Water Children 2011
Distributed by Women Make Movies, 462 Broadway, New York, NY 10013; 212-925-0606
Produced by Frank van den Engel
Directed by Aliona van der Horst
DVD, color, 75 min.
College - General Adult
Women’s Studies, Gender Studies, Asian Studies, Art
Date Entered: 11/06/2012
Reviewed by Sarah B. Cornell, Portsmouth Public Library, Portsmouth, NHFilmmaker Aliona van der Horst has created an exceptionally beautiful record of a multimedia installation by the pianist and visual artist Tomoko Mukaiyama. The artist created a visual and musical exploration of the importance of menstruation and the capacity for motherhood in women's lives: a display of thousands of white silk dresses which evoked admiration, inspiration, and disbelief in its Japanese host village.
Water Children's dreamy atmosphere reflects the atmosphere of the installation itself, even the mystery and uncertainty with which many women view the subject matter. Mukaiyama collected comments from visitors to the installation and used them to inform her later interpretations of the Goldberg Variations. The interactivity of the installation is taken farther by many women who accepted the artist's invitation to take home a silk dress and use it as a menstrual pad.
: Van der Horst's film could stimulate discussion of fertility and definitions of womanhood in many academic settings. How important is it to have given birth? Is one a mother if the child did not live? How do different cultures honor lost children? How do different cultures treat menstruation, and the end of the childbearing years? How has film represented women's reproductive identities?
Recommended for collections strong in art, music, and gender studies.
Awards:
- Golden Calf, Best Dutch Documentary, Dutch Film Festival, 2011
- DOK Leipzig Honorary Mention, 2011