MORT RANSEN

Bil’s rating (out of 5):  BBBB. 

Canada/United Kingdom, 1995.  British Screen Productions, Ciné Télé Action, Glace Bay Pictures, Malofilm, National Film Board of Canada, Nova Scotia Film Development Corporation, Ranfilm, Skyline Films, Société de Développement des Entreprises Culturelles, Téléfilm Canada, imX Communications.  Screenplay by Gerald Wexler, Mort Ransen, based on the story The Glace Bay Miner’s Museum by Sheldon Currie. Cinematography by Vic Sarin.  Produced by Steve Clark-Hall, Claudio Luca, Mike Mahoney, Mort Ransen, Christopher Zimmer.  Music by Milan Kymlicka.  Production Design by William Fleming, David McHenry.  Costume Design by Nicoletta Massone.  Film Editing by Rita Roy.  

Excellent film about a young Nova Scotia woman (Helena Bonham Carter) who falls in love with a miner (Clive Russell) to the chagrin of her embittered mother (Kate Nelligan) who lost her husband to the same career. Russell marries Carter and in an effort to please his family tries to find work outside the mining industry, but it doesn’t work out too well. The outcome of this tragic but beautiful story is a sad and almost gruesome one, but it is also handled with incredible skill and sensitivity. Nelligan is particularly brilliant in her domineering role, as is Carter in a very different role from her days as Merchant Ivory’s leading lady. Based on the story Glace Bay Miner’s Museum by Sheldon Currie, which was later adapted to the stage.

Toronto International Film Festival:  1995