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Echo 3, a military thriller
Echo 3 is an overlong, drawn out military thriller about a woman captured by rebels in Colombia and the efforts of her husband and brother to get her back. Like Helen of Troy, she was worth starting a war for.
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Language Lessons, human connection via video
Language Lessons is a two-hander with Natalie Morales and Mark Duplass as strangers involved in long distance Spanish lessons. He’s a student in California, she’s the teacher in Costa Rica. Their conversations lead to a friendship.
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Dive (La caída) tells a story of abuse in the sports world
Dive (La caída) tells a story of a swim coach who takes advantage of the young girls striving to reach the Olympics under his care. The story is set in Mexico, but represents a world-wide issue for young female athletes. Karla Souza, from How to Get Away with Murder, stars and produced.
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Daughter from Another Mother, S3, the best and final season
Daughter From Another Mother (Madre Solo hay Dos) brought its themes and messages to a strong conclusion in season 3. This charming and funny melodrama from Mexico ended with everyone in a good place and smiles all around.
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Smiley, an LGBTQ+ positive series from Spain
Smiley is a light-hearted comedy about the romantic entanglements of a group of friends in Barcelona, Spain. The smiley face emoji plays a significant part in the storyline, hence the title. A full range of LGBTQ+ characters fill the series with plenty of positive queer vibes.
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Christmas with You, feel good holiday music and romance
Christmas with You is a touching, feel good story about a pop star and one of her biggest fans as they connect around music and the holidays. The cast is mainly Latinix and Black. Gabriela Tagliavini directed.
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Bantú Mama, a quiet story of connections
Bantú Mama, is a quiet and largely visual story about identity, the longing for roots, and the deep connections between people and places. It’s in the running for best international feature film entry from the Dominican Republic for the upcoming Oscars. There are some spoilers ahead.
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Stars at Noon, new film from director Claire Denis
Stars at Noon grabbed my immediate attention because it was directed by Claire Denis. It stars Margaret Qualley, who was so wonderful in Maid. I went into it expecting something good. I’m sorry to report it was disappointing.
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Jaula (The Chalk Line) brings Spanish suspense and horror
Jaula is a Spanish film available on Netflix under the title The Chalk Line. It stars Elena Anaya, who has been in several English language shows in small parts. Here she’s the lead in a film that can’t decide if it’s a mystery, a horror movie, or a psychological thriller.
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The Time It Takes (El tiempo que te doy), a series of shorts
The Time It Takes (El tiempo que te doy) takes a different approach to thinking about love, loss, and grief. The Spanish series of 10 shorts takes us from the beginning to the end of a relationship (or is it the end?).
Reviews of movies and TV focused on women