Housekeeping

I wish this movie were available on DVD!!!

Christine Lahti does her typically superlative job of depicting a woman whose values come from the heart rather than deriving from the dictates of western civilization. As always, she expresses the best of the free spirit which I believe can be found in any one of us.

Two young sisters end up in the custody of their aunt Sylvie, who has spent her life having abandoned the trappings of western civilization in general and of consumerism in particular.

In order to support her young nieces, Sylvie returns from the wild, so to speak, and helps to raise the girls in a manner which allows them to see the freedom of disassociation from society and its dictated "norms".

I love finding little gems like this. What a find Housekeeping (1987) is. What a watch. This is the second Bill Forsyth film I've watched in recent weeks and I'm completely in awe of both. With storytelling like this it's such a joy to watch. The quirks and eccentricities of the characters add another layer of magic in these stories and go a long way in emphasising that "I don't belong here" element that's was present in this film and also Local Hero (1983).

I'm amazed more people don't know about this one.

I like Bill Forsyth films and this got good reviews so I decided to watch it. However it is quite slow, and i found it disappointing. It did not hold my attention. The plot and script lacked something. I found it less than credible. If a film is good, I never question credibility - it's not a documentary after all. But when the film is mediocre, then all sorts of things generate questions and make me think, " that would never happen". On a positive note: I thought the start was excellent. I liked that the story was being told by one of the girls. The acting was good. I suppose that it fits the Bill Forsyth criterion of being quirky and different, but it lacks the humour of films like Gregory's Girl and That Sinking Feeling.

great film, but probably the most misrepresentative ad campaign i've ever seen for a movie. this is NOT a comedy. Christine Lahti's Sylvia is NOT a one dimensional free-spirit. she is disturbed, as is the entire family. this translates perfectly from the book, as does the film's look and emotional atmosphere.

as for the opinion that Sylvia is a Pied Piper, that's just wrong. she could care less if anyone follows in her path. it just so happens that her niece is seduced by virtue of what i would interpret as instinct. the family has a long history of breaking from the norm, much to its detriment. the niece is merely fulfilling her filial destiny.

to say that the story presents a polemic about nonconformity shortchanges the viewer from the complexity of emotions that it evokes. there is no argument. this is just the way things turn out for these folks. and in my opinion, the ending leaves us questioning, just as it does in the book, how much control we have over destiny.

I'm biased. I loved this movie. Being Canadian, I identified with the sense of isolation from the world these two women felt. What is wonderful about the story is that Ruthie and Sylvie revel in their isolation; it is exactly what they want. In its way, this is a romance. Two people, each alone, meet and discover one another. I was happy for them.