Page - 130 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 04/02

Review: 71st Locarno Film Festival | 129www.jrfm.eu 2018, 4/2, 127–131 ry begins. But paradise is threatened when Elias tells her that his father wants to take him to Australia to give him a better chance in life. Migration always means that people are left behind. And when somebody is left alone, even the most beautiful landscape is no longer paradise. A number of the films in the competition accompany young women in their search for identity, for a space opposite men, parents, and groups. Diane (Kent Jones, US 2018), by contrast, is the portrait of an aging woman (Mary Kay Place). The film was awarded a special mention by the Ecumenical Jury. In a plot that spans several years, Diane is shown as she deals with her life. She reviews her relationships, interacts with her son, who is first an alcoholic and then a Chris- tian fundamentalist. She accompanies a cousin in her last phase of her life and is involved in charity work in a soup kitchen. Between her encounters, Diane drives through the winter landscape of Massachusetts, a image of New England different from one we might know. In the winter of her life, Diane discovers new facets of her personality. Glimpses of transcendence appear. FEMALE BODIES CONTROLLED BY RELIGION #Female Pleasure (Barbara Miller, CH 2018) accompanies five women from five major religious traditions. The director shows their struggle for a self-de- termined sexuality and for the equal and respectful coexistence of men and women. The film portrays the lives of Deborah Feldman, Leyla Hussein, Rokude- nashiko, Doris Wagner, and Vithika Yadav and their commitment to enlighten- ment and liberation in a hypersexualized, secular world. One of the women, Doris Wagner, lived for a long time in the fundamen- talist Catholic community “Das Werk”, where she was abused by a priest. While this story is not representative of the Catholic Church, it shows the fatal con- sequences of abuse of power and disregard for female identity in a religious community. The documentary by Miller, which was shown in the Semaine de la critique and won an award in this section of the festival, claims to portray ma- jor religious traditions and their tendency to oppress the female body. It does not succeed equally well for all five women and traditions. Limiting the repre- sentation of Islam to genital mutilation in Africa is a strong reduction of a rich tradition. The portrait of the Japanese Rokudenashiko is not really consistent with Buddhism or Shinto. Nevertheless, the basic message of the film is strong. Miller shows that changes in issues such as sexism and abuse are only possible when women and men work together to find new forms of cooperation.