Though not quite as epic or spectacular as some of their better-known films, I Know Where I’m Going! from Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger is still an utter delight. It is a simple, romantic story that is elevated by its setting, a sharp script, wonderful acting, and the usual incredible work from Powell/Pressburger.
Buy I Know Where I’m Going! (Criterion Collection)We are introduced to our heroine, Joan Webster (Wendy Hiller), in a judicious introduction where we learn that even as a baby (she crawls in a straight line), a five-year-old (she wants authentic silk stockings, not a doll for Christmas), and a teenager (she’d prefer her dates save their money and take her to a fancy restaurant once a month rather than some cheaper place weekly), she knew where she was going.
As an adult, she informs her stern bank-manager father that she’s getting married to an industrial company, well not the company itself, but the old man who owns it. But in her mind she might as well be marrying the company, for she’s only interested in the wealth it will bring her and the lifestyle it will provide.
They are to be married on a tiny island of Kiloran, off the coast of Scotland. To get there, she must take several long train rides and then a coach to a small village on the Isle of Mull. From there, she’ll have to take a ferry to the island. When she reaches the village, the fog has rolled in, and no boatman will take her across the water. The following day a great gale blows in, making the sea far too dangerous to cross. It lasts for several days.
Stuck in this town, she’s forced to get to know the strange locals, including Colonel Barnstaple (CWR Knight), an eccentric falconer who’s trying to tame an eagle; Catriona (Pamela Brown) a wild, independent woman with unkempt hair and a dozen roaming dogs; and Torquil MacNeil (Roger Livesey), who actually owns Kiloran, but owning an island doesn’t necessarily make you rich.
The villagers are different from anyone she’s ever met. The people aren’t poor (they just don’t have any money – and there is a difference, Torquil says) and they are rich in spirit. The land is full of history and culture. There is an ancient castle Torquil refuses to step inside of due to an old curse laid upon his family. Torquil and Joan visit an anniversary party for an old couple and watch the people dance and sing old songs in Gaelic. This is a place so full of life she can hardly believe it.
Naturally, she’ll fall in love with the people of this village in general, and Torquil in specific, and learn that there is more to life than money. If that’s starting to sound to you like the plot of every Hallmark movie ever, you wouldn’t be wrong. The story is a simple one, but it is told oh-so-well.
They say that when Emeric Pressburger visited Paramount Studios in 1947, he was told this film was shown to writers who were stuck, as it was an example of the perfect screenplay. It is a marvelous piece of work. Even the smallest characters are given just enough to be fleshed out on the screen; we understand who these people are even when they are only briefly in the movie. Incidents move at the perfect pace, allowing each scene to breathe and never feel rushed, yet moving on before we get bored. Filmed on location, the setting is just spectacular. You truly feel that you are there living inside this culture, not on some sound stage in some city with actors trying on accents.
The romance between Joan and Torquil is well drawn. Their early scenes are charming and believable, and you can feel the pull of attraction between them. But also her desire to get married to the industrialist, and his willingness to let that be. There is a scene towards the end (which I thought was going to be the end) where they finally acknowledge their passion, and yet she still walks away, and it just broke my heart. (Spoilers! She comes back.)
I Know Where I’m Going is presented by the Criterion Collection. Extras include
- New 4K Restoration by the BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation, supervised by filmmaker Martin Scorsese and editor Thelma Schoonmaker Powell, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- Audio commentary featuring film historian Ian Christie
- Restoration demonstration with an introduction by Scorsese and commentary by Schoonmaker Powell
- Behind-the-scenes stills narrated by Schoonmaker Powell
- “I Know Where I’m Going!” Revisited, a 1994 documentary by Mark Cousins
- Photo-essay by writer Nancy Franklin exploring the locations used in the film
- Home movies from one of director Michael Powell’s Scottish expeditions, narrated by Schoonmaker Powell
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- An essay by critic Imogen Sara Smith
I Know Where I’m Going! will probably always be overshadowed by other Powell/Pressburger films like The Red Shoes, or The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, but don’t sleep on this one. It is an utter delight, and this new restoration looks magnificent.
