Daily Movie Rec 6/30/2023

Variety (1983)

"I'm telling you about my life."

Directed by: Bette Gordon

Cinematography by: Tom DiCillo & John Foster

Country: United States/West Germany/United Kingdom

Genre: Drama

Plot:

A young down-on-her-luck woman working at a porno theater ticket booth develops an obsession with a shady, well-off older patron.

Reasons to watch:

Scrappy and incredibly strange, Variety is a seminal work from Bette Gordon, an undervalued contributor to the development of American independent cinema before its golden period took off in the late 80s (lasting until the early 2000s? IDK, there's no real consensus on that end). Her films brought a much-needed feminine perspective on the intricacies and nuances of female sexuality to the screen while simultaneously seeking to empower women to take up space in a world dominated by men - promoting a refusal to reduce or restrict oneself, no matter the setting. While Variety is a bit rough around the edges on the technical side, its choice to put a woman in the role of a transgressive voyeur, a role almost entirely reserved for men, generates a captivating subversion of the male gaze, which helped to establish the female gaze in turn.

Where to watch:

The Criterion Channel/Kanopy