Camilla (1994)

Vincent and Freda Lopez are a young married Toronto couple who both indulge in the arts, Vince as an artist and Freda as a musician/composer. Their marriage is not as secure as it may seem ... See full summary »

Director:

Deepa Mehta

Writers:

Ali Jennings (story), Paul Quarrington

Stars:

Jessica Tandy, Bridget Fonda, Elias Koteas

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jessica Tandy	...	Camilla Cara
Bridget Fonda	...	Freda Lopez
Elias Koteas	...	Vincent Lopez
Maury Chaykin	...	Harold Cara
Graham Greene	...	Hunt Weller
Hume Cronyn	...	Ewald
Ranjit Chowdhry	...	Officer Kapur
George Harris	...	Jerry
Sandi Ross	...	Border Guard
Gerry Quigley	...	Border Official
Atom Egoyan	...	Sea Bunnies Director
Devyani Saltzman	...	Girl #1
Camille Spence	...	Girl #2
Martha Cronyn	...	Coat Check Woman
Sheilanne Lindsay	...	Lauron Tinscheff

Storyline

Vincent and Freda Lopez are a young married Toronto couple who both indulge in the arts, Vince as an artist and Freda as a musician/composer. Their marriage is not as secure as it may seem on the surface as Vince sees Freda's music as purely a hobby, while she sees it as her vocation, despite feeling insecure about it. The two drive to Savannah, Georgia for a vacation, where they meet mother and son Camilla and Harold Cara, a former concert violinist and a B-movie producer respectively. There is an immediate bond between Camilla and Freda because of their music, and because of the unconditional support Camilla provides to Freda concerning her music that Vince will or cannot. Their bond is also despite the obvious exaggerated stories Camilla tells of her life. After Vince and Harold leave to work on a joint project and after Freda and Vince have an argument following about her musical career, Freda asks Camilla to drive back to Toronto with her to attend a concert of Brahms' violin ...

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Plot Keywords:

concert | violinist | vacation | theatre | savannah georgia | 

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Taglines:

They went looking for adventure... and found themselves.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

Canada UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 November 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Freda y Camilla

Filming Locations:

Fort Pulaski National Monument - U.S. Highway 80, Savannah, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,500,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$250,993 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax Films, Majestic Films International, Newcomm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

References Being There (1979)

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Soundtracks

"Public Enemy"
Music by Daniel Lanois
Performed by Daniel Lanois, Manu Katché (as Manu Katche), Bill Dillon & Malcolm Burn
Published by Opal Music, London and Aludra Music Inc./ASCAP North America

User Reviews

A story about two women, one young and one old, getting their second chances at love.

This was Jessica Tandy's last movie, and even as an 80-something was lovely and sexy enough to do a nude skinny-dipping scene in the Atlantic off Georgia. Her foil was played by Bridget Fonda, and the main of the story is the two of them taking off to go back to Toronto to hear a Brahms violin concerto while Tandy's son and Fonda's husband are out of town on business. A highlight was a scene near the end when Camilla met up with her old boyfriend, played by her real husband, Hume Cronyn, and there is something very special seeing two actors who have been married for over 50 years do a romantic scene.

Critic Ebert has a fairly accurate review, but I believe is overly harsh in his analysis of it being too contrived. The film was meant to be funny, with Camilla making up these grand stories and her flustered son trying to find out where she had run off to. All she wanted was to get back to her old Russian boyfriend. I would recommned this film to anyone who likes a "character" film. It felt more like they were allowing us, the audience, to enter in and become a part of their lives.