When Night Is Falling (1995)

Very Cool!!!

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Pascale Bussieres, a Quebecois actress makes her English- speaking debut, as Camille, a teacher at a Christian college that has never let loose.She is crying in a laundromat after losing her dog, when she meets Petra (Rachael Crawford), a circus performer. Showing up at the circus to deliver laundry that Petra left behind, Camille enters a world of fantasy that she has never experienced.Canadian film maker Patricia Rozema (Kit Kittredge: An American Girl) gives us a strangely surreal world in which freedom and change battles repression and conformity.The film was given an NC-17 rating, ostensibly for the lesbian sex scenes, and this affected the ratings given by some reviewers, but the heterosexual scene with Camille's fiancée was much more graphic. The lesbian scenes are tastefully done in a soft focus and very beautiful.Everyone dreams of running off to join the circus at one time or another. In this case, it is a metaphor for being who you truly are. It takes courage, and we wonder whether or not Camille possesses that courage.A gloriously beautiful film with a marvelous love story.

Pretty average film, the lead seems like quite a decent actress, shame that her love interest was so wooden. There were attempts to make some sort of religious points but they never seemed to lead anywhere, the plot is basic and shallow. The carnival elements were really campy but served their main purpose so far that they contrasted with the lifestyle of Camille. I thought it was a made for TV movie to be honest but it looks like it is supposed to be an art house film.The best thing about this film ?, there is an absolutely hilarious payoff at the end (although I am sure it was not intended to be funny by the film maker).

Excellent cinema... It's like a metaphorical exploration of what can happen when you least expect it and most need it. Camille finds this love and it's like finding money you've thought was lost; you rediscover yourself. Nothing is more precious than finding that you are every wonderful thing you always hoped you were. Petra is a gorgeous, unreal, ephemeral being that transcends physical knowing, she is pleasure and self confidence, notice how she balances herself in the air? She is the temptress that seeks to reinforce the new knowledge of self. There is no sin, here, and to suppose such a thing is silly. The Christian context serves to conflict the message ( how telling, Christianity is apparently more at odds with God than atheism/paganism)that nothing is wrong with love.To the other post-makers: please be kind to each other.

These women are psychotic. They are selfish, codependent, and obsessed. There are 3 good things about this movie. The performances of the circus troop, the score, and, I agree, the sex scenes.However, the depiction of lesbian women (or bisexuals) is awful. This is nothing but demeaning. I am ashamed that this is what is shown to the world as an example of what a good relationship is about.Camille abandons her boyfriend, Martin, and her pet, Bob. (She can't even dig a grave for Bob down into the dirt but only buries him in the snow - more on that below). These women are self centered and clearly show no caring for the people around them or what they are doing to each other. Petra stalks, shoots arrows through apartment windows and hangs around outside until she, like a child throwing a tantrum is noticed. This is attractive? The woman is Psycho. Camille is no better. She persists in lying to Martin, and placing herself in Petra's path (even after the aforementioned psychotic behavior) and wants to be "friends." Oh, c'mon. The kindest thing would have been to let Petra go on her own way. Really.One reviewer said, "These are anyone's woman." What? You have to be kidding. These women are astonishingly beautiful, far from the average, and have fantastic jobs - how many people do you know that work for a circus?OK, now for the piece de resistance: the end. Remember the dead dog, Bob? Guess what? He isn't dead. He resurrects himself at the end to the musical backdrop of Allellujah as Camille drives off with her new love in a circus caravan and leaves her boyfriend and resurrected dog behind. Absolutely ridiculous. I nearly peed myself.