Bajo el sol del verano y en medio de un paisaje bucólico, la granja de la familia de Martin está derrumbándose por dentro. La abuela domina a un padre sin presencia ni opinión ni mando, la madre vive encerrada noche y día en una habitación, el hermano mayor, bebe porque no puede escribir Martin está desatendido y sin amor y su único refugio son su gato y la asistenta. A sus once años, posee la ingenuidad de los dispuestos a cambiar el estado de las cosas, a mover a los suyos, a la fuerza si es preciso.
This filmed treatment of the original Stratford Festival production of Timothy Findley's Governor General Award-winning play is a lavish treat for the eyes and the ears. William Shakespeare and his company of actors are brought together with the formidable Queen Elizabeth I in a remarkable encounter on the night of April 22, 1616, hours before the execution of Elizabeth's former lover Essex. Through the course of the evening, actor Ned Lowenscroft, famous for his female roles in Shakespeares' plays, very touchingly teaches the Queen to be more of a woman, while the Queen helps Ned be more of a man. Part history lesson, part theatrical insight, the play is a beautifully crafted Shakespeare-like work with poignant reflections on grief, love, friendship, and art. Compelling performances are delivered by Diane D'Aquila as Queen Elizabeth, Peter Hutt as Shakespeare and Brent Carver as Ned Lowenscroft.
Terrified of passing on the madness that runs in his family, Charlie Kilworth (Christian Campbell) stays away from relationships that could lead to marriage and children. Meanwhile, his grandparents (R.H. Thomson and Wendy Crewson) are debating whether to put his mother (Stockard Channing) into a mental institution. Whoopi Goldberg shares producing credits on this generational drama adapted from the acclaimed novel by Timothy Findley.
Robert Ross (Brent Carver) lives a protected adolescence in a well-off Toronto suburb. Secretive and withdrawn, he shares his thoughts only with his sister Rowena (Anne-Marie MacDonald) who is mentally disabled. He feels compassion for his weak and conventional father. He avoids any confrontation with his mother (Martha Henry), a dominating woman whose despondency at having given birth to a handicapped child has turned to bitterness. Rowena occupies a central position in Robert's existence of daydreams and make-believe. When she dies, Robert clashes openly with his family, and decides to take himself in hand. It's 1914. He enrolls in the Canadian army, and, after training in Alberta and Montreal, he finds himself in England and France. The war becomes another way for him to resolve his conflicts, his dramas, his passions--his wars.
