The Painted Door

The painted door, directed by Bruce Pittman, was likely the worst short film I've ever seen. I wish I could have used that time to do homework. The Story follows Ann as she has to stay home alone as John goes to help his elderly father, So he entrusts his closest friend to go and make sure Ann is ok and keep her company, Only they really keep eachother "company," if you catch what I mean. To be fair to the director, Bruce Pittman, The original story by Sinclair Ross wasn't really giving him much to work with, as its a story that takes just barely longer to read as it does to watch the movie, which doesn't give much wiggle room for creativity, and it doesn't help that the original story is basically glorified complaining and contemplation, then complaining that she contemplated Complaining. Luckily, for the most part the movie only lightly touches on the complaining, instead they replay the exact same audio clip of wind blowing, on repeat, for what felt like at least 15 minutes straight while Ann suffers from the separation anxiety of a puppy. I would hope that for those 15 minutes that the movie would at least have some cool scenic shots... Nope, it's a movie from 1984 with visuals reminiscent of the very first color films from 1937, With music pre-dating even that, and don't even get me started on the soundtrack of this film.

The National Film Board of Canada has had many Oscar nominated short films. Usually, there is not much to offer in this category. "The Painted Door" is one of those films worthy of an Academy Award. It is based on a classic Sinclair Ross short story with a characteristic surprise ending. Sinclair Ross has had at least 2 other short stories made into short films : "Cornet At Night"(there's actually two versions of this one) and "One's A Heifer". Bruce Pittman, who directed "The Painted Door" also directed "Cornet at Night"( I believe Anne Wheeler directed "One's A Heifer"). The other claim to fame of this film is the then unknown cast who are now familiar faces in films: Linda Goransen ("Owning Mahoney"), August Shellenberg("Free Willy"), and Eric Petersen ("Street Legal", "DaVinci's Inquest","Corner Gas"). What holds the acting and the plot together is Bruce Pittman's eye for detail. His films often capture quite vividly the settings of Canada's past in such films as "Where the Spirit Lives" and "Halifax: Shattered City". Great acting, great directing, great storyline, surprise ending: what else could you ask for?

Bruce Pittman's Academy Award-nominated short "The Painted Door" focuses on a couple trapped indoors during a snowstorm. Their existence looks like one tough life. The question remains: how will the husband get to the barn? The song that we hear in one scene is "Red River Valley", which I usually associate with movies like "The Grapes of Wrath".

Anyway, it's only about 23 minutes, but those are a harrowing 23 minutes. The husband is played by August Schellenberg, who also starred in "Black Robe" (I don't recognize Linda Goransen, who plays the wife).

I recommend it.