Skirt Day - Jean-Paul Lilienfeld (2009)

La journée de la jupe (2009)

« Une jupe, ce n'est qu'un bout de tissu, mais qu'elle soit courte ou qu'elle soit longue, ce symbole peut nous aider à gagner une bataille contre l'obscurantisme, et même contre ce qu'il convient d'appeler, la haine des femmes. Cette jupe, c'est l'anti-niqab, c'est l'anti-burqa... » - Isabelle Adjani

"A skirt, it is just a piece of fabric. But be it long or short, this symbol can help us win a battle against obscurantism, and even against what is generally known as misogyny. This skirt, it is anti-niqab, anti-burqa..." - Isabelle Adjani (lead actress).

This film is politically incorrect and is meant to provoke  the audience into taking extreme points of view, since it says things that seem outright racist or Islamophobic. However, as the plot twists and turns, with surprises calculated to heighten the melodrama, it becomes clear that it is a critique of what many people think ails the liberal, multiculturalist vision of modern society. 

The leading lady is named Madame Bergerac, evoking the legendary Cyrano. The story starts with a rehearsal of 'Bourgeois Gentleman' by Moliere. So the evocation of La Douce France is deliberately provocative from the beginning, until verbal threats of rape lead the spectator into the "Real France", supposedly.

That said, the ideology of the story does seem simplistic, where stereotype characters abound. So it becomes very easy to brush it off as a right-wing point of view. The trouble is that many liberals do confess that it becomes rather difficult to deal with situations in which you become so careful about not sounding racist in your judgement that you end up not criticizing something illiberal at all.

Two Days in Paris - Julie Delpy (2007)

If films like Before Sunrise and Before Sunset are far from your idea of a romantic comedy, then this one is recommended. It takes a great deal of inspiration from Woody Allen and there's a bit of Godard, too, but then adds some 21st century originality to this combination of neurosis and wit. There is enough crudeness and political incorrectness in the film to make it funny and savoury-sweet in a very European way. Interestingly, Julie Delpy did not just act in, but was a co-writer of Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, so this film seems her way of getting the American films out of her system.

Stephen Holden's review from the NY Times

Something Different (O něčem jiném) - Věra Chytilová

For those who are familiar with 'Daisies' - the more famous film from the Czech director Věra Chytilová, this is an earlier and more accessible film. It juxtaposes two women with very different lives - one is an international gymnast and the other is a simple housewife. Both grapple with existential questions.

It would have been very easy to fall into the trap of making yet another polemical feminist film, but Chytilova tackles the subject brilliantly. A must watch for anyone who thinks a film with a political message cannot be fun to watch. The black and white images are beautiful and the performances lovely. Here is the beginning of the film to whet your appetite -

More about the film - http://www.kinoeye.org/02/08/cieslar08.php