''The Savage Woman'' (french: La Demoiselle sauvage) is a Canadian drama film from

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 ...

, released in 1991. Directed by

Léa Pool Léa Pool C.M. (born 8 September 1950) is a Swiss-Canadian filmmaker who taught film at the Université du Québec à Montréal. She has directed several documentaries and feature films, many of which have won significant awards including the ...

, the film stars

Patricia Tulasne Patricia is a female given name of Latin origin. Derived from the Latin word ''patrician'', meaning "noble"; it is the feminine form of the masculine given name Patrick. The name Patricia was the second most common female name in the United State ...

as Marianne, a young Canadian expatriate in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

who escapes into the mountains after being

assaulted An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...

by her boyfriend, and meets Élysée (

Matthias Habich Matthias Habich (born 12 January 1940) is a Germans, German actor who has appeared in more than 110 film and television productions since 1965. Habich was born in Danzig (present-day Gdańsk, Poland) and lives in Paris. In the 2001 film ''Enemy ...

), an engineer camped out for the summer to monitor a

hydroelectric dam Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

, with whom she begins a new romance before eventually revealing that she killed her attacker."Human fragility captured in murder drama". ''

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 ...

'', April 27, 1992. The film was based on a short story by Swiss writer

S. Corinna Bille Stéphanie Corinna Bille (29 August 1912 – 24 October 1979) was a French-speaking writer from Switzerland. Bille was born in Lausanne, the daughter of Swiss painter Edmond Bille, and grew up in Sierre. Bille went to Paris, where she married but ...

. The film premiered in August 1991 at the

Montreal World Film Festival The Montreal World Film Festival (WFF; french: le Festival des Films du Monde) was one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF (although the Toronto Internat ...

. It won the award for Best Canadian Film at that festival.

Awards

The film garnered three

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 12th Genie Awards: *

Best Actor Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to th ...

: Matthias Habich *

Best Adapted Screenplay 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 ...

: Léa Pool, Michel Langlois and

Laurent Gagliardi Laurent Gagliardi (born October 18, 1948, in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian screenwriter and film director. He is most noted as cowriter with Léa Pool and Michel Langlois of the screenplay for '' The Savage Woman (La Demoiselle sauvage)'', for w ...

* Best Original Score: Jean Corriveau Corriveau won the award for Best Original Score."Dreaming of Genies comes true for winners". ''

Halifax Daily News ''The Daily News'' was a tabloid newspaper in Halifax, Nova Scotia, that was published from 1974 until ceasing operations in February 2008. History ''The Daily News'' owed its existence to David Bentley, who, along with his wife Diana and Patric ...

'', November 28, 1991.

References

External links

* 1991 films 1991 drama films Canadian drama films Films directed by Léa Pool French-language Canadian films 1990s Canadian films {{1990s-Canada-film-stub