A WOMAN'S TALE Movie Review

A Woman's Tale is one of those wonderful movies that it's nearly impossible to convince people to see. They hear that it's about a 78-year-old woman dying of cancer, and believe that it might indeed be very good, but they'll see it later, thanks. The standard device for encouraging people to see a film like this is to point out how “uplifting” it is, but it's not right to play that game with this marvelous piece of work. A Woman's Tale stars Australian actress Sheila Florence as the aforementioned woman, Martha, who's chosen to die at home under the care of a younger nurse. Martha has friends and family who look in on her as well, including a charming gentleman played by Paul Cox regular Norman Kaye (of the same director's marvelous Man of Flowers). Bit by bit we learn about her life, her memories, and the things that have shaped her ideas. But she's not simply a spectator. The movie is equally about her continuing impact on those around her. A Woman's Tale is eloquent, forthright, and unsentimental; some viewers have been startled by nude scenes featuring a woman of Florance's age, others are put off by the fact that the actress herself was herself dying during the movie's production. Yet this is no exploitative stunt; it's a sensitive, moving, landmark film about coming to terms with age and dying. If you don't have time for that, perhaps you should reconsider just what you're spending your time on.

NEXT STOP … Man of Flowers, Wild Strawberries, Near Death

1992 (PG-13) 94m/C AU Sheila Florence, Gosia Dobrowolska, Norman Kaye, Chris Haywood, Myrtle Woods, Ernest Gray, Monica Maughan, Bruce Myles, Alex Menglet; D: Paul Cox; W: Paul Cox. Australian Film Institute ‘91: Best Actress (Florence). VHS, LV, Closed Caption ORI, BTV