Tribute to Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger 2010 / “I Know Where I'm Going!” / United Kingdom 1945
Ambitious Joan, the heroine of this original romance, sets out for the Hebrides off the western coast of Scotland where a rich industrialist is waiting for her with an engagement ring. Mysterious natural elements and an encounter with a likable naval officer named Torquil force the young woman to reevaluate her plans.
"I’ve never seen a picture which smelled of the wind and rain in quite this way, nor one which so beautifully exploited the kind of scenery people actually live with....” wrote Raymond Chandler about an uncommon romance whose script was knocked off by Emeric Pressburger in the record time of one week. Ambitious and stubborn Joan (Wendy Hiller) sets out for the Hebrides off Scotland’s western coast where a rich industrialist waits for her with an engagement ring. But inexplicable natural elements and a meeting with a likable naval officer named Torquil (Roger Livesey) force the young woman to reevaluate her plans and even do a bit of soul-searching. As with A Canterbury Tale, the landscape proves to be one of the film’s main protagonists and, with the help of cameraman Erwin Hillier once again, Powell was masterfully able to translate its spiritual dimension into film language. This melodramatic story, enriched by suspense and comic elements, also references the aforementioned movie through its semi-autobiographical male character – a stoically self-assured guardian of traditional values in a world beset by aggressive materialism.
92 min / Black & white, 35 mm
Director Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
/ Screenplay Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
/ Dir. of Photography Erwin Hillier
/ Music Allan Gray
/ Editor John Seabourne
/ Producer Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
/ Production The Archers
/ Cast Wendy Hiller, Roger Livesey, Pamela Brown, Finlay Currie
/ Contact BFI, Park Circus Group
BFI
21 Stephen Street, W1T 1LN, London
United Kingdom
Phone: +44 207 255 1444
Fax: +44 207 436 7950
E-mail: [email protected]
Park Circus Group
15 Woodside Crescent, G37UL, Glasgow
United Kingdom
Phone: +44 141 332 2175
E-mail: [email protected]
Vic Pratt
Film Institution Rep.
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