In Breien's Wives, three women walk out of their domestic lives for a few wild, irreverent days, and she kept filming the same three actresses for two more decades, catching up with them a decade later in a Malmö hotel and again in the '90s. Metrograph is running the whole trilogy on one day, starting with a Q&A by film historian Jane Gaines. It is a rare chance to binge a feminist landmark that almost never screens in New York.
What to expect
The three films play in sequence in the same afternoon and evening at Metrograph, each its own screening. Wives opens with a conversation led by Jane Gaines, and the sequels follow. The films are in Norwegian with English subtitles, shown in DCP restorations.
Good to know
- Each film has its own screening, so you can see one or all three.
- The trilogy uses the same three lead actresses across all films.
- Metrograph is at 7 Ludlow Street, near the F at East Broadway.
- The restorations come from the National Library of Norway.
- Grab food at the Commissary between films.
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Common questions
Do I need to see the films in order?
It helps, since the sequels revisit the same characters years later, but each stands on its own.
Who is Jane Gaines?
The founder of Columbia University's Women Film Pioneers Project; she leads the Q&A with the first film.
