drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
directed by
Allan King
Allan Winton King, (February 6, 1930 – June 15, 2009), was a Canadian film director.
Life
Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, during the Great Depression, King attended Henry Hudson Elementary School, in Kitsilano.Colleen Murphy."Film liberation folly for Follows". ''
Vancouver Sun
The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published s ...
'', November 1, 1989.
The film stars
Colleen Dewhurst
Colleen Rose Dewhurst (3 June 1924 – 22 August 1991) was a Canadian-American actress mostly known for theatre roles. She was a renowned interpreter of the works of Eugene O'Neill on the stage, and her career also encompassed film, early drama ...
and
Megan Follows
Megan Elizabeth Laura Diana Follows (born March 14, 1968) is a Canadian-American actress and director. She is known for her role as Anne Shirley in the 1985 Canadian television miniseries ''Anne of Green Gables'' and its two sequels. From 2013 t ...
as Molly and Micheline Dushane, a mother and daughter living in a small
Northern Ontario
Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Provi ...
town. Molly is an alcoholic, which creates tension between her and Micheline, while Micheline is a retail clerk and part-time
prostitute
Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...
who dreams of escaping her stifling small-town existence."Film Review: Termini Station". ''
The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'', September 29, 1989. The film's cast also includes
Gordon Clapp
Gordon Clapp (born September 24, 1948) is an American actor best known for playing Det. Greg Medavoy for all 12 seasons of the television series ''NYPD Blue'', winning an Emmy Award in 1998.
Early life and education
Clapp was born in North Conw ...
and
Debra McGrath
Debra McGrath (born July 5, 1954) is a Canadian actress and comedian.
Education
Debra McGrath was born in Toronto in 1954. She studied theatre at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (now Toronto Metropolitan University).
Career
McGrath first star ...
as Molly's son and daughter-in-law, as well as
Gordon Pinsent
Gordon Edward Pinsent (born July 12, 1930) is a Canadian actor, writer, director, and singer. He is known for his roles in numerous productions, including ''Away from Her'', ''The Rowdyman'', ''John and the Missus'', ''A Gift to Last'', '' Due So ...
in flashbacks as Molly's deceased husband and Micheline's father, who unsuccessfully attempted to kill Micheline before committing suicide.
The film premiered at the
1989 Toronto International Film Festival
The 14th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 7 and September 16, 1989. ''In Country'' by Norman Jewison was selected as the opening film.
Awards
Programme
Gala Presentation
*''In C ...
in September 1989. Its second screening was at the inaugural
Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival
Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival, also known as Cinéfest and Cinéfest Sudbury is an annual film festival in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada,"Cinefest provides cultural landmark". ''Sudbury Star'', September 16, 1999. held over nine ...
two weeks later.
The film was nominated for six awards at the
11th Genie Awards
The 11th annual Genie Awards were presented March 20, 1990, and honoured Canadian films released in 1989.
For this year, CTV had negotiated to serve as broadcaster and the academy formed a wholly-owned subsidiary, ACCTV Productions, to independe ...
:
Best Picture
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
,
Best Actress
Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress awar ...
(Dewhurst, Follows),
Best Original Screenplay
The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Beginning with the ...
(Murphy), Best Overall Sound (Sal Grimaldi, Joe Grimaldi, Dino Pigat and Peter Shewchuk) and
Best Sound Editing
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow List of film awards, film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awa ...
(Terry Burke, David Templeton, Ralph Brunjes, and Brian Ravok).
''Termini Station'' was filmed on location in
Kirkland Lake
Kirkland Lake is a town and municipality in Timiskaming District in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. The 2016 population, according to Statistics Canada, was 7,981.
The community name was based on a nearby lake which in turn was named after Winnifre ...
, Ontario.
Critical response
The film received mixed reviews from critics. Rick Groen of ''
The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'' praised the ways in which King's background in documentary filmmaking had influenced the film's depiction of the "permanently half-finished look of the mid-North", but criticized the screenplay as melodramatic, while Peter Goddard of the ''
Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
'' called the cast talented but wasted, and concluded that "Canadiana any more Gothic than this and you could put an Elmira stove in it and sell it in ''
Harrowsmith
''Harrowsmith Country Life'' was a magazine that explored and showcased country living. Originally called ''Harrowsmith'', the magazine was heralded as a back-to-the-land and environmental issues platform. In 1976, founder James M. Lawrence cut ...
''."
Marke Andrews of the ''
Vancouver Sun
The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published s ...
'' wrote that the film's only redeeming quality was that it liberated Follows from her wholesome ''
Anne of Green Gables
''Anne of Green Gables'' is a 1908 novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery (published as L. M. Montgomery). Written for all ages, it has been considered a classic children's novel since the mid-20th century. Set in the late 19th century, t ...
'' image, while Wendy Dudley of the ''
Calgary Herald
The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network.
History
''The ...
'' suggested that King's choice to cast Dewhurst and Follows together as a mother and daughter, so soon after the ''Anne of Green Gables'' films, was one of the film's biggest problems, concluding that "it's hard to accept Marilla as a drunk and Anne as a whore."
The ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'', conversely, acknowledged that the film "is stuck in the usual kitchen-sink realism that makes the Anglo-Canadian--as opposed to the often exciting Quebecois--cinema so often dull", but praised the cast, and Dewhurst in particular, for their performances."MOVIE REVIEW : 'Termini Station,' Dewhurst's Last Film, Her Best" ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...