Margaret's Museum is a 1995 Canadian-British drama film directed by Mort Ransen and based on Sheldon Currie's novel The Glace Bay Miners' Museum. It stars Helena Bonham Carter, Clive Russell, and Kate Nelligan. The film won six Genie Awards, including acting awards for Bonham Carter and Nelligan.

Margaret's Museum
Directed byMort Ransen
Screenplay byGerald Weller
Mort Ransen
Based onThe Glace Bay Miners' Museum
by Sheldon Currie
Produced byMarilyn A. Belec
Steve Clark-Hall
Claudio Luca
Mike Mahoney
Mort Ransen
Christopher Zimmer
Starring
CinematographyVic Sarin
Edited byRita Roy
Music byMilan Kymlicka
Production
companies
National Film Board of Canada
British Screen Productions
Ciné Télé Action
Glace Bay Pictures
Malofilm
Distributed byAstra Cinema
Release date
  • 13 September 1995 (1995-09-13)
Running time
118 minutes[1]
CountriesCanada
United Kingdom
LanguagesEnglish
Scottish Gaelic

Plot

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Set in the 1940s in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, the film tells the story of a young girl living in a coal mining town where the death of men from accidents in "the pit" (the mines) has become almost routine. Margaret MacNeil has already lost her father and an older brother and for her, life alone would be preferable to marrying a mine worker—that is until the charming Neil Currie shows up. Against the wishes of her hard-bitten mother they marry, but, before long, financial woes lead to his doing what every other uneducated young man does in the town: take a job underground. His death in the mine, along with her younger brother, drives Margaret to a mental breakdown and, in her surreal world, she decides to create a "special" museum to the memories of all those who have died as a result of the horrific mining conditions.

Cast

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Production notes

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Part of Margaret's Museum was filmed in the UK. It carried significance in the local area of Newtongrange, Scotland as the screen debut of local TV celebrity David MacBeath, who appeared as an extra in the film.

Critical reception

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Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 ½ stars out 4.[2] He praised the cast and wrote Margaret's Museum "is one of those small, nearly perfect movies that you know, seeing it, is absolutely one of a kind."[2]

Awards and nominations

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Year Ceremony Recipient Category Result
1995 San Sebastián International Film Festival[3] Best Film Won
Vancouver International Film Festival[4] Most Popular Canadian Film Won
1998 Fantasporto Awards Helena Bonham Carter Best Actress Won
1996 Genie Awards[5][3] Best Motion Picture