''The Lotus Eaters'' is a 1993
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 ...
drama film, written by
Peggy Thompson
Margaret "Peggy" Thompson, later Margaret Neilson, was the housekeeper at Coilsfield House or Montgomery Castle in Ayrshire, Scotland. She married John Neilsen of Monyfee. The couple lived at Minnybae Farm near Kirkoswald. She was the 'charming ...
and directed by
Paul Shapiro. The film stars
R. H. Thomson and
Sheila McCarthy
Sheila McCarthy (born January 1, 1956) is a Canadian actress and singer. She has worked in film, television, and on stage. McCarthy is one of Canada's most honoured actors, having won two Genie Awards (film), two Gemini Awards (television), an A ...
as Hal and Diana Kingswood, a married couple living on
Galiano Island
Galiano Island ( Hul'qumi'num: ''Swiikw'') is one of the Southern Gulf Islands located between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Located on the west side of the Strait of Georgia, the island is bordered by Mayn ...
in
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
in the 1960s with their two daughters, Cleo (Tara Frederick) and Zoe (
Aloka McLean).
Plot
The story is told mostly through the eyes of Zoe, the younger Kingswood daughter. The Kingswoods seem to live a happy life, though teenage Cleo is frustrated with an inability to do things, like travel to Vancouver to see the Beatles. A catalyst for change for their somewhat stagnant lives arrives in the form of Anne-Marie, Zoe's new teacher at the school where Hal Kingswood is principal.
Anne-Marie arrives late on her first day of work with all of her belongings packed into her Volkswagen bus and takes up residence in a local cottage. The new teacher's progressive ideas shake up the little school, much to the irritation of Hal, the staid and stodgy principal.
Zoe and most of her class are immediately delighted with the lovely and vivacious young Anne-Marie, who teaches them through song and art. One evening, Anne-Marie invites Zoe over to her cottage. As Anne-Marie bathes in her wood-fired, outdoor bathtub, she gives Zoe a book of spells, which is ostensibly the mechanism through which change comes to the sleepy little island. Change is relatively mild at first - Cleo gets her first boyfriend, Dwayne Spittle, and Zoe learns how to make the wind gust.
Real change comes to Galiano Island when Hal discovers (thanks to Zoe) that his father hasn't been dead for decades, as previously presumed, and has only recently died (his ashes were shipped to Hal's mother). Hal's father abandoned Hal and his mother, Flora, when Hal was a child. Hal is rocked by the revelation of his father's abandonment, the fact that his father was alive, and his mother's lies. The combination of the shock of Hal's father's death and Hal's anger leads Flora to suffer a stroke.
Hal is in a tailspin. When he chances upon Anne-Marie crying in her bus, he takes a moment to learn more about her, discovering that she abandoned her fiancé at the altar and that her mother calls her every morning to remind her that she is a disappointment. As Anne-Marie talks of wanting to sail away to Mexico, Hal joins in and the two of them share a kiss, which scares both of them.
As fall sets in, Hal gets closer to Anne-Marie while Cleo gets closer to her new boyfriend, Dwayne. After Halloween, Zoe and her friend, Jo, see Hal's car parked in front of Anne-Marie's cottage and decide to take a closer peek. They discover the two lovers kissing passionately and quietly sneak away. Zoe attempts to curse her teacher with limited success. In the meantime, Cleo and Dwayne break the news to Cleo's parents that Cleo is pregnant and they are not getting married, leaving Hal and Diana reeling.
When Diana Kingswood discovers that Anne-Marie has no plans for Christmas, she immediately insists she have Christmas dinner with them. It's all too much for Zoe and she bolts from the dinner table. When Hal follows her up to her room, Zoe confronts him about his affair with Anne-Marie. Soon, everyone at the table knows. Diana kicks out Hal and burns his boat to the ground.
Unexpectedly, Hal's mother, Flora, passes away. Diana and Hal embrace at the funeral. Anne-Marie is confronted by her students about her affair with Hal and soon resigns. Anne-Marie leaves town and is replaced by a young male teacher.
