Away From Her - 7

This is a reflective and contemplative film. Adapted for film from Alice Monro's short story "The Bear Came Over the Mountain" and directed by Sarah Polley, the story is about a coping with a relationship changed by Alzheimer's. Grant (Gordon Pinset) watches as his wife, Fiona (Julie Christie) starts to decline further into disease and eventually is institutionalized. As she forgets more and more she starts to care for a fellow patient and Grant has to deal with the pain of her unknowing. Like all stories of forgetfulness they causes the audience pause: why is memory so important to the human condition? Why is losing it so sad and painful? A film worth watching and reflecting on.