I have watched a movie “Little Women” directed by Greta Celeste Gerwig. “Little Women” is also a semi-autobiographical novel of the author Louisa May Alcott and is succeeded by “Little Women Married, or Good Wives”, “Little Men” and “Jo’s Boys”. The movie is based on “Little Women” and “Little Women Married, or Good Wives”. It is a story for people who want to get in touch with delicate emotions of ‘little women’ (not girls!). The story is mainly from Massachusetts of late 19th century, but emotions of little women are nonetheless timelessly vivid. Socio-politically it was an age of the civil war, and slavery was a matter, as well as discriminations against women. Literary-historically it is a story from Concord, and the place is also famous for Henry David Thoreau’s residence. I visited Walden pond, which is a stage of “Walden; or, Life in the Woods” and am familiar with the nature of the district. You may also know an appearance of this novel in Paul Auster’s “Ghosts”. The little women are personalized in each and their minds are all free and independent, which attract the observers’ minds. Definitely it is a story for independent women. The organization of the movie is a bit complicating because of two lines of episodes in different times are alternately appearing, but it is not so difficult to trace it and many classical techniques for movies are utilized such as reflections, repetitions and symmetry of shots that are inspired by pictures of the same age. The story is sincerely told from the viewpoint of third party. There is not so much for silently shown matters and what are not described.
From the viewpoint of structuralism it obeys a classical architecture of movies. From the viewpoint of post-structuralism or postmodernism there is not so much to say. Of course this is a movie for feminists.
Overall, the movie is a good example of classical type movies.
