Tell It Like a Woman

This seven-segment anthology film, shot in the U.S., Italy, India, and Japan, has few common threads other than being helmed by a female director and showcasing an inspirational tale about a woman. Some of these stories are based on actual people, while some are totally fictional. The picture is produced by the We Do It Together organization which "aims to use the power of cinema and media to stir and shake human hearts and minds." Unfortunately, if that's the organization's "aim," they miss the mark five times out of seven.

Almost all anthology films are uneven, but this is one that fails to achieve even that middling description. Only two of the episodes, A Week In My Life directed by Mipo Oh, and Unspoken directed by Maria Sole Tognazzi, fully succeed in what they set out to do. A Week In My Life tracks the mundane yet high-stress life of a working single mother of two, and the small joys that make her efforts and sacrifices worthwhile. Unspoken, about a veterinarian juggling work and family commitments who treats a wounded dog and senses that the woman who brought the pet in for treatment might be the one who needs the real help, is the type of film I could see being nominated for the Best Live-Action Short Oscar. The rest barely qualify as "media" let alone "cinema." We Do It Together has an impressive advisory board of major power players, but if they're serious about their stated mission, this is a really inauspicious calling card.