THEATRICAL FEATURE

Starring: Brent Carver, Martha Henry, Jackie Burroughs
Writer: Timothy Findley
Composer: Glenn Gould
Producer: Richard Nielsen
Director: Robin Phillips

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1984 Genie Nominations:
Best Picture - Richard Nielsen
Best Screenplay - Timothy Findley
Best Editing - Tony Lower
Best Sound - Hans Peter Strobl

1984 Genie Wins:
Best Sound Editing - Bernard Bordeleau, Sharon Lackie, Bruce Nyzik
Best Actress - Martha Henry
Best Supporting Actress - Jackie Burroughs

SYNOPSIS

Based on the acclaimed novel by Timothy Findley. Robert Ross lives a protected adolescence in a well-off Toronto suburb. Secretive and withdrawn, he shares his thoughts only with his sister Rowena, who is mentally retarded. He feels compassion for his weak and conventional father. He avoids any confrontation with his mother, a dominating woman whose despondency at having given birth to a handicapped child has turned to bitterness. Rowena occupies a central position in Robert's existence of daydreams and make-believe. When she dies, Robert clashes openly with his family, and decides to take himself in hand. It's 1914. He enrolls in the Canadian army, and, after training in Alberta and Montreal, he finds himself in England and France. The war becomes another way for him to resolve his conflicts, his dramas, his passions--his wars.