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5.7/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.7/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Daring Daughters remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Look, if you have a soft spot for 1930s dramas where people talk in very specific, clipped ways, you will probably dig Daring Daughters. It is not going to change your life or win any awards, but it has this nervous energy that kept me watching. If you hate movies that feel like a stage play stuck in a studio, stay far, far away.
The whole thing centers on this classic 'big city versus naive country girl' trope. It is exhausting, but there is something about the way the characters constantly bump into each other that feels oddly honest for a movie from this era. 🏢
There is this one scene where a guy enters a room and for about ten seconds, nobody says a word. He just stands there looking at a lamp. I have no idea if that was intentional or if he just forgot his line, but it felt weirdly real.
The pacing is all over the place. Sometimes it feels like a race, and then suddenly we are stuck in a living room for five minutes watching someone drink tea. It’s definitely not as sharp as Man with a Movie Camera, which is basically an entirely different species of film.
It made me think a bit about A Woman Who Sinned, mostly because both movies seem obsessed with the idea that the city is going to eat you alive if you blink. It is all very dramatic, but in that charming, low-stakes way.
I caught myself checking my phone, then looking back up and feeling like I hadn't missed a single thing. The movie repeats itself a lot, which is fine, I guess. It is like a conversation where the person just won't stop talking about the same three problems.
It’s not a masterpiece. But hey, it is not a disaster either. Sometimes that is exactly what you need on a Tuesday night. 🎞️