I recently mentioned the film The Village, and yesterday I watched the most exquisite scenes.
What impressed me most were the shots of the lead actress, and how she acted, perfectly imitating 19th-century mannerisms: how American women used to behave. I kept telling myself, awestruck, that this woman was absolutely beautiful, and I imagined what it would be like to marry such a creature and constantly gaze upon her! The story is simply a fairy tale, but what’s worthwhile is that only white people appear in the film, and the director’s artistic virtuosity is evident in quite a few shots.
In the end, I was surprised that the director—an Indian man!—was also the producer and writer of that 2004 film. It’s true that one of my two favourite films for the sacred words, P&P (2005) and S&S (1995), both based on Jane Austen novels, was also filmed in this century. But both were filmed in England. As for LOTR, it was filmed in New Zealand.
Aside from The Village, written, produced, and directed by an Indian man, is there an American film from this century that stars a young woman whose mannerisms overwhelmingly inspire a man to marry someone like her, but filmed by a white man? It’s not about beautiful women appearing on the big screen. It’s about any movie inspiring a white man to marry someone like that heavenly creature.
Does such 21st century American film exist…?