Encore Martha (2021)

Older sapphic women deserves their stories to be shown on screen

I have been excited about Gagaoolala as a platform since I discovered it in 2020 when it wasn't even really available internationally and you needed a local number. Since then, they have opened internationally and I keep saying I should get a VIP account, but I am a PhD student and time not something I have in enough quantity to justify the cost. Which is why I was very happy when I got reminded about the fact that Gaga is making part of his catalogue free to watch every week. Encore Martha was part of the free release for this week and I could sit down for the less than 30 min it takes to watch it.
I have been trying to watch more queer Taiwanese productions recently and I am always on the lookout for good sapphic short films so it truly felt like the stars had aligned when I heard about it.

Starting with the story itself and as stated in the summary, this story is about two older women which is rare enough to be mentioned. I do love stories about teenagers and young adults as much as the next person, as someone in their late 20s, I do like seeing myself represented on screen. But representation, especially when it comes to queer representation needs to show everyone, including older people, both so that everyone can see themselves represented on screen, but also so that younger people can see a potential for their future (I'd say that it is also important for straight people to see it, but let's be real, this is an original production from Gagaoolala, the vast vast vast majority of the viewers are going to be queer). By only having young queer adults on screen, it can be difficult to project yourself in the future. But having characters of a different generation can also enable different themes to be explored. The path to acceptance in our societies is still long, even here in Sweden where it is very normalised. It was even more so 30 years ago when the main characters in this short film left each other as 20-somethings young women because society and families were not as accepting.

This story is about reconnecting after what feels like a lifetime ago and asking yourself once more "What is it that I want? Am I allowed to want this?" The same questions and the same fear that plagued this relationship 30 years ago are back, but society has changed, the adult children of today are not the grandparents of yesterday. Also special mention to the fact that one of the two main characters is a butch lesbian, we stan.
In a way because it is so short (it is after all the format) and while it does answer enough question to feel satisfying, it still feels like something is missing, like something more is needed (when can we get a drama with older sapphic women with flashbacks and enough episodes to fully develop their story??). Still it manages to ask a lot of good questions on self-acceptance, what we want out of life, our relationship to our families.

On the production side, the cinematography, the editing, and the general directing is very good (as expected from that kind of productions from Taiwan) and the theme song is both nice to listen to and meaningful for the story. The actresses are furthermore very good and really sell the story, which is good as the format means their acting is essential to developing what cannot be developed in the script and story itself.

All in all, I am very glad I took that half an hour to watch Encore Martha and I would encourage you to do the same.

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A wonderful picture of the future

I fell for this movie hard and fast and I don't think I'll ever forget the way it's made me feel.
It is still all too rare to see queer women being portrayed in film and television and it is even rarer to see depictions of older queer people. Here, we got to see both. And not only that, but the story is undeniably a happy one.
Accompanied by a smooth swing soundtrack, we get to see a love story unfold that feels both like a trip down memory lane and a dream of the future. Everything from the lighting, the camera work, the music, to even the deliberately chosen 1:1 resolution, serves to conjure up a feeling of deep nostalgia which is directly juxtaposed by the film's message of looking forwards, towards the future and towards happiness.
I could honestly spend hours picking apart every detail about this movie but then this review would be several thousand words long and probably absolutely incoherent.
So instead I am just going to say thank you. Thank you to everyone who played a part in creating this movie. Thank you for giving me the chance to dream about what my life could be life decades from now. About how I could be allowed to grow older and happier every year. It means the world to me.
To everyone reading this review I will say this: go watch this film, go watch it right now, trust me you won't regret it.

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