A film by Gabrielle Marceau
Into The River is an experimental fiction film about love, obsession and the power of narrative. It is loosely based on the novel, Nightwood, by Djuna Barnes. The film follows two women: Nora consumed by her love for Robin, and Robin posessed by a need for freedom. To cope with the loss of her love, Nora creates an elaborate fantasy world which reenacts their relationship in a doomed fairy tale. As she finds herself unraveling and falling deeper into delusion Nora faces not only losing her lover, but herself.
Written and directed by Gabrielle Marceau. Starring Anna Wheeler and Paule Emanuelle with Cinematography by John Palanca.
Into the River was screened at TIFF as part of the York University Cineseige program where it was nominated for best fiction film.
DIRECTOR’S NOTE
‘With Into The River, I wanted to attempt an unconventional approach to narrative structure, utilizing tropes from theatre and experimental cinema to convey themes of obsession, fantasy and the construction of identity. This film delves into the emotional world of its characters while also providing an exploration of how narrative, romance and cinema affect and construct our reality. I was interested in the way love distorts our perception, both of the loved one and ourselves. I wanted to explore how we begin to see the object of affection as inseperable from ourselves. Nora goes through this process to devastating effects. Robin looms so large in her consciousness that she feels unable to function without her and essentially loses her grasp on where she ends and Robin begins. I think this film is a testament to the beauty and the often destructive shades of love‘.
Into the River cinematographer John Palanca’s Cinematography Reel from Vimeo