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| | Salesrank: 81389
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| Our Price: $9.28 |
| Used Price: $7.98 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Throughout Patricia Rozema’s third film, conservatives tangle with liberals, men with women, and heterosexuals with those of more fluid sexual persuasions. Surface tension aside, When Night Is Falling feels more personal than political. Camille (Pascale Bussières) teaches mythology at a Christian college in Toronto, while her fiancé, Martin (Henry Czerny, Clear and Present Danger), is a fellow theologian. Their superior, Reverend DeBoer (David Fox, The Saddest Music in the World), encourages them to marry. When Camille’s dog dies, she neglects to inform Martin, but instead confides in Petra (Rachael Crawford), a circus performer she meets at a laundromat. Petra leaves her card, so Camille seeks her out, but when she makes a pass, Camille flees. Later, she suggests they remain friends... until mutual attraction proves too strong to resist. A simplistic reading suggests that the death of a pet can lead to experimentation, except Rozema (I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing) aims for a metaphorical reading rather than a literal one. Though the narrative isn't autobiographical, she too attended a Calvinist institution (the same one as writer/director Paul Schrader). It's a testament to her skill that the film feels so fresh, since the storyline echoes Lianna (the academic milieu) and anticipates Tipping the Velvet (the circus angle). It's also one of the more quotable same-sex love stories of the 1990s. As Martin tells Camille, "Maybe you can imagine more intoxicating options. That's okay--that's what imagination's for." To Rozema's heroine, however, fulfillment is for experiencing, not imagining. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
When Night Is Falling Reviews:
Accept nothing less than the unrated version 
2009-10-12 - A great, romantic movie. But why would anyone want to see the "R" version when it was originally released in the U.S. as unrated and has been released both on VHS and DVD as unrated.
Review of When Night is Falling 
2009-10-06 - Although I wasn't blown away by this movie, it had a really sweet feel about it. This contains the age old scenario of a straight girl finding herself inexplicably attracted to an openly gay women. Add in a circus performer profession for the gay gal, and you can see the allure! In this movie girl beats boy in the affections for the female lead. All in all, not a bad night in.
Beautiful
2009-08-27 - I cannot really say much that hasn't already been said here about this film. Still I'd like to tout the wonderful atmospheric quality of the fine cinematography. The main love scene is, I think, the most beautiful love scene I've ever seen in any film. The actors do a glorious job of it. One of the other reviews I read mentioned that there was a lack of dramatic tension and unfortunately I must agree with that. There's plenty going on in the story to build that tension on, but somehow the film fails to achieve it. Still,despite any of that, well worth watching and owning.
fan fav 
2009-07-13 - This movie is fast becoming a favorite amongst the class of people that like this kind of movies, okay-Lesbians. How do I know because when you mention it around gatherings you get a lot of response like "ohh I love that movie, so romantic!" "the chemistry between the two actresses is real" or "yeah, very sexy." This is all true, ofcourse. Rachel Crawford and Pascale Bussieres are two really gorgeous people both physically and evocatively. They share the same intensesity in their eyes. You can pretty much ignore the plot altogether because when these two are on screen together, it's magic. The colour of their skin is as much of a contrast as the biography of their characters, one a teacher at a catholic school and the other is free spirit circus ala Cirque De Soliel performer, but the passion that pass thru them is no match. Highly recommended
Not sexy but sensual, and encouraging
2009-07-08 - There are quite a few things to like about this low-budget film. The photography is surprisingly good, and the plot is believable. The acting is competent, and the two main characters--young women in their twenties, I'd guess--are appealing.
Basically, this is a story about how one woman (Petra) who already is aware of and comfortable with her erotic love for other women, approaches another woman (Camille) who does not share a similar awareness. Through their interactions, Camille, who is engaged to her male lover, gradually awakens to her attraction and preference for the woman who woos her.
There are many details that make this a better-than-mediocre story, such as the struggling urban circus where Petra works. There is a memorable line in which a woman who is fed up with her partner's struggle to make the circus financially viable, says she might just run away. His response to her is "Don't be immature." It's a perfect reversal of the old cliche about running off to join the circus.
There are issues between the two main characters that are paralleled by other, supporting characters in the story; considerations of risk versus security, feeling versus material reward and status, and the dividing line between deception and invitation, are all shown in visual form.
This movie is heartful and a great encouragement to people (especially lesbian women) who are erotically attracted to people of their same gender. It is nice that the two women who are the story's main characters are of different races, temperaments, and, initially, sexual orientations. This is a movie that can accordingly speak to many people, as I hope it will.
