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Film Imitation of Life (1959)

  • Imitation_large

Douglas Sirk's melodramas are visual vortexes of societal and domestic issues spun to heartbreaking effect. For his final Hollywood outing, Imitation of Life, Sirk rakes female disquiets — material and maternal — for a doubled-edged take on class and race. Kneading over-the-top emotion with a masterful hand, Imitation captivates viewers with cascades of color and a sob-story that focuses on the friendship between aspiring thespian and single mother Lora (Lana Turner) and her black maid Annie (Juanita Moore). As Annie becomes burdened with raising Lora's forlorn child as well as her own discontented, light-skinned daughter, Sirk imbues everything from housewares to suburban hairdos with ironic undertones.

– Jason Jude Chan

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