Emile (2003)

Director: Carl Bessai Starring: Ian McKellen, Deborah Kara Unger Genres: Drama Origin: Canada Certificate: M Running Time: 92 min

synopsis

Starring two-time academy award nominated Sir Ian McKellen, Emile is the poignant exploration of an older man’s struggle with his past. Emile is given the opportunity to travel from England to Canada to receive an honorary degree at the university, and he goes to meet his only living relatives, his niece Nadia (Deborah Kara Unger) and her daughter Maria, who hold a key to Emile’s tragic past and the guilt which has haunted him his entire life. But Emile’s past is sometimes more familiar and immediate than the world before his eyes. As he tries to re-discover the family that he abandoned long ago, he is forced to confront the anxieties in his memories – the family he betrayed and abandoned at the expense of his own happiness. Now, in the twilight of his life, Emile shapes the final chapters of his mental autobiography. Will he succumb to the love and support of a family or will he retreat into his world of memories and lost opportunities?