcare and the way politicians and society respond to women’s concerns. It was also the first UK political party to be led by a woman of colour.

However, for a wide range of reasons the leader of the party considers a different approach is required. This is the result, of course, partly due to financial challenges but also a reflection of the struggle for media space and attention. For sure, they plan to continue activism in other forms.

To hear more about this item listen at circa 2.30 mins to 15.40 mins Woman's Hour - Is the Women's Equality Party disbanding? Anna Maxwell Martin, Sexual Assault Referral Centres - BBC Sounds

BOOKS

New Methods for Women: A Manifesto for Independence

The author, Sharmadean Reid MBE, is a successful entrepreneur and shares some of her personal discoveries as a young professional. This is an incredibly readable book and is intended for others to consider new methods for lifting yourself up and excelling. The chapters cover relationships, diet, finding purpose at work and in life, and tips on how to build a community.

I loved all the quotes from such a wide range of feminist works. Sharmadean conceived of her own book while reading Viriginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own and even references The Book of the City of Ladies written in the early 15th century by Christine de Pizan! The fabulous reference section would make a good basis for approaching feminist writings!