Martha & Ethel

Martha & Ethel
Directed by	Jyll Johnstone
Produced by	Jyll Johnstone, Barbara Ettinger
Starring	Martha Kneifel, Ethel Edwards
Distributed by	Sony Pictures Classics
Release date(s)	March 8, 1995
Running time	78 mins
Language	English
Budget	N/A

Martha & Ethel is a 1994 documentary film directed by Jyll Johnstone. It premiered at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival^[1] and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. It was subsequently nominated for a Directors Guild of America award, losing to Steve James for Hoop Dreams.^[2] The film was distributed in theaters by Sony Pictures Classics and on home video by Columbia TriStar Home Video.

Synopsis

Martha & Ethel tells the stories of two women in their 80s: a German-Catholic woman named Martha and an African-American woman named Ethel, the former nannies of director/producer Jyll Johnstone and co-producer Barbara Ettinger. It examines each woman’s background and hiring into affluent New York families. The Johnstone and Ettinger children, now grown, reflect on how Martha and Ethel played formative—and often confusing—roles in their lives.

Reception

Upon release, the film received mostly positive reviews. It currently (as of August 2009) maintains a 100% "freshness" rating on review aggregation website rottentomatoes.com, based on five reviews.^[3] Roger Ebert gave the film three stars and called it "as fascinating for what it doesn't say as for what it does."^[4]

External links

• Martha & Ethel at the Internet Movie Database
• Martha & Ethel at AllRovi
• Film Summary on Canobie Films website
• Washington Post Review of the film
• New York Times Review of the film
• Variety's Analysis of the film

References

1. ^ "Sundance Film Festival 1994". www.imdb.com. http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Sundance_Film_Festival/1994. Retrieved 2009-08-25. 
2. ^ "Martha & Ethel(1994)-Awards". www.imdb.com. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110473/awards. Retrieved 2009-08-25. 
3. ^ "Martha & Ethel Movie Reviews,Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/martha_and_ethel/. Retrieved 2009-08-25. 
4. ^ Ebert, Roger (1995-02-24). "Martha And Ethel". Chicago Sun-Times. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19950224/REVIEWS/502240302/1023. Retrieved 2009-08-25.