'vagabond' meets 'thelma and louise' in this lyrical tale of two young women who meet by chance and resolve to test their boundaries wandering through '70s switzerland: hitch-hiking, panhandling, stealing and evading the traps of lecherous men. sweeping natural vistas give them a taste of freedom but ultimately there is no escape from the patriarchy. messidor, the name they give themselves for inquiring authority figures, was the month of harvest in the french revolutionary calendar. as an amazing piece of proto-feminist/lgbt cinema, this should be much better known

When left to defend themselves in a patriarchal society, women will have to resort to criminalized behavior in order to survive. We all fantasize about living outside of capitalism, but we see here why we subconsciously consent to it everyday. Trying to break from it completely will only lead to it crushing us back into submission. This is sort of like a origin story for a lesbian separatist group.

Girls just wanna... survive.

Strange and haunting, closer to something like Picnic at Hanging Rock in tone than your usual road movie/ crime films. There is a very clear sense of place here, all the more fascinating because the characters intentions and motivations become increasingly nebulous as the film goes on. It’s a beautifully judged film and one I think that’s going to haunt me for years

Limits of freedom painfully marked out. The blissful, cocooned stasis of road life, until the human world imposes itself. Sharing space with landscape, as significant and insignificant as each other.

Cut this by 30 minutes and it might be the feminist road movie classic the other Letterboxd reviewers here clearly want it to be. But as it is, the film becomes mind-numbingly repetitive—Tanner keeps showing us the same scene over and over without developing or varying it, and even if his goal was to show the tedium of a life lived off the grid, it's hard not to check out mentally somewhere around the dozenth iteration of "hitchhike, dodge male advances, ask for money/food, show gun, steal," etc.

Filled with breathtaking landscapes and moments of genuine human connection, Messidor tells the story of two women that decide to run away from their mundane lives with the hope of finding happiness in their freedom, only to face the effects of a capitalist world ruled by men. It’s abut as good as it gets for me had this not been about 20 minutes too long with how much emotion is poured into every frame and how authentic their relationship feels. It’s a very tragic film and a very important one for the world of feminist cinema that doesn’t get enough praise as it should (a perfect double feature with Thelma & Louise with how intertwined the stories and morals are)

Absolute freedom is too good to be true // Were the memories we made worth it in the end?

I avoided this for a while for the pettiest reason. Being a huge Ronaldo fan, the title reminded me of Messi winning the Ballon d'Or, an award I prefer going to Ronaldo. I'm glad I got over that hang-up because it's really good. Like Tanner's In the White City ('83), it's just weird enough to be a revelatory experience.

08.18.20

9:15pm EST

www.cinephobe.tv

Jeanne's got the sturdiest sandals ever made.

Picturesque Swiss countryside provides a beautiful background for this curious tale of two girls wandering around without a particular aim, which is a lot more entertaining and non-tedious than that makes it sound. The movie treats these two ladies pretty objectively which makes the viewer both repulsed by their nihilistic behavior and shameless begging as well as fascinated by their stubbornness and refusal to return to their boring old lives, even if that means sleeping in a chicken coop on an empty stomach. I could do without the ominous score though, which didn't really fit the movie really well.

Thoughtful, expansive, suggestive, essayistic road movie about freedom, friendship, society, and the law.
Also incidentally an exceptional travelogue of Switzerland around 1980.
Two hitchhiking young women slowly become addicted to rejecting their regular societal roles. Engrossing and essential.

Filled with breathtaking landscapes and moments of genuine human connection, Messidor tells the story of two women that decide to run away from their mundane lives with the hope of finding happiness in their freedom, only to face the effects of a capitalist world ruled by men. It’s abut as good as it gets for me had this not been about 20 minutes too long with how much emotion is poured into every frame and how authentic their relationship feels. It’s a very tragic film and a very important one for the world of feminist cinema that doesn’t get enough praise as it should (a perfect double feature with Thelma & Louise with how intertwined the stories and morals are)

Absolute freedom is too good to be true // Were the memories we made worth it in the end?

a film that lives out my deepest fantasy, except the dream soon turns to a nightmare. so horrifying to see the never ending concrete, the asphalt jungle among the trees.

i found all the men in this film to be predatory in nature, but some were inexplicably treated as angels (usually the conventionally attractive ones). possibly the male gaze, possibly just spontaneous characters.

overall, it's gorgeously shot. mixes 80s bresson's closeups with tarr's waist/head-level dolly. just lacks a little in the story department...which yes, isn't always a negative, but with a premise like this??! come on

I avoided this for a while for the pettiest reason. Being a huge Ronaldo fan, the title reminded me of Messi winning the Ballon d'Or, an award I prefer going to Ronaldo. I'm glad I got over that hang-up because it's really good. Like Tanner's In the White City ('83), it's just weird enough to be a revelatory experience.

11.05.20

check website for showtime

www.cinephobe.tv

It's like Céline and Julie meets Thelma and Louise.

08.28.20

3:30pm EST

www.cinephobe.tv

Quina xulada gràcies a Roman Gubern per la recomanació

08.18.20

9:15pm EST

www.cinephobe.tv

Limits of freedom painfully marked out. The blissful, cocooned stasis of road life, until the human world imposes itself. Sharing space with landscape, as significant and insignificant as each other.

None of us are truly free.