Cast
*Tara Frederick as Cleo Kingswood
*
Aloka McLean as Zoe Kingswood
*
R.H. Thomson
Robert Holmes Thomson (born 1947), known as R. H. Thomson, is a Canadian television, film, and stage actor. With a career spanning five decades he remains a regular presence on Canadian movie screens and television. He has received numerous ...
as Hal Kingswood
*
Sheila McCarthy
Sheila McCarthy (born January 1, 1956) is a Canadian actress and singer. She has worked in film, television, and on stage. McCarthy is one of Canada's most honoured actors, having won two Genie Awards (film), two Gemini Awards (television), an A ...
as Diana Kingswood
*
Andrea Libman
Andrea Eva Libman (born July 19, 1984) is a Canadian actress whose most popular on-screen appearances are in ''Little Women'', '' Andre'', and a guest role on ''The X-Files''. She is also known for providing voice acting in various animated show ...
as Jo Spittle
*
Tony Dakota
Tony Dakota (born 1982) is an American actor known for his roles as Clavo on the television series ''21 Jump Street'' and Georgie Denbrough in the 1990 television mini-series version of Stephen King's epic horror novel '' It''.Holloway, Diane ( ...
as Geoffrey
*
Frances Hyland
Frances Hyland (April 25, 1927 – July 11, 2004) was a Canadian stage, film and television actress. She earned recognition for roles on stage (including ten seasons with Stratford Festival) and screen (including her performance as Nanny Louisa ...
as Flora Kingswood
*
Gabe Khouth
Gabriel Forest Khouth (November 22, 1972 – July 23, 2019) was a Canadian voice and television actor who worked for Ocean Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Career
Khouth had played several roles in anime, most notably Nicol Amalfi in '' ...
as Dwayne Spittle
*Michéle-Barbara Pelletier as Anne-Marie Andrews
Production
The film received $350,000 from BC Film. The film was originally slated to be directed by
Sandy Wilson
Alexander Galbraith "Sandy" Wilson (19 May 1924 – 27 August 2014) was an English composer and lyricist, best known for his musical '' The Boy Friend'' (1953).
Biography
Wilson was born in Sale, Cheshire, England, and was educated at Harrow ...
,
["Go west, young filmmaker". '']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 ...
'', 1 September 1993. but Shapiro stepped in after Wilson dropped the project in favour of ''
Harmony Cats
''Harmony Cats'' is a 1992 Canadian comedy film, directed by Sandy Wilson.Gerald Pratley, ''A Century of Canadian Cinema''. Lynx Images, 2003. . p. 94.
Plot
''Harmony Cats'' is about a violinist named Graham Braithwaite (Kim Coates) who plays wit ...
''.
It was the only theatrical feature film released by Shapiro, who is primarily known as a television director.
Awards and nominations
The film garnered eleven
Genie Award
The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scu ...
nominations at the
14th Genie Awards.
["The Lotus Eaters strong contender at Genies". '']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 ...
'', 11 December 1993. It won three:
*
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 Actor (R.H. Thomson)
*
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 aw ...
(Sheila McCarthy)
*
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 aw ...
(Aloka McLean)
*
Best Art Direction/Production Design (David Roberts)
*
Best Cinematography (Thomas Burstyn)
*
Best Costume Design (Sheila Bingham)
*
Best Editing (Susan Shipton)
*
Best Screenplay (Thompson)
*
Best Sound (Dean Giammarco, Bill Sheppard, Paul A. Sharpe and Michael McGee)
*
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 ...
(Anne Bakker, Gael MacLean, Alison Grace, Maureen Wetteland and Ellen Gram)
Availability
As of 2018 the film has begun streaming online for free on Canada Media Fund's Encore+ YouTube channel.
References
Works cited
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lotus Eaters, The
1993 films
1993 drama films
Canadian drama films
English-language Canadian films
Films set in British Columbia
Films shot in British Columbia
1990s English-language films
1990s Canadian films