Born in Flames cont'd

Born in Flames

DIRECTOR: Lizzie Borden

USA, 1983, 80 Minute Running Time

Interview with Lizzie Borden in The Independent, November 1983: http://www.jennywoolworth.ch/deardiary/files/Lizzie_Borden_interview_TheIndependent.pdf

Review from frameline.org:

In her classic indie polemic on racism, sexism and socialism, director Lizzie Borden definitely has her own ax to wield — and grind. On the tenth anniversary of the United States’ Social Democratic War of Liberation, the government celebrates “the most peaceful revolution the world has known,” while the citizenry becomes increasingly angry and agitated. In this alternate America, government oppression and violence against women is rampant, and the feminist response is potent.
Embedded within the radical feminist underground, Born in Flames follows the activities of the Women’s Army, a powerful but loosely organized faction of female vigilantes and counterrevolutionaries, and two pirate radio programs trying to awaken the sisterhood and shake up the system. Three female reporters (including a young Kathryn Bigelow) for the government’s Socialist Youth Review newspaper play intelligent counterpoint to the antiestablishment activities, but when the outspoken Black leader of the Women’s Army dies in police custody, a united front emerges to take direct action and potentially dangerous measures.
A futuristic feminist drama shot 25 years ago in vérité documentary style, Born in Flames defies the borders of time and politics — here, the past is still very much the present, the revolution still the reality. An inspiration to director Jamie Babbit’s Itty Bitty Titty Committee (this year’s Closing Night film), Borden is the godmother of cinematic insurrection. And with eerily prescient pre-9/11 images of the World Trade Center bookending her film, she may just be the much needed prophet of our time. — JOANNE PARSONT

Review from Metro Times (by Greg Baise):

Born in Flames
An imagined post-punk, post-patriarchal world filled of kick-ass female revolutionaries

An early '80s landmark of indie and queer cinema directed by Detroit-born Lizzie Borden, Born in Flames presents a fragmented narrative of the struggle of a disparate group of revolutionary women in a not-too-distant future dystopia. Set in New York City 10 years after a radical, nonviolent political shift toward egalitarianism and social democracy, the film finds a formerly progressive society heading back to patriarchy. Borden begins by showing isolated voices of resistance through two rival underground radio stations, the punky Isabel of Radio Ragazza and the soulful Honey of Phoenix Radio. Meanwhile, out on the street, the Women's Army works to organize the community for direct action via labor protests, vigilante squads and guerrilla tactics. The assassination of the Women's Army's charismatic black lesbian leader (at the hands of a government agency) catalyzes previously alienated feminist factions into taking collective action. Notably, the enemy oppressor isn't framed as "flesh and blood," but rather "the system." Arms are used to sabotage the disinforming media and to ensure that these revolutionaries' message of struggle is heard.

Shot without a script and with a cast of, for the most part, non-actors (plus bit parts by pre-fame Kathryn Bigelow and Eric Bogosian), Borden's film weaves documentary, neorealist and satirical elements into its episodic story, creating a whole that's more energetic than the sum of its occasionally slow-moving, disjointed parts. A propulsive soundtrack featuring the Staple Singers, the Slits and the recurring title track by the Red Krayola contributes to the film's vibrancy. With its origins in the arty post-punk scene of early '80s downtown New York, Born in Flames displays an audacious creativity within its limited financial means, akin to other micro-budgeted films of the era such as Downtown 81, Smithereens and Liquid Sky. However, in contrast to those films' jaded detachment, Born in Flames ignites an explosive feminist critique of social issues that continues to resonate in the present day.