The Film, Antonia's Line

A few weeks ago, in my CMLT275 class, we watched a film called Antonia's Line by a Dutch director, writer, and feminist Marleen Gorris that portrayed several different themes such as feminine power, death, religion, sex, intimacy, and love. This film is also known as the "feminist fairy tale." I thought I would share this film in this blog because, in my opinion, it depicted many feminine power and ideas throughout the movie. One of the main characters, Antonia, comes out as a strong, bold and open-minded woman who returns to her Dutch village after many years with her daughter. Even though a man approached her because of her attractiveness and boldness without giving her a chance to get to know him, she declined and told them that she doesn't need a husband and his many sons to support her life. I thought this showed a strong feminine power because she directly told the man who proposed to her that she didn't need him to carry on her life. Eventually, they did get married because the man proved to her that he can make her happy. The film is called Antonia's Line because her daughter, granddaughter, and great-granddaughter each had their own distinct and unique "feminine power" that made them as strong as Antonia, which shows that power runs through her line. Whether it was their courage, intelligence, or a unique characteristic they had, each woman portrayed their bold feminine power throughout their life. I think it's odd and interesting that the femininist films we watch during our class always involves a lesbian relationship. In Antonia's Line, Antonia's daughter fell in love with her daughter's teacher so they eventually shared an intimate and sexual relationship. I remember talking in our Women Studie's discussion, that many people assume that feminists are lesbians. I dont think this is necessarily true, but I can't help but think about it sometimes when I watch feminist films like Antonia's Line. Overall, I really enjoyed this foreign film and it opened my eyes toward feminine power.