Away from Her

Colour, 35 mm
Canada, 2006, 110 min
Section: Horizons

Synopsis

Sarah Polley, a Canadian actress notable not only for her talent but also her careful choice of roles, selected Alice Munro’s “The Bear Came Over the Mountain” for her feature film directorial debut. The story tells of a married couple whose nearly forty years of carefully built intimacy is disrupted by Alzheimer’s disease. Fiona’s and Grant’s quiet coexistence in a log cabin in the middle of a snowy countryside falls apart when the aging but still attractive woman suffering from increasing memory lapses willingly leaves for a medical institution. Day by day, the devastated Grant becomes a passive observer of the new reality and estrangement that suddenly closes in on the love of his life. The 28-year-old director made this exceptionally mature film without sentimental ostentation and with understandable emphasis on the acting performances of Gordon Pinsent and the now legendary Julie Christie.

About the director

Sarah Polley (b. 1979, Toronto) most noticeably drew attention as an actress with her role as Nicole in Atom Egoyan’s drama The Sweet Hereafter, for which she received Boston and Chicago Film Critics’ Awards. She has starred in films by Michael Winterbottom (The Claim), David Cronenberg (eXistenZ), and Hal Hartley (No Such Thing). Her role in the film My Life Without Me (shown at the KVIFF in 2003) won her a Genie, the Canadian national film prize, for best actress. In 2003 Polley personally presented the Czech premiere of Wim Wenders’ film Don’t Come Knocking at the KVIFF. Sarah Polley has been writing screenplays and making shorts (such as I Shout Love, which won the Genie award for best short film) since 1999. Away from Her is her feature film debut.