Away from Her February 1, 2008

FLICS presents Away From Her. Golden Globe winner and Oscar nominated actress Julie Christie is featured.

Dir. Sarah Polley, Canada, 2007,110 min, PG-13

Fiona and Grant are a bookish, childless couple in their 60s living alone in a storybook cabin in Ontario, where they spend their days cross-country skiing and reading aloud to each other. After being married 44 years, Fiona (Julie Christie) begins to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. Fiona has decided to check herself into an assisted living facility before becoming a burden or a danger to her husband, Grant opposes the idea because he cannot imagine his life without her. Complicating this transition is the facility’s policy of not permitting visits or phone calls for the first 30 days. What takes place after the month has passed comes as a surprise and has long-term effects on the characters. The ephemeral nature of love and of memory are explored as Grant makes new acquaintances and tries to come to terms with how his life has changed.
Away From Her is all the more remarkable for having been written and directed by Sarah Polley, a Canadian actress not yet out of her 20s making her first feature film.

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