July 2, His & Hers

In general, I am a bigger fan of documentaries than of traditional Hollywood movies, so my reaction to His & Hers may be a little biased. The subject matter tends to be treated more sensitively and creatively in documentaries instead of relying on cheap gimmicks and sensational footage to engage an audience. His & Hers was no exception and only added to the queue of movies I wish I could have been involved in making.

I wasn’t expecting the entire movie to change heroines about every 2 minutes, but the cross section of Irish women from each stage of life was an incredibly insightful technique to explore the intricacies of a culture, not limiting views to any one specific perspective. The range of anecdotes from the women was also carefully selected to illustrate all kinds of relationships between men and women. Young women inspired feelings of fluttery excitement and insecurities with their potential boyfriends. Small children reminded us of the friendship and affection so special and unique to relationships with our fathers. The film even had moments of heartbreaking tenderness when we were let into the home and the heart of an elderly woman who had lost her husband of many years and would still find herself rolling over to an empty half of the bed at nights.

Visually, the cinematography was brilliant. Every scene was framed with calculated and striking structure. I also appreciated that each frame included an actual frame- whether it was from a windowpane, a door jam, cabinet or bookshelves, picture or mirror frames. The shots captured life from the view of these women: what their bedrooms looked like, where their laundry hung in the backyard, the kitchens that served as backdrops for the meals they shared with the most important people in their lives. There was no narration, and no inserted text; the film literally let the subjects guide the story (or stories, rather). My one disadvantage watching the film was from a slight cultural barrier, a speed bump maybe, that made certain humor difficult to understand. Nearly the entire audience laughed when one woman was explaining how she helps her husband on their farm whenever he needs her. She stands in the “gaps” when he herds cattle, and the whole theater (save for the two rows of Americans in the back) erupted into laughter when she mused that “no matter what gap you stand in, its never the right gap.” Its possible I’m just slow, or don’t have enough (or any) experience being married, but I got the feeling that I was missing something.

Lost humor aside, I think my favorite part of the movie was the fact that I didn’t grow up in Ireland—I had no idea where the towns were that these women grew up in, their homes did not spark familiarity with the homes I grew up in— and yet I still felt like I could identify with, or at least empathize with, nearly every character. I think this speaks to the universality of the film and the themes they were trying to explore. I noticed the majority of the theater was populated by females, in fact only one boy from our trip saw the movie, and I would be interested to hear how men related to the stories or if they were engaged at all. I have a suspicion though, that just by the nature of the film finding these women relatable would not be difficult. It might be a lack of interest in the subject matter that keeps men at a wary distance. However, I noticed conversation about His & Hers arising several times amongst the group the following days in downtime on drowsying bus rides and in afternoon stints at local beer gardens. And to me, if the movie is still making us talk about it afterward, hasn’t it done its job? (645 words)