Your Netflix Guide To The Best Women’s History Month Movies
March 02, 2020DMT Beauty#DMTBeautySpot #beauty
To be it, you must see it — which is why it’s vital for young girls everywhere to see smart, nuanced portrayals of women in film. Not every woman needs to be Brie Larson-as-Captain Marvel level of tough to be considered a “strong woman character.” Sure, the superheroines of the world are breaking barriers (and occasionally box office records) but they’re not the only ladies on camera worth celebrating. What we should get excited about are all kinds of movies where women lead their stories, have agency, and, per the Bechdel test, talk about something other than a guy.
Women’s History Month celebrates achievements of women, while also reminding the world that gender parity is the ultimate goal. In the film industry, women are making incredible strides, both in front of and behind the camera. (Even though many women are still unfairly shut out of the Best Director category at the Oscars.) Women filmmakers are using their platform to tell women’s stories, through narrative work — some of which is based on real-life stories of extraordinary women — as well as in documentaries.
Just as every woman has a unique perspective on the world, so do the films that really celebrate women. Are rom coms your speed? How about thought-provoking documentaries, or horror films where the women run towards the danger rather than away from it? What about a documentary on the leading ladies in pop, or one about women running for office in the often male-dominated field of American politics?
Thanks to Netflix, these films are easily available — which means you can celebrate Women’s History Month without leaving your sofa.
Here are just some women-celebrating movies to throw on your queue.
Miss Americana
(2020)
This documentary by Lana Wilson — who also made abortion-focused doc After Tiller — chronicles Taylor Swift’s political and feminist awakening after a challenging personal year.
Watch it on Netflix
Knock Down The House
(2019)
Documentarian Rachel Lears followed four women running for Congress — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Amy Vilela, Cori Bush and Paula Jean Swearengin — as they dealt with the highs and lows of American politics in the age of Trump.
Watch on Netflix
Homecoming
(2019)
This “film by Beyoncé” documents musical history in the making. The singer is the producer, director, and star of this concert documentary, which is focused on her groundbreaking 2018 performance at Coachella.
Watch on Netflix
Wine Country
(2019)
Amy Poehler directed this comedy, about a group of women who head to wine country to celebrate one of their friend’s 50th birthdays. It features some of your favorite comedians, like Maya Rudolph, Rachel Dratch, and Tina Fey.
Watch on Netflix
Someone Great
(2019)
Jennifer Kaytin Robinson’s follow-up to her MTV series Sweet/Vicious — a dramedy about two college campus vigilantes who take down students who commit sexual assault — tells the story of a woman (Gina Rodriguez) who just broke up with her longtime boyfriend (Lakeith Stanfield) in order to pursue her dream job in San Francisco. One last wild night in New York City with her best friends (DeWanda Wise and Brittany Snow) helps her find herself again.
Watch on Netflix
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before
(2018)
Based on Jenny Han’s novel of the same name, directed by Susan Johnson and written by Sofia Alvarez, To All The Boys is a romantic comedy about what happens when the love letters penned by dreamer Lara Jean (Lana Condor) get mailed to all the crushes she’s had over the years. Yes, there’s a love story — and who doesn’t swoon over Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo) — but ultimately it’s a movie about a young woman deciding to stop fantasizing and start going after what she really wants.
Watch on Netflix
Always Be My Maybe
(2018)
Nahnatchka Khan — aka the brilliant mind behind Don’t Trust the Bitch in Apartment 23 — directed this romantic comedy, in which Ali Wong plays an ambitious chef who falls for her less-than-ambitious childhood friend, played by Randall Park. If the sweet love story isn’t enough, there’s also Keanu Reeves playing Keanu Reeves to look forward to.
Watch on Netflix
Dumplin’
(2018)
Directed by Anne Fletcher and written by Kristin Hahn, this adaptation of Julie Murphy’s novel follows a teenager as she bucks the conventions of her local beauty pageant.
Watch on Netflix
Shirkers
(2018)
When Sandi Tan was a teenager, her film teacher ran off with the footage they had of Shirkers, an independent film they made in Singapore, never to be seen or heard from again. When his widow returned the film to Tan decades later, she made a documentary out of the experience using the old footage — and a new version of Shirkers was born.
Watch on Netflix
Bird Box
(2018)
Susanne Bier’s horror film imagines an apocalypse where humans live in fear of monsters who have the power to make them bring harm to themselves. The only way to avoid the monsters is to not look at them — which means navigating the world without sight. Sandra Bullock plays a mother forced to navigate this hellscape while protecting the children in her care.
Watch on Netflix
To The Bone
(2017)
Sharp Objects creator Marti Noxon based To the Bone on her own battle with eating disorders and is a thoughtful examination of an often misunderstood illness. It follows Ellen (Lily Collins), who has anorexia, as she enters an inpatient program and grapples with her future.
Watch on Netflix
Audrie & Daisy
(2016)
Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk’s documentary examines the sexual assault cases of Daisy Coleman and Audrie Pott, the latter of whom died by suicide following intense cyberbullying after reporting her rape. It’s a story about the dangers of social media, and the injustice young women still face when they report the crimes committed against them.
Watch on Netflix
What Happened, Miss Simone?
(2015)
This documentary fromLiz Garbus and Hal Tulchin explores the personal and professional life of singer Nina Simone.
Watch on Netflix
Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
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Kaitlin Reilly, Khareem Sudlow
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