''Journey'' is a 1972

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

film written, directed and produced by

Paul Almond Paul Almond (April 26, 1931 – April 9, 2015) was a Canadian television and motion picture screenwriter, director, producer, and novelist. He is most known for being the director of the first film in the '' Up'' series. Life and career Paul A ...

Synopsis

''Journey'' is the allegorical story of a young woman's struggle - outside the normal framework of space and time - to find herself. Found drifting down the

Saguenay River __NOTOC__ The Saguenay River () is a major river of Quebec, Canada. It drains Lac Saint-Jean in the Laurentian Highlands, leaving at Alma and running east; the city of Saguenay is located on the river. It drains into the Saint Lawrence River. T ...

, half-drowned and clinging to a log, a woman (

Geneviève Bujold Geneviève Bujold (; born July 1, 1942) is a Canadian actress. For her portrayal of Anne Boleyn in the period drama film ''Anne of the Thousand Days'' (1969), Bujold received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her other film cre ...

) is rescued by Boulder (

John Vernon John Keith Vernon (born Adolphus Raymondus Vernon Agopsowicz; February 24, 1932 February 1, 2005) was a Canadian actor. He made a career in Hollywood after achieving initial television stardom in Canada. He was best known for playing Dean Wormer ...

), who carries her to Undersky, his commune in the

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

wilderness. Named after the river from which she was saved, Saguenay is haunted by memories of her past and remains unresponsive for days, drifting in and out of consciousness. She gradually becomes aware of the life going on around her and begins to explore it. But she senses she has brought ill fortune to this community and fears something in her past has doomed her and all who know her. Finally, she journeys back up the river to confront the nightmare of her past. By doing so, she breaks through to the present and arrives at the mouth of the river.

Reception

This is Paul Almond's last film in his trilogy with Bujold that began with ''

Isabel Isabel is a female name of Spanish origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of '' Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew ''Elisheva''), Arising in the 12th century, it became popul ...

'' (1968) and ''

The Act of the Heart ''The Act of the Heart'' is a 1970 Canadian drama film written, directed and produced by Paul Almond. It stars Geneviève Bujold, Donald Sutherland, Monique Leyrac, and Sharon Acker. Synopsis Martha Hayes (Geneviève Bujold) is a devoutly rel ...

'' (1970). Obscure and complex, the final film is considered the weakest of the trilogy, lacking the passion of the first two. Poorly received, it was a box-office failure and ended Almond's attempt to create

art film An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily f ...

in Québec. It was featured in the

Canadian Cinema ''Canadian Cinema'' was a Canadian television series about films which aired on CBC Television in 1974. Premise Feature films from Canada were presented in this series:Dates verifiable from TV listings July–August 1974 from ''The Globe and Ma ...

television series which aired on CBC Television in 1974.

References

External links

* Canadian drama films English-language Canadian films 1972 films Films set in Quebec Films directed by Paul Almond Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean in fiction 1972 drama films 1970s Canadian films {{1970s-Canada-film-stub