Synopsis: In 1953, free-spirited Berkeley graduate Katherine Watson accepts a position as a teacher at Wellesley College, a women-only school where she finds students who are torn between their thirst for intellectual freedom and the repressive mores of the early 1950s.
A Revolution Studios film, written by Larry Konner & Mark Rosenthal, directed by Mike Newell, starring Julia Roberts, Marcia Gay Harden, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, & Maggie Gyllenhaal
As much as I love books, I find that suitable movies communicate and educate audiences much more than a lecture or a tutorial ever could.
With an all-star cast like Julia Roberts, Marcia Gay Harden, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie and Gyllenhaal, the movie is not as inspiring as Dead Poets Society...
The movie is supposed to be about female students at the prestigious Wellesley College "who are torn between their thirst for intellectual freedom and the repressive mores of the early 1950s".
Seriously, I enjoyed the movie for the beautiful cast and costumes and I think my freshmen class of Chinese students were captivated by the mainstream US college culture...
They enjoyed the story and could relate their mothers' experiences with some of the characters' experiences and plights.
One of the best parts of the movie (for me) is when Marcia Gay Hayden chooses to get married and raise a family although Julia Roberts feels that she should pursue her postgraduate degree. Personally, I felt a bit disappointed when her loving fiance felt that her place is still in the home (this movie is set in the 1950s) but I thought that Hayden's role was that of a strong woman who feels that being a housewife is her worthy pursuit in life - not Julia Roberts' ultra feminist stance for intellectual pursuits.
In any case, I was left wondering why the book or movie is titled "Mona Lisa Smile" because other than the art history professor, I could not see any logical linkages between Mona Lisa and the women's experiences in the movie.
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