Index

Introduction Being a woman in the 19th century Comparison of the two movies Memorable Moment Plot Conclusion Rating

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Introduction

lately, I and @lezra have spent some time looking at movies, and the ones that I am about to talk about today were suggested by her.
They are both based on the book "Little Women", by Louisa May Alcott.
Both movies reinterpret the story with two slightly different views, the first one from 1994 takes a more classical approach and is more tender and similar to the atmosphere of the book, while the second one from 2019 is more wild and modern. Let's go through some of the main themes of the two movies and at the end, I will let you know which one I liked most (a little spoiler below 😂).

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Being a woman in the 19th century

Although some advancements were made in women's rights during this time period, the overall condition of women was marked by significant inequality and limited opportunities.
For most of the women, the realization in life was connected to getting married and to giving birth to a child, and the ones that didn't were looked upon with suspicion and pity. Also in the March family, the younger sister Amy and the oldest Meg are focused on finding a husband as their primary objective, while Jo, who tries to fulfill her dreams, is looked upon as the "weird" one.

What is nice to see in both movies is that although this was a general belief, in the March family, Marmee, which is the mother of the 4 sisters has a much more liberal view... in a lot of moments she encourages Jo to fulfill her dream, and does not say anything to her for the fact that she doesn't want to get engaged or married, which may seem like a normal thing now, but was not at all at the time (aunt March is always complaining about the girl and her poor commitment to finding a husband).
Moreover, even if most marriages were done for convenience, trying to find a healthy husband that could take care of you (of course the prettier you were the easier it was), when Meg, who was supposed to marry someone rich that could have helped her take care of the family (like it was expected from the older sister), falls in love with a poor educator and decides to marry him, Marmee encourages her decision.
Another critical aspect of the life of women in that period was the limited access they had to education. This was discouraged by society since for them it was "useless" to go to school and learn a profession since their "normal destiny" was to stay at home and raise the kids. Most of the women of that period were illiterate or had very basic literacy skills, which decreased, even more, their possibilities in society.

In the workplace, women were discriminated against and were paid far less than men for doing the same work. But despite all of this, there are extraordinary women that fought against the status quo in order to follow their dream and obtain more freedom, like Jo herself, which in order to become a writer is not scared to leave her home and does not refuse to get married, at least not until she is able to be recognized as a writer.

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Comparison of the two movies

I will start saying that both movies are good, but I liked more the first one from 1994. This is due to different reasons:

• I found it more "true". The representation of the environment is more nostalgic and traditional in the 1994 version, which I really appreciated. This of course is just a matter of personal taste since both movies are excellent and the visual style is good in both, but the 2019 one has a more modern one which didn't convince me totally;

1994 edition

2019 edition

• The performances of the key actors, in my opinion, are more convincing, going from the little sister Amy, played by a young Kristen Dunst, which is far better than the version of Florence Puch (also because she was clearly too grown up to play that role), to Christian Bale's Laurie, which I found funnier and more consistent through the movie;

1994 edition

2019 edition

• I didn't like the fact that in the 2019 movie, at the end Jo seems to regret her choice of not giving them a chance to Laurie, and seems so jealous when she looks at him with her younger sister. I have not read the book, so I don't know what is the canonic version, but from how the two characters are described, it seems clear from the beginning that Laurie sees Jo much more as a possible partner than she ever does, and also that she is not so interested into that "kind" of things. So I liked the version of the first movie when, she is of course shocked to learn that the two are going to marry, but is happy for them and has no second thoughts, while Laurie is clearly still in love with her (which is more coherent with his character), which is not so clear in the second movie.

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Memorable moment

My memorable moment of the movie is the first time that Laurie joins the Theatrical Society, the small club that the sister use to put in play the scripts of Jo. Also in this case I found more entertaining the scene in the 1994 edition, first of all for the funny make up that Jo is wearing and also for the way Christian Bale decides to play this part and the speech he gives to convince the members to let him enter the club. Much more convincing for me than Timothée Chalamet.

1994 edition

2019 edition

Plot

When Mr. March is compelled to serve in the American War of Secession in 1861, he leaves his family in the care of his wife Marmee, a capable and dedicated mother to her four daughters, Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy. They share a close bond despite having quite different personalities. They reside in a charming cottage near Concord, Massachusetts, and spend their free time caring for the home, reading, and embroidering. Amy is flirty and passionate about sketching, while Meg, the oldest, dreams of having a lovely family. Beth is in poor health, but gifted at the piano and Jo, who is strong and independent, wants to be a writer.

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Conclusion

After reading the review I think it is clear that I liked more the first version of the movie (although I think that there is an even earlier one from 1949). But both movies are nice and enjoyable, and depending on your tastes you might like better one version or the other, so better look at them both.

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Rating

My personal vote is:

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8.5/10 for the 1994 one

8.0/10 for the 2019 one

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