Movies

Cate Blanchett plays Lydia Tár, the first female chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, whose life collapses under the weight of her own abuses of power. A complex film that refuses to simplify its female protagonist.

Women in an isolated Mennonite community secretly debate whether to stay and fight or leave everything they know after years of assault. A rare film that takes women’s moral and political reasoning utterly seriously. Oscar winner for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Regina King portrays Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress and the first to run for a major party’s presidential nomination. An inspiring portrait of a fearless woman who ran knowing she couldn’t win — because someone had to be first.

Helen Mirren portrays Golda Meir during the Yom Kippur War — an aging, cancer-stricken Prime Minister making impossible decisions under immense pressure. A portrait of leadership, courage, and the burden of power borne by a woman who would not stand down.

Meryl Streep’s Oscar-winning portrayal of Margaret Thatcher — framed through Thatcher’s final years of dementia and grief. Whatever one thinks of her politics, the film raises profound questions about aging, legacy, identity loss, and the toll of a life in power.

The court of Queen Anne is a battleground for power between two women — Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz, and Emma Stone deliver Oscar-caliber performances in a savage dark comedy about female power, manipulation, and the price of influence.

Meryl Streep plays Katharine Graham, the Washington Post publisher who decides to defy the Nixon administration and publish the Pentagon Papers. A stirring portrait of a woman in her 50s who discovers her courage and grows into her power.

Four very different British women escape their dull lives by renting an Italian castle for a month. A gorgeous, gentle film about women’s friendship, marriage, self-discovery, and the transformative power of beauty and rest.

In late 18th-century France, a painter and her subject fall in love during the sittings. A luminous, sensual film about female gaze, desire, and the power of art to create and preserve love. One of the finest French films of recent years.