I know where I am going
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | I know where I am going |
| Original title | I Know Where I'm Going! |
| Country of production | Great Britain |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1945 |
| length | 91 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director |
Michael Powell , Emeric Pressburger |
| script | Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger |
| production | Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger |
| music | Allan Gray |
| camera | Erwin Hillier |
| cut | John Seabourne |
| occupation | |
| |
I know where I'm going is a British romance film from 1945 by producer and director duo Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger .
action
Joan Webster, a young British woman from Manchester , believes she has her life under control. To marry the rich but much older industrialist Sir Robert Bellinger, she travels to Kiloran, an island in the Hebrides . Bad weather prevents Joan from tackling the last leg of her journey, a boat crossing to Kiloran. On the Isle of Mull , she and a group of people have to wait for the weather to improve. She meets the Navy officer Torquil MacNeil, whose home is Kiloran. You spend the night in the house of Torquil's friend Catriona Potts.
The next day they both want to take the bus into town. On the way you pass the ruins of Moy Castle . Joan desperately wants to see the ruins, but Torquil refuses to enter the premises. Joan reminds him that the curse of Moy Castle only affects the Laird, the owner of Kiloran. Torquil reveals itself to be the Laird of Kiloran, Bellinger is only the leaseholder of the island. The weather worsens again, Torquil seizes the opportunity and continues to flirt with Joan, who is torn between her goal of getting married rich and her feelings for Torquil.
Joan decides to go ahead with her original plan. She wants to persuade the boat owner Mhor to cross over, but the experienced sailor warns her of the dangers. Joan brings young Kenny to her side, whom she lends money so that he can buy shares in Mhor's boat and marry his daughter Bridie. Torquil learns of Joan's plans and tries to talk her out of it. However, she remains persistent, so that Torquil is forced to go on board too. During the crossing, the boat's engines are flooded. The boat gets caught in the notorious whirlpool in the Strait of Corryvreckan . Torquil can restart the engine just in time, so the group can safely return to Mull.
When the weather finally clears up, Joan says goodbye to Torquil, who then goes to Moy Castle to get to the bottom of the curse. Torquil learns what the curse is all about. Centuries ago, the castle was stormed by one of Torquil's ancestors to capture his unfaithful wife and lover. The ancestor locked the couple in a hole filled with water. The two of them could hardly stand on a small stone to keep their mouths afloat. When their strength waned, both fell into the water. Before that, the woman cursed the island owners. Any man who left the island would commit to a woman until the end of his days. Torquil looks up to see Joan enter the ruin.
background
The film was shot by the production company The Archers , founded by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger and with an estimated budget of around £ 200,000, on the Scottish island of Mull. Around 40,000 pounds were spent on simulating the vortex, using real recordings of the vortex that Michael Powell himself took with a handheld camera.
Powell and Pressburger originally planned to make an elaborate Technicolor film about Anglo-American relations. However, the cameras were not available at the time because they were used by the US Army to produce training films. A year later, the drama Errtum im Jenseits (OT: A Matter of Life and Death ) was created in the planned color version.
Since Roger Livesey was simultaneously playing in the play The Banbury Nose by Peter Ustinov at a theater in London's West End , the scenes were shot with him in a London studio. A double was used for shots from a distance. Michael Powell himself later stated that he had tested 20 young men before the right double could be found. Roger Livesey came into the studio and taught the double how to walk and stand still. James Mason , originally slated for the role of Torquil MacNeil, turned it down when he was told that filming would take place in uncomfortable conditions in the Hebrides.
Roger Liveseys was previously known for a Powell / Pressburger production. In their war film Life and Death of Colonel Blimp , he played the title role. Powell thought Livesey was too old and overweight to play the role of Torquil. It wasn't until Livesey had slimmed down and bleached his hair that Powell hired him. Wendy Hiller was also scheduled for the female lead in Colonel Blimp , but had to cancel, so that it was played by Deborah Kerr in the end .
The other cast included Pamela Brown in the role of Catriona Potts, who married Michael Powell after filming. The 13-year-old Petula Clark was known as a singer, especially for troop entertainment during the war. With titles like Monsieur , Downtown and several pieces in German, she also became a star in Germany in the 1960s.
The film premiered in London on November 16, 1945 . In Germany it first appeared in cinemas on July 26, 1946.
Reviews
"A romantic comedy with a simple plot, but also charming and witty, enriched with folklore and the scenic beauties of Scotland."
"This romantic fairy tale suffers solely from the old-fashioned performances of its main characters."
"For many reasons one of the most convincing film romances [...] a kind of romantic suspense drama, which was beautifully played, written and staged."
“Probably the only filmmakers who can name the male lead Torquil, The Archers combined comedy, romance and suspense with Hebridean mythology, Scandinavian legends, ancestral curses and other distinctive symbols (falcons, islands, a vortex), all complemented by poetic camera work Erwin Hillers. "
"[The movie] is an absolute delight from start to finish, flawlessly combining romance, comedy, fantasy and folklore to create a unique style that can only be described as 'magical realism'."
"No one [of Powell's and Pressburger's films] is so charming, loving, and worth watching."
Web links
- I know where I'm going in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Internet presence of the film
Individual evidence
- ↑ Budget information at IMDb
- ↑ Powell / Pressburger biography (engl.)
- ↑ ibid
- ↑ Article at TCM (engl.)
- ↑ I know where I'm going from the Lexicon of International Films , accessed December 8, 2011.
- ↑ "[...] this romantic fairy tale suffers from singularly stuffy performances from its leads." - Critique of the Philadelphia City Paper ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed December 8, 2011.
- ↑ "[...] one of the most satisfying screen romances of many a season [...] a sort of romantic suspense drama which is as beautifully performed as it is beautifully written and directed." - Review by the New York Times , Retrieved December 8, 2011.
- ↑ “Probably the only film-makers who could get away with calling their leading male character Torquil, The Archers combine comedy, romance, and suspense wfth Hebridean myth, Scandinavian legend, ancient curses and several significant symbols (hawks, islands, a whirlpool) , all complemented by Erwin Hillier's poetic photography. “- Critique of the Edinburgh University Film Society (English) ( Memento of the original from August 10, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed December 8, 2011.
- ↑ "an absolute delight from beginning to end, flawlessly combining romance, comedy, fantasy, and folklore to create a unique style that can only be described as" magical realism "." - Critique of the TV Guide , accessed on 8 December 2011.
- ^ "None is quite as charming, loveable and re-watchable." - Review of the Telegraph , accessed on December 8, 2011.
