Traps is seen here in its U.S. festival premiere. Director Pauline Chan has set the film in her native Vietnam against the backdrop of colonial rule. Exploring the interior spaces of all her characters, Chan is especially interested in the female protagonist's voyage to self and strength. The Last Days of Chez Nous looks at the gendered muddles in which we find our houses, both literal and psychic. The hope of autonomy, the need for voice, the desire to be seen, and the necessity of knowing inform these films that are presented more as starting places for reflection about gender than prescriptions about politics or behavior.
Films reflect adult concerns.
Sara is a traditional young housewife, but from the opening shot we also sense her underlying strength and will. For the next three years she works in secret to repay the shady loan that, unbeknownst to Hessam, is responsible for saving his life. At the same time, the larger picture continually reveals what people do to each other while doing things for each other. Each year, thousand of girls apply to enter the male-run Takarazuka Music School. The third in a trilogy of films on Asia by 20th Century Vixen, Dream Girls offers a compelling insight into gender and sexual identity and the contradictions experienced by Japanese women today.