In the lead up to the 7th Canadian Film Festival in Australia (August 2012), join us as we count down the Top 100 Canadian Films of the past 30 years. We'll be posting one film a day leading up to Canada Day on July 1st 2012. Do you agree with our staff favourites? Let us know your thoughts!
While The Stone Angel fails to entirely avoid melodramatic clichés, it’s a successful, reverent adaptation of the eponymous Margaret Laurence novel from 1964, a text studied by most Canadian students at one time or another.
The film tells the life story of Hagar Shipley, told in flashbacks as the strong-willed octogenarian travels down memory lane. Not ready to be locked away in a retirement home by her son, she sets out to find a seaside house from her youth, reminiscing along the way. Hers is a story of difficult bonds - with parents, with lovers, with children - one which resonates through the ages despite the somewhat old-fashioned approach.
At the core of this multi-faceted coming of age story are a pair of remarkable performances from veteran Ellen Burstyn and newcomer Christine Horne, each playing Hagar at a different age. The film’s emotional power accumulates in layers, one quiet moment after another, becoming a powerful rumination on growing up, asserting one’s identity and ageing.
The Stone Angel had its Australian premiere at the Possible Worlds Film Festival in 2007, with actress Christine Horne in attendance.
- Matt Ravier
“The Stone Angel finds its way past tonal inconsistencies to a moving conclusion that doesn't romanticize death, but rather judges it to be one more marker on the road to figuring ourselves out.” – The Village Voice
To see the other films in the countdown so far, click here.