This charming film about a stranded busload of older women in rural Canada is mostly improvised with non-professional actresses. Yet we get to know each of the women, their pasts, their strengths, their hopes.
After their bus breaks down, the 7 older Canadian women and the younger bus driver (who sprains her ankle) wander down the road til they find a derelict house on a lake. It's an odd assortment of women who seem to have little in common, yet they find (and so do we) that our connections to one another always outweigh our differences.
Alice is a Mohawk Indian, Cissy, Beth, and Winnie are from England, Mary is from the USA, Constance was brought to Canada as a child, Catherine is a Canadian nun. Michelle is the bus driver. The women set to work exploring the house, finding food, making beds, etc. As the women work, they tell the stories of their lives. But they also discover their connections to nature.
Seemingly, the women have had ordinary lives with husbands, children, jobs, illnesses, losses. At various points in the film as each woman is telling her story, we are shown a small gallery of photos from her life. It's very moving to see the old woman telling her story while her youth passes before us in vintage photos.
There are many funny moments as the women try to fish, catch frogs, pick berries, or play. Most of the women settle into their temporary world quite well. A couple remain mostly outside the group.
What the film ultimately shows us is that even in old age, we can learn, experience new things, enjoy friendships, and even find joy in old age.
This is a remarkable film.
After their bus breaks down, the 7 older Canadian women and the younger bus driver (who sprains her ankle) wander down the road til they find a derelict house on a lake. It's an odd assortment of women who seem to have little in common, yet they find (and so do we) that our connections to one another always outweigh our differences.
Alice is a Mohawk Indian, Cissy, Beth, and Winnie are from England, Mary is from the USA, Constance was brought to Canada as a child, Catherine is a Canadian nun. Michelle is the bus driver. The women set to work exploring the house, finding food, making beds, etc. As the women work, they tell the stories of their lives. But they also discover their connections to nature.
Seemingly, the women have had ordinary lives with husbands, children, jobs, illnesses, losses. At various points in the film as each woman is telling her story, we are shown a small gallery of photos from her life. It's very moving to see the old woman telling her story while her youth passes before us in vintage photos.
There are many funny moments as the women try to fish, catch frogs, pick berries, or play. Most of the women settle into their temporary world quite well. A couple remain mostly outside the group.
What the film ultimately shows us is that even in old age, we can learn, experience new things, enjoy friendships, and even find joy in old age.
This is a remarkable film.