KNOW WHERE I'M GOING I Movie Review

Joan Webster (Wendy Hiller), a smart and determined young working woman whose journey through life has been planned for years, is committed to marrying a wealthy and socially well-positioned Scottish fuddy-duddy. But while on her way to marry him, Joan becomes stranded by a storm in a small coastal town where she meets the handsome young Naval officer Torquil MacNeil (Roger Livesey); for the first time in her life, Joan considers a change of plan. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger wrote, produced, and directed this completely enchanting, supremely atmospheric romantic comedy, which has rightfully achieved cult status in recent years. (Powell and Pressburger were known collectively as the Archers—they provided British cinema with some of its most memorable and beloved triumphs, including A Matter of Life and Death, Black Narcissus, and The Red Shoes.) I Know Where I'm Going's plot is as simple and uncomplicated as the town in which it's set, but the small and unexpectedly rich details—not to mention the town itself—provide this film with its unique and lilting personality. This is a film that, like a beguiling new acquaintance who later becomes a best friend, you'll want to visit again and again until you can't remember a time before you met.

NEXT STOP… The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, L'Atalante, Local Hero

1945 91m/B GB Roger Livesey, Wendy Hiller, Finlay Currie, Pamela Brown, George Carney, Walter Hudd; D: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger; W: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger; C: Erwin Hillier.M: Allan Gray. VHS, LV HMV, BFA