As the BFI’s Cinema Unbound season continues to shed light on the films of Powell and Pressburger, we take a closer look at I Know Where I’m Going!
Powell and Pressburger are best known for their exquisite and stunning romantic pieces that are bolstered by sumptuous visuals and stunning scripts. Movies such as The Red Shoes (1948), Black Narcisuss (1947), and A Matter Of Life And Death (1946) are indelible, and it’s no wonder that they’re often listed among the best films of all time. However, there’s one film that is often erroneously missed. A film so striking and so wickedly smart that it’s impossible not to fall in love with. I Know Where I’m Going! (1945) is possibly one of the most captivating romantic comedies of its era, and deserves to be celebrated more widely. Starring Wendy Hiller and Roger Livesey, its story revolves around Joan, a young woman sent to the Scottish Hebrides to marry a wealthy industrialist. Left stuck by the bad weather, and charmed by the local islanders, she finds herself attracted to a mysterious naval officer. Cinematographer Erwin Hillier is a genius in his craft, and his striking artistic eye lends itself well to the rolling natural landscape of the Isle of Mull, where it was filmed. I wrote last week about how Hillier does an outstanding job of capturing the wild weather of the island, yet it bears repeating. There isn’t one frame of this movie that isn’t utterly beautiful. Moments where shadow and light form patterns so lusciously against the hills are just insanely gorgeous.
Powell and Pressburger are best known for their exquisite and stunning romantic pieces that are bolstered by sumptuous visuals and stunning scripts. Movies such as The Red Shoes (1948), Black Narcisuss (1947), and A Matter Of Life And Death (1946) are indelible, and it’s no wonder that they’re often listed among the best films of all time. However, there’s one film that is often erroneously missed. A film so striking and so wickedly smart that it’s impossible not to fall in love with. I Know Where I’m Going! (1945) is possibly one of the most captivating romantic comedies of its era, and deserves to be celebrated more widely. Starring Wendy Hiller and Roger Livesey, its story revolves around Joan, a young woman sent to the Scottish Hebrides to marry a wealthy industrialist. Left stuck by the bad weather, and charmed by the local islanders, she finds herself attracted to a mysterious naval officer. Cinematographer Erwin Hillier is a genius in his craft, and his striking artistic eye lends itself well to the rolling natural landscape of the Isle of Mull, where it was filmed. I wrote last week about how Hillier does an outstanding job of capturing the wild weather of the island, yet it bears repeating. There isn’t one frame of this movie that isn’t utterly beautiful. Moments where shadow and light form patterns so lusciously against the hills are just insanely gorgeous.
