A sentimental beauty; one of those How She and Her Kids Survived While Her Husband Was Away at the War movies in which the heroine, having changed much in her spouse's absence, not only doesn't know if her husband is still alive but wonders if she will still love him if he returns.
Naturally, she also anguishes over whether she should give herself to the other man in her lonely life. No matter. BYE BYE BLUES is a wonderful, old-fashioned romance with a dreamy, sensual tone rarely found in movies nowadays. It is also a sheer pleasure to watch. That it's not mawkish at all is
a credit to Canadian filmmaker Anne Wheeler, whose enchanting tale is based on her mother's wartime experiences during the long years her husband was held captive by the Japanese. But BYE BYE BLUES is much more than a tale of survival, more than the story of a young woman suddenly forced to handle
adversity and support herself and her two small children. It is a lovingly drawn, mesmerizing account of a woman's struggle to cope with insecurity, to define herself, and to eventually succeed in an altogether unfamiliar world for which she was remarkably unprepared.
Like the similarly satisfying MY BRILLIANT CAREER, another so-called "woman's film," BYE BYE BLUES avoids the obvious, refusing to ram its feminism down anyone's throat. Instead, it chronicles one woman's personal growth with an unerring sensitivity that's universally appealing. Beautifully acted
and lushly photographed, the film garnered a series of major awards, including Best Film at the Houston International Film Festival and three Genies (the Canadian equivalent of the Oscar), Best Actress for Jenkins (an honor also accorded her at the Seattle Film Festival), Best Supporting Actress
for Stevan, and Best Original Song for composer Bill Henderson's ballad "When I Sing." leave a comment
