When Night is Falling

Patdcia Rozema's new film is about leaving a secure, well-trodden path and taking the first step into unknown territory. The main character Camille is a lecturer at a Christian college. She is engaged to Martin, a nice man who is also a teacher and a priest at the school, and the people around them now await their marriage. Camille has a very successful career, partly specializing in Christian ethics. When it comes to the rights of homosexuals she claims that God would never be so cruel as to deny the homosexuals their happiness. She also holds popular lectures in mythology where she among other things brings up how the need for change has manifested itself in people's lives, and among animals, gods and goddesses throughout history. Although she tries to deny it at first, a growing longing for change appears within herself. She cannot put her finger on what is wrong, but she becomes more and more sceptical towards the life she and Martin are expected to lead. One day her beloved dog dies and she finds comfort with an unknown woman, Petra, whom she meets in the launderette. The intense and expressive Petra is an avant-garde circus artist. She casually makes a pass at Camille, who involuntarily feels strongly attracted to her. Petra secretly swaps their laundry to make sure that they will meet again. Eventually the two women begin to see each other and Camille gets more and more deeply involved in Petra's world at the circus. The attraction between them grows stronger, however Camille initially holds back those feelings and focus her newly won sexual energy on Martin. After a while the circus, in deep financial trouble, has to move on and Camille is forced to make up her mind over what kind of life she really wants. Does she want to, and will she manage, to cut off her old world and make her way into unknown territory? Patricia Rozema has herself experienced a strongly religious world. She grew up in a rigorous Calvinistic home and also went to a Christian college. She was not allowed to see her first film until she was sixteen years old.Rozema no longer sees herself as a religious person. She believes that all major systems of thought restrain people and all too easily begin to run their lives. A strong belief in something also frequently becomes financially important, which makes it even harder to change your mind. One example of this in the film is the way Camille's religious beliefs are tied to her ambitions and her career. Even Camille's love for Martin is a ''belief'' with an economic dimension, which further strengthens her attachment to her old life. JI(

Premiärstatus
Svensk premiär: Medverkande
Pascale Bussières, Rachel Crawford, Henry Czerny: Producent
Barbara Tranter: Manus
Patricia Rozema: Foto
Douglas Koch: Musik
Leslie Barber: Talat språk
English