It film centres on Donna (Michèle Chicoine) and Gail (Jackie Burroughs), two young women who work together at a dress factory and live together as roommates, tracing the evolution and decline of their friendship in a documentary-style format.[1] It shows the currents that brought them together and the facets of their natures that first made them seem compatible but eventually drove them apart. Their story reflects, to a degree, the situation of anyone who has ever shared the life of another person.
The film makes use of the then-novel device of an unreliable narrator,[1] ultimately revealing that the film is much more about the narrator's skewed perceptions of the women's relationship than it is about the women themselves.[3] It was inspired in part by the contemporaneous films of Jean-Luc Godard.[1]
The characters of Donna and Gail recurred in Owen's 1967 feature film The Ernie Game.[4] Prior to the release of The Ernie Game, in which Donna and Gail were involved in a love triangle with Alexis Kanner's Ernie, some critics who had seen only Notes perceived Donna and Gail as being in a quasi-lesbian relationship; however, Owen demurred on this perception by saying "I really don't know, because, well, what is a lesbian relationship?"[5]
^Martin Knelman, "Donna and Gail shows what we ought to be doing in film". Toronto Star, August 17, 1968.
^Roy Shields, "Festival's fiction and MPs' fictions". Toronto Star, November 2, 1967.
^Geoffrey James, "Festival Awards Go Begging". Montreal Star, August 5, 1966.
^Maria Topalovich, And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Film Awards. Stoddart Publishing, 2000. ISBN0-7737-3238-1. pp. 77-79.
External linksedit
Watch Notes for a Film About Donna and Gail on the NFB website
notes, film, about, donna, gail, 1966, canadian, drama, film, directed, owen, national, film, board, canada, directed, bydon, owenwritten, bydon, owengerald, taaffeproduced, byjulian, biggsstarringjackie, burroughsmichèle, chicoinecinematographyjean, claude, l. Notes for a Film About Donna and Gail is a 1966 Canadian drama film directed by Don Owen for the National Film Board of Canada 1 2 Notes for a Film About Donna and GailDirected byDon OwenWritten byDon OwenGerald TaaffeProduced byJulian BiggsStarringJackie BurroughsMichele ChicoineCinematographyJean Claude LabrecqueEdited byBarrie HowellsJohn Knight sound Music byMalca Gillson editing ProductioncompanyNational Film Board of CanadaRelease date1966Running time48 minutesCountryCanadaLanguageEnglishIt film centres on Donna Michele Chicoine and Gail Jackie Burroughs two young women who work together at a dress factory and live together as roommates tracing the evolution and decline of their friendship in a documentary style format 1 It shows the currents that brought them together and the facets of their natures that first made them seem compatible but eventually drove them apart Their story reflects to a degree the situation of anyone who has ever shared the life of another person The film makes use of the then novel device of an unreliable narrator 1 ultimately revealing that the film is much more about the narrator s skewed perceptions of the women s relationship than it is about the women themselves 3 It was inspired in part by the contemporaneous films of Jean Luc Godard 1 The characters of Donna and Gail recurred in Owen s 1967 feature film The Ernie Game 4 Prior to the release of The Ernie Game in which Donna and Gail were involved in a love triangle with Alexis Kanner s Ernie some critics who had seen only Notes perceived Donna and Gail as being in a quasi lesbian relationship however Owen demurred on this perception by saying I really don t know because well what is a lesbian relationship 5 Awards editMontreal International Film Festival Montreal First Prize Medium Length 1966 6 19th Canadian Film Awards Montreal Genie Award for Best Film General Information 1967 7 Melbourne Film Festival Melbourne Diploma of Merit 1967References edit a b c d Steve Gravestock Don Owen Notes on a Filmmaker and His Culture Indiana University Press 2005 ISBN 9780968913246 Notes for a Film About Donna amp Gail nfb ca National Film Board of Canada Retrieved 20 April 2023 James Leach 1980 Don Owen s Obliterated Environments PDF The Dalhousie Review Martin Knelman Donna and Gail shows what we ought to be doing in film Toronto Star August 17 1968 Roy Shields Festival s fiction and MPs fictions Toronto Star November 2 1967 Geoffrey James Festival Awards Go Begging Montreal Star August 5 1966 Maria Topalovich And the Genie Goes To Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Film Awards Stoddart Publishing 2000 ISBN 0 7737 3238 1 pp 77 79 External links editWatch Notes for a Film About Donna and Gail on the NFB website Notes for a Film About Donna and Gail at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Notes for a Film About Donna and Gail amp oldid 1181774311, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
