This very fine romance tells the story of Joan Webster, a determined
young woman at the tail end of WWII, who has always known where she's going,
which is mainly getting ahead. At the moment, she's on her way to
the island of Kiloran, off the coast of Western Scotland, to marry Sir
Robert Bellinger. Sir Robert has amassed a considerable fortune during
the war via his Consolidated Chemical company. He makes sure that
Joan travels in style, according to a precise schedule, with folks waiting
on her every step of the way, right up until the time comes for her to
take a boat over to the isle. At that point, nature intervenes, in
the form of gale force winds, and she's prevented from joining Sir Robert
for several days.
Meanwhile, she meets the colorful inhabitants of the little town, among
them the handsome and dashing Torquil MacNeil, a Naval Lieutenant, who
it turns out is the real Laird of Kiloran, forced to rent out the family
estate for several years at a time to get the money to maintain it the
rest of the time. The entirely predictable complications follow,
but where a modern film would rely on slapstick and broad humor, Pressburger
and Powell are more subtle. The film is humorous, but the filmmakers
are more intent on exploiting the natural beauty and wildness of their
setting than in getting cheap laughs and they cleverly tap in to several
mythological themes. There is a castle with a curse on it and a treacherous
whirlpool lies between the town and the isle. In the end, legend
and convention combine to bring the story to its necessarily romantic conclusion.
I have to admit, I normally loathe these stories where one betrothed,
or the other, or both, break off an engagement because they've found "true
love." (I guess at the time it was also considered daring to implicitly
criticize war profiteering by having Joan choose the poor sailor over the
industrialist.) But the movie's so enchanting and the use of myth
so effective that I eventually surrendered to it. Powell and
Pressburger made many great films and this one, though I'd not rank it
with their very best, is delightful. Highly recommended for husbands
who owe their wives a chick flick.
(Reviewed:27-Jan-02)
Grade: (A-)
Websites:
See also:
Recommended films by Powell & Pressburger :
-The
Thief of Bagdad (1940)
-The
Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)
-I
Know Where I'm Going (1945)
-Black
Narcissus (1947)
-The
Red Shoes (1948)
-Peeping
Tom (1960)
WEBSITES :
-INFO
: I Know Where I'm Going! (1945) (Imdb.com)
-INFO
: I Know Where I'm Going (Rotten Tomatoes)
-FILMOGRAPHY
: Michael Powell (Imdb.com)
-Star
Archive : Michael Powell (1905 - 1990) (British Pictures)
-FILMOGRAPHY
: Emeric Pressburger (Imdb.com)
-REVIEW
: of Emeric Pressburger: The Life and Death of a Screenwriter. Kevin Macdonald
(British Pictures)
-The
classic films of Powell and Pressburger (British Film Institute)
-REVIEW
: of Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (Andrew Howe, Film Written)
-REVIEW
: of I Know Where I'm Going (Stephen Cox, Edinburgh University Film
Society)
-REVIEW
: of I Know Where I'm Going (Peter Thompson, Encore Australis)
-REVIEW
: of I Know Where I'm Going (Noel Murray, Onion AV Club)
-REVIEW
: of I Know Where I'm Going (Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid)
-REVIEW
: of I Know Where I'm Going (Henry Thomas, Alden Chronicles)
-DVD
REVIEW : of I Know Where I'm Going (Current Film)
-DVD
REVIEW : of I Know Where I'm Going (Jeff Ulmer, Digitally Obsessed)
-DVD
REVIEW : of I Know Where I'm Going (Glenn Erickson, DVD Savant)
-REVIEW
: of I Know Where I'm Going (Fusion3600, DVD Authority)
-REVIEW
: of I Know Where I'm Going (Doug Pratt's Laser Disc Reviews)
-REVIEW
: of A Matter of Life and Death (Stairway to Heaven) (1946) (Roger
Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times)
-REVIEW
: of A Matter of Life and Death (Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian)
-REVIEW
: of A Matter of Life and Death (Philip French, The Observer)
-REVIEW
: of A Matter of Life and Death (1946) (William Gallagher, BBC)
-REVIEW
: of Black Narcissus (Stephen Cox, Edinburgh University Film Society)
