Wanda is an independent 1970 feature film, written and directed by Barbara Loden, who also starred in the title role. Set in the anthracite coal region of eastern Pennsylvania, the film focuses on a lone female protagonist with limited options for a better life. It was a rarity in 1970s filmmaking, featuring a woman's existential crisis, as written and directed by a woman.
Wanda Goronski, an unhappy housewife, stays on her sister's couch after leaving her husband. Walking across a field of coal and hitching a ride, she shows up to a court divorce hearing late, she relinquishes her rights to her children and grants her husband a divorce.
Unable to find work in a sewing factory, Wanda runs away with a man with whom she had a one night stand, only for him to abandon her at an ice cream stand. With rapidly dwindling funds, Wanda takes a nap in a movie theater, where she is robbed in her sleep. Going to a bar to use the restroom, Wanda becomes infatuated with a man she thinks to be the bartender. The man, Norman Dennis, is a bank robber in the process of robbing the bar. Unable to rid himself of Wanda, Dennis takes her on the run with him. Even after learning about the details of Norman's lifestyle, Wanda decides to stay with Norman who she calls "Mr. Dennis.
Clasificación [ CM DVD 00704] Disponible en DVD, 4 Piso BJB)