Michael McGowan (One Week, Score: A Hockey Musical), renowned Canadian film auteur, brings us his most recent film Still Mine, an inspirational Nova Scotian tale of incredible accomplishment, perseverance, love and independence. James Cromwell (Babe, 24, L.A. Confidential) – whose Still Mine role recently won him a Canadian Screen Award for Best Actor – and Academy Award nominee Geneviève Bujold (The Trotsky, Tightrope) star in this heartwarming tribute to enduring devotion.

Craig Morrison (James Cromwell) is a retired Nova Scotia farmer in his eighties. Full of vigor and fiercely independent, he and his wife Irene (Geneviève Bujold) live in an old farmhouse outside of town. When Irene starts to develop symptoms of Alzheimer’s, their children beg them to consider moving. Adamant not to move into town or to a care home, Craig decides the solution to their problems is to build a new house; one that better suits their needs. However, this is only financially achievable if he builds it himself, a heavy undertaking for anyone, no less an octogenarian. Craig embarks on this herculean task with the reluctant blessing from his family but almost immediately encounters problems with the town’s building inspector. Quickly the conflict escalates from just needing to meet the town’s ever expanding building requirements to a debate on regulation versus personal sovereignty and autonomy.

As Craig rises to meet each of the town’s new demands, Irene’s Alzheimer’s gets steadily worse and the urgency and motivation to finish the house increases. Craig’s hopes and dreams for his future together with Irene are entirely reliant on the new home, while new challenges to her care present themselves daily. The patience, tenderness and love with which Craig takes care of his degenerating wife is exceptionally moving. He is totally committed to her, and she him.

McGowan tells a truly beautiful story about love in its twilight years. Superbly acted by James Cromwell and Genevieve Bujold, this multifaceted story empathetically portrays the challenges and highlights of lifetime love set to a backdrop of well articulated political issues. Whether you’re looking for a film about incredible feats of achievement, a uniquely Canadian tale, or a love story, Still Mine will not disappoint.

Astrid Handling