The Act of the Heart

The Act of the Heart
Directed by	Paul Almond
Produced by	Paul Almond Jennings Lang
Written by	Paul Almond
Starring	Geneviève Bujold Donald Sutherland Monique Leyrac
Music by	Harry Freedman
Cinematography	Jean Boffety
Edited by	James Mitchell
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release dates	25 November 1970 (USA)
Running time	103 minutes
Country	Canada
Language	English
Budget	$450,000 (Canadian)

The Act of the Heart is a 1970 Canadian film written, directed and produced by Paul Almond.

Synopsis

Martha Hayes (Geneviève Bujold), a devoutly religious young woman from Québec's Côte-Nord who fancies herself as some kind of a saint, arrives in Montréal to serve as nanny to Russell (Bill Mitchell), the son of a widowed business woman (Monique Leyrac).

Martha joins a church choir and becomes emotionally attracted to Father Michael Ferrier (Donald Sutherland), an Augustinian monk who has selected her to sing solo in an interfaith concert. When Russell accidentally dies, Martha suffers a crisis in faith and declares her love for Ferrier in the church. Ferrier reciprocates and leaves the order so they can live together with Martha singing to support them. But tormented by guilt for betraying her profound religious principles she immolates herself on a hill (Mount Royal) overlooking Montréal.

Comment

The second of three films by Almond featuring Bujold, it aroused considerable difference in opinion upon its release, but it stands nonetheless as a profound statement on the universal themes of ritual, sacrifice and purification. A disappointment at the box-office, it nevertheless won six Canadian Film Awards - including Direction (Almond) and Lead Actress (Bujold).

External links

• The Act of the Heart at IMDb