Wanda (1970)

Film: Wanda

Director: Barbara Loden

Country: USA

Released: September 1970

Runtime: 103 minutes

Genre: Indie Film

Studio: Foundation for Filmmakers

Influenced: Chantal Akerman, Kelly Reichardt, Andrea Arnold, Courtney Hunt, Greta Gerwig

Barbara Loden was a hillbilly's daughter, often dubbed the "female John Cassavetes", and she conceived her indie classic Wanda from a real-life story that she read in a newspaper. It was about a woman who thanked a judge for sentencing her to jail, as she felt incapable of taking care of herself in the world. Intrigued by this idea, Loden wrote the script for Wanda, her only directorial effort, over a six-week period, further drawing from her own experiences of feeling lost and directionless. The film was independently funded, with a small crew, and shot in a vérité style, giving it an authentic, gritty look. Horizon Pictures, the film company owned by Loden's husband Elia Kazan, backed the film, and this involvement was crucial in securing the necessary resources and support.

Wanda starts with a stressful opening scene – crying child, noisy work trucks outside the house – as the titular character (played by Loden) awakes on the sofa in her sister's house after fleeing from her husband & children. Then there's a stunning shot of Wanda walking all dressed in white against the black industrial background of the coalfields of Pennsylvania. Wanda Goronski is a woman who seems barely present in her own life. In the early courthouse scene, she loses custody of her children, showing little emotion over these profound losses. Drifting aimlessly, Wanda becomes involved with a petty criminal named Norman Dennis (played by Michael Higgins). 

She turns into his accomplice, trailing along his criminal escapades without protest, and seeming to derive some form of belonging and purpose from this association. Loden's film takes a startlingly objective stance on Wanda's life, never overtly judging or attempting to "save" her, a key element of its feminist outlook. The depiction of Wanda's life is brutally honest, showing her constant submission and resignation to her circumstances. The narrative culminates in a botched bank robbery and Norman's death, after which Wanda simply moves on, drifting into her uncertain future. Wanda was one of the few American films at the time to be written, directed and starred in by a woman, making it a landmark in feminist cinema. 

Moreover, the character of Wanda subverted typical female characterisations on screen, as she was neither a heroine nor a victim. The cinema vérité style of the film, achieved through 16mm shooting and largely improvised dialogues, lends a realistic touch to the narrative, reinforcing its themes of isolation and aimlessness. Wanda's legacy has grown over time; it was largely forgotten until the late 2000s when it started to receive renewed attention. It has since been praised for its stark and empathetic depiction of a type of female experience that had rarely been portrayed before in American cinema. Barbara Loden's bold vision in creating the film has also at last been recognised, and she is now widely celebrated as a pioneering female filmmaker.