I've Heard the Mermaids Singing (1987)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Patricia Rozema

Writer:

Patricia Rozema (writer)

Release Date:

March 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Scatterbrained Polly gets a job as a secretary in Gabrielle's art gallery. Gabrielle has a romantic relationship with the painter Mary...

Plot Keywords:

Art Gallery | Painting | Lesbian | Toronto | Independent Film

Awards:

3 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Sheila McCarthy	...	Polly Vandersma
Paule Baillargeon	...	Gabrielle St. Peres
Ann-Marie MacDonald	...	Mary Joseph
Richard Monette	...	Clive
John Evans	...	Warren
Brenda Kamino	...	Waitress

Also Known As:

Le chant des sirènes (Canada: French title) (TV title)

MPAA:

Rated R for brief strong language.

Runtime:

UK:81 min | USA:81 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Australia:M | Sweden:Btl | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Canada Council, The

Trivia:

The title is a reference to a line in T.S. Eliot's poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" that reads: "I have heard the mermaids singing each to each / I do not think that they will sing to me."

Quotes:

Polly Vandersma: Isn't life the strangest thing you've ever seen?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Weird Sex and Snowshoes: A Trek Through the Canadian Cinematic Psyche (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

OPEN WINDOW

The best film I've seen on the nature of artistic inspiration

This is a wonderful film. I first saw it back in the eighties and it is still fresh in the mind. The title is a quote from T S Eliot and refers to epiphany. There seem to be a lot of spiritual references. Did everyone else not notice the significance in the older woman being named Gabrielle and the younger Mary? Gabrielle could not create what the earthier Mary could but was her muse. I am not sure of this but Polly in the Canadian accent sounds like Paul-y. The disseminator of the faith? Any comments from anyone? Yes it was small budget but still beautiful. Polly was hilarious. I loved Mary (not that she would be likely to give me the time of day). Check out a book that the actress, Ann-Marie MacDonald, wrote: Fall on Your Knees.

Anybody know where I can get the DVD in London?