vernon film society
Bringing the best in world and Canadian film to film lovers of Vernon and the North Okanagan
THE WHITE COUNTESSDirector: James Ivory "This is Merchant-Ivory's kind of showmanship, the unflashy adult variety of movie magic that they made their hallmark." - San Francisco Chronicle
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THE WHITE COUNTESS is a delicious evocation of the turbulent romances and turmoil of thirties Shanghai from the perspective of a disaffected American diplomat. After losing his family to political violence that also left him blind, Todd Jackson (Ralph Fiennes, THE ENGLISH PATIENT, THE CONSTANT GARDENER) can no longer work effectively; he languishes in Shanghai’s grand hotels and elite gentlemen’s clubs, desperate to escape reality. Before long, however, a chance meeting with the shadowy Matsuda (Hiroyuki Sanada, THE LAST SAMURAI, RINGU) allows him to set about realising a dream he never knew he had: opening the perfect bar, which would be the home of an exquisite mix of romance, intrigue and political tension. Jackson willfully ignores the circulating rumours that Matsuda has come to Shanghai to oversee a Japanese invasion of the city. Soon he meets Sofia (Natasha Richardson, ASYLUM, THE HANDMAID’S TALE), a Russian countess who fled the Bolshevik Revolution and is now the sole supporter of her husband’s aristocratic family: she works as a taxi-dancer in night clubs and is ostracized by her family for her unseemly occupation. Thus begins a relationship that will slowly coax Jackson out of his isolated world. The timing is fateful: the Japanese invade Shanghai and the entire world is soon on the brink of World War II.
"It's a very classy, finely made film, and, as one watches it -- particularly those last sweeping scenes of political turbulence and escape -- one feels both pain at their (Merchant-Ivory) parting and grateful for what, together, they achieved." - Chicago Tribune |
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THE WHITE COUNTESS is the newest film by Academy Award®-winning director James Ivory, whose films (HOWARD’S END, A ROOM WITH A FEW) have met with critical and popular acclaim. 
Ivory’s ability to elicit the best in his actors – he has directed many to Oscar nominations – has not wavered, and Fiennes gives a perfect performance as the refined, damaged Jackson. The cinematography is outstanding; THE WHITE COUNTESS is an unforgettable, epic period piece that deftly captures a licentious, glittering and sordid era in our collective past.