Amazon.com video review:
Assured, headstrong Joan Webster (Wendy Hiller) knows exactly what she
wants and how to get it, until she's stranded in a rough, windswept
Scottish village--in sight but out of reach of an island where a rich
fiancée, a lavish wedding, and a loveless marriage await. While
a raging storm prevents her crossing, a quiet, modest, and penniless
Scottish laird named Torquil (Roger Livesey) slowly wins her cheerfully
mercenary heart and upsets her carefully arranged plans with messy emotions.
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's much-loved romantic drama is a handsome
work full of vivid, offbeat characters (Pamela Brown is especially striking
as an earthy villager always accompanied by a pack of bloodhounds) living
in a world that's part tradition and part myth. Villagers work and
celebrate with the simple spirit of common folk ("We're not poor, we just
haven't any money," Torquil admonishes the materialist Joan). Powell brings
his lively manner and bold visual invention to the creation of his
beautiful but harsh primal paradise, culminating in the awesome spectacle
of a massive whirlpool that could be the work of the "legend of
Corryvreckan" or the stormy embodiment of Joan's hysterical heart. Awash
in mystic power of ancient castles and chanted legends, I Know Where I'm
Going is one of the most romantic visions of Britain's most magical
director. --Sean Axmaker
