The Far Shore

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The Far Shore
Directed by Joyce Wieland
Written byBryan Barney
Joyce Wieland
Produced byJudy Steed
Joyce Wieland
Starring Frank Moore
Celine Lomez
Cinematography Richard Leiterman
Edited by George Appleby
Music byDouglas Pringle
Production
company
The Far Shore Inc.
Distributed by Astral Films
Release date
  • 24 September 1976 (1976-09-24)
Running time
105 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish
Budget$435,000

The Far Shore is a Canadian drama film, directed by Joyce Wieland and released in 1976. [1] Wieland's first commercial narrative feature film after years of making experimental short films, [2] The Far Shore is a romantic drama which borrows elements from the life and death of painter Tom Thomson. [3]

Contents

It premiered at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival, before having its Canadian premiere at the Canadian Film Institute's Ottawa 76 festival in August. [4]

Plot

Eulalie (Celine Lomez), a Québécois woman in a loveless marriage to wealthy industrialist Ross Turner (Lawrence Benedict), begins an affair with painter Tom McLeod (Frank Moore). [1]

Production

Wieland wrote the initial outline of the film in 1969, after viewing a retrospective show of Thomson and the Group of Seven. [5] The film was originally titled True Patriot Love. [6] After failing to receive a grant from the Canadian Film Development Corporation, she shelved the project for a time, although some of the drawings that she made to accompany the script outline were included in her gallery shows. She began writing the screenplay in earnest in 1972, hiring television writer Bryan Barney to assist. During this time, she also drew a large number of storyboards to illustrate her vision for the film. [5] Shooting for the film occurred from 18 November to 6 December 1974, and from 7 June to 25 June 1975, on a budget of $435,000 (equivalent to $2,124,000in 2021), with $200,000 coming from the CFDC. [7]

Judy Steed came on as producer in 1973, with Wieland and Steed incorporating their own production company, The Far Shore Inc., in 1974. Over the next couple of years, they were able to secure partial funding from CFDC, Famous Players, Baton Broadcasting and the Toronto Star , but were not able to complete the film until influential Quebec film producer Pierre Lamy signed on as the film's executive producer in 1975, securing the remaining funding needed. Famous Players' financial commitment was initially made conditional on the film hiring a big-name star to play Tom McLeod, suggesting Rip Torn, Stacy Keach and Donald Sutherland, but they eventually withdrew the demand and allowed the film to proceed with Moore in the role. Filming was completed in 1975, with post-production completed in early 1976. [5]

Release

The film was shown at the National Arts Centre on 5 August 1976, and theatrically released on 24 September. [7]

Critical response

Gary Michael Dault of the Toronto Star called the film gorgeous, praising the cinematography of Richard Leiterman and the production design of Anne Pritchard, but said it was ruined by the acting. [8] The reviewer for The Globe and Mail offered a similar assessment, calling the film beautiful but flat and stating that Moore gave the film's only strong acting performance. [1]

The film is one of several from the era which have since been analyzed as an allegory for Canadian nationalism. [9]

Awards

The film won three Canadian Film Awards in 1976: Best Supporting Actor (Moore), Best Cinematography (Leiterman) and Best Art Direction (Pritchard). [10]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Far Shore beautiful but flat". The Globe and Mail , September 25, 1976.
  2. ↑ "Joyce Wieland finds room to bloom". The Globe and Mail , March 2, 1981.
  3. ↑ "Passionate painter and film-maker directs a classical romance". Toronto Star , September 18, 1976.
  4. ↑ "Canada's mini-epic film costing 6 years, $450,000". The Globe and Mail , August 7, 1976.
  5. 1 2 3 Doug Fetherling, "Joyce Wieland in Movieland: What was a fine artist doing in a world of hype and hustle?" Toronto Star , January 24, 1976.
  6. ↑ Melnyk 2004, p. 192.
  7. 1 2 Turner 1987, p. 203-204.
  8. ↑ "Movie looks gorgeous but acting ruins it". Toronto Star , September 24, 1976.
  9. ↑ Johanne Sloan, Joyce Wieland's The Far Shore. University of Toronto Press, 2010. ISBN   9781442610606.
  10. ↑ Wyndham Wise, Take One's Essential Guide to Canadian Film. University of Toronto Press, 2015. ISBN   9781442656208. p. 263.

Works cited

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