Denis Villeneuve has responded to the criticism of female characters in Blade Runner 2049.
The movie was released in October this year as a sequel to Ridley Scott's original movie starring Harrison Ford, with Ford returning as Rick Deckard and Ryan Gosling taking on the role of Agent K.
When Scott declined to direct the sequel due to his commitment with Alien: Covenant, he signed on as executive producer with Villeneuve in the director's chair.
It seemed a safe and smart bet, given Villeneuve was the brainchild behind recent cinematic and critical hits Prisoners, Sicario and Arrival.
However, despite critical praise, the movie failed to meet its box office target and also received criticism over the representation of its female characters.
[Robin Wright in Blade Runner 2049]
Blade Runner 2049 starred a handful of female characters, the three most prominent of whom were highly sexualised and died before the movie's end.
It also faced criticism due to the patriarchal dystopia depicted and the importance placed on female reproduction throughout the film.
Villeneuve has now responded to such criticism, explaining that the bleak dystopia is a reflection of the patriarchal practise of today's society, arguing that "the world is not kind on women".
"I am very sensitive to how I portray women in movies," Villeneuve told Vanity Fair.
"This is my tenth feature film and six of them have women in the lead role. The first Blade Runner was quite rough on the women; something about the film noir aesthetic. But I tried to bring depth to all the characters. For Joi, the holographic character, you see how she evolves. It's interesting, I think.
"Cinema is a mirror on society. Blade Runner is not about tomorrow; it's about today. And I'm sorry, but the world is not kind on women."
He added: "There's a sense in American cinema: you want to portray an ideal world. You want to portray a utopia.
"That's good — dreams for a better world, to advocate for something better, yes. But if you look at my movies, they are exploring today's shadows.
"The first Blade Runner is the biggest dystopian statement of the last half century. I did the follow-up to that, so yes, it's a dystopian vision of today. Which magnifies all the faults. That's what I'll say about that."
