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A Woman’s Tale (1991)

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clip Facing realities

This clip chosen to be PG

Clip description

Anna (Gosia Dobrowolska) tells Jonathon (Chris Haywood) that his mother should stay at home, rather than move to an institution. Marta (Sheila Florance) tells Anna that she will die at home, and that she likes Anna using Marta’s flat to see her lover. Marta talks about a funeral she attended the day before.

Curator’s notes

by Paul Byrnes

Cox’s direction in this film is unusually simple and concentrated. He dwells on the faces of the two actresses together in several quite beautiful shots that suggest their kinship, as well as their age difference. The scene in which Anna takes Marta’s blood pressure is an example of this visual bonding, and the stillness of both performers. It’s obvious in small details that the film was made quickly (as when we see Chris Haywood brushing past a shrub on the landing, without enough room to manoeuvre), but these rough edges don’t matter, because the central drama is so strong.

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