Imitation of Life
Friday, 13 December 2024, 20:00
Venue: (see Locations and Tickets for further details)
Programme category: Forest Row Film Society
Director: Douglas Sirk, USA 1959, 119 mins, 12
"Douglas Sirk’s melodrama holds a mirror to the hypocrisies of 1950s America" BFI
This timeless classic explores themes of race, identity and motherhood through the intertwined lives of two single mothers: Lora, a white aspiring actress; and Annie, her Black housekeeper. Lora's thirst for fame threatens her relationship with her daughter Suzie, while Annie is pushed aside by her light-skinned daughter, Sarah Jane, who chooses to pass as white. Staring Lana Turner and featuring a soul stirring cameo by Mahalia Jackson.
"Marketed as a glossy weepie but in fact an outstanding piece of social criticism that goes to the root of postwar American life" Observer