The Body Beautiful (1991)

  • NR
  • 10/03/1991 (US)
  • Drama
  • 23m

Overview

This bold, stunning exploration of a white mother who undergoes a radical mastectomy and her Black daughter who embarks on a modeling career reveals the profound effects of body image and the strain of racial and sexual identity on their charged, intensely loving bond. At the heart of Onwurah’s brave excursion into her mother’s scorned sexuality is a provocative interweaving of memory and fantasy. The filmmaker plumbs the depths of maternal strength and daughterly devotion in an unforgettable tribute starring her real-life mother, Madge Onwurah.

Ngozi Onwurah

Director, Writer

Cast

Madge Onwurah's headshot

Madge Onwurah

Narrator (voice) Mother/Herself
Rosie Rowell's headshot

Rosie Rowell

Narrator (voice) Daughter
Sian Ejiwunmi-Le Berre's headshot

Sian Ejiwunmi-Le Berre

The Daughter (as Sian Martin)
Brian Bovell's headshot

Brian Bovell

Young Man
Maureen Douglass's headshot

Maureen Douglass

Young Mother
Valentine Nonyela's headshot

Valentine Nonyela

Peter
Louis Altinson's headshot

Louis Altinson

Linda Dobson's headshot

Linda Dobson

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