The Painted Door (1984) User Reviews

Canadian short tells a story of a tough life

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 21 August 2019]

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.

Oscar nominated short film based on a Canadian classic.

[ram-30 · 10/10 · 1 June 2004]

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?