-REVIEW
: of Black Narcissus (Luisa F. Ribeiro, Baltimore City Paper)
-REVIEW
: of Black Narcissus (Glenn Erickson, DVD Savant)
-REVIEW
: of Black Narcissus (Damon Houx, DVD Journal)
-REVIEW
: of Black Narcissus (Michael Jacobson, DVD Movie Central)
-REVIEW
: of Black Narcissus (Flipside Movies)
-REVIEW
: of Black Narcissus (Brit Movie)
-REVIEW
: of Black Narcissus (Jarod Musgrave , DVD File)
-REVIEW
: of The Red Shoes (JJB, DVD Journal)
-REVIEW
: of The Red Shoes (Carter B. Horsley, The City Review)
-REVIEW
: of Tales of Hoffman (Keith H Brown, Edinburgh University Film Society)
-REVIEW
: of Tales of Hoffman (1951) (Race Mathews, film-u-net)
-REVIEW
: of Peeping Tom (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times)
-REVIEW
: of Peeping Tom (Michael Jacobson, DVD Movie Central)
-REVIEW
: of Peeping Tom (Fusion3600, DVD Authority)
-FILM
LIST : National Review's Best Conservative Movies : 27. I Know Where Iím
Going
GENERAL :
-REVIEW
: of Post-War Cinema and Modernity: A Film Reader (eds.) John Orr and Olga
Taxidou (Richard Armstrong, Senses of Cinema) Recommended films by Powell & Pressburger :
-The
Thief of Bagdad (1940)
-The
Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)
-I
Know Where I'm Going (1945)
-Black
Narcissus (1947)
-The
Red Shoes (1948)
-Peeping
Tom (1960)
WEBSITES :
-INFO
: I Know Where I'm Going! (1945) (Imdb.com)
-INFO
: I Know Where I'm Going (Rotten Tomatoes)
-FILMOGRAPHY
: Michael Powell (Imdb.com)
-Star
Archive : Michael Powell (1905 - 1990) (British Pictures)
-FILMOGRAPHY
: Emeric Pressburger (Imdb.com)
-REVIEW
: of Emeric Pressburger: The Life and Death of a Screenwriter. Kevin Macdonald
(British Pictures)
-The
classic films of Powell and Pressburger (British Film Institute)
-REVIEW
: of Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (Andrew Howe, Film Written)
-REVIEW
: of I Know Where I'm Going (Stephen Cox, Edinburgh University Film
Society)
-REVIEW
: of I Know Where I'm Going (Peter Thompson, Encore Australis)
-REVIEW
: of I Know Where I'm Going (Noel Murray, Onion AV Club)
-REVIEW
: of I Know Where I'm Going (Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid)
-REVIEW
: of I Know Where I'm Going (Henry Thomas, Alden Chronicles)
-DVD
REVIEW : of I Know Where I'm Going (Current Film)
-DVD
REVIEW : of I Know Where I'm Going (Jeff Ulmer, Digitally Obsessed)
-DVD
REVIEW : of I Know Where I'm Going (Glenn Erickson, DVD Savant)
-REVIEW
: of I Know Where I'm Going (Fusion3600, DVD Authority)
-REVIEW
: of I Know Where I'm Going (Doug Pratt's Laser Disc Reviews)
-REVIEW
: of A Matter of Life and Death (Stairway to Heaven) (1946) (Roger
Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times)
-REVIEW
: of A Matter of Life and Death (Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian)
-REVIEW
: of A Matter of Life and Death (Philip French, The Observer)
-REVIEW
: of A Matter of Life and Death (1946) (William Gallagher, BBC)
-REVIEW
: of Black Narcissus (Stephen Cox, Edinburgh University Film Society)
-REVIEW
: of Black Narcissus (Luisa F. Ribeiro, Baltimore City Paper)
-REVIEW
: of Black Narcissus (Glenn Erickson, DVD Savant)
-REVIEW
: of Black Narcissus (Damon Houx, DVD Journal)
-REVIEW
: of Black Narcissus (Michael Jacobson, DVD Movie Central)
-REVIEW
: of Black Narcissus (Flipside Movies)
-REVIEW
: of Black Narcissus (Brit Movie)
-REVIEW
: of Black Narcissus (Jarod Musgrave , DVD File)
-REVIEW
: of The Red Shoes (JJB, DVD Journal)
-REVIEW
: of The Red Shoes (Carter B. Horsley, The City Review)
-REVIEW
: of Tales of Hoffman (Keith H Brown, Edinburgh University Film Society)
-REVIEW
: of Tales of Hoffman (1951) (Race Mathews, film-u-net)
-REVIEW
: of Peeping Tom (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times)
-REVIEW
: of Peeping Tom (Michael Jacobson, DVD Movie Central)
-REVIEW
: of Peeping Tom (Fusion3600, DVD Authority)
-FILM
LIST : National Review's Best Conservative Movies : 27. I Know Where Iím
Going
GENERAL :
-REVIEW
: of Post-War Cinema and Modernity: A Film Reader (eds.) John Orr and Olga
Taxidou (Richard Armstrong, Senses of Cinema)
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