In the Pacific Northwest during the 1950s, two young sisters whose mother has abandoned them wind up living with their Aunt Sylvie, whose views of the world and its conventions don't quite live up to most people's expectations.
Acting
Christine Lahti's Sylvie—chaotic, tender, absolutely maddening.
Direction
Forsyth finds comedy in stillness; tragedy in a pile of newspapers.
Cinematography
Pacific Northwest gloom that feels like another character.
Director
Bill Forsyth
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Marilynne Robinson's novel was considered unfilmable; Forsyth proved them wrong by keeping her prose voice intact through narration.
US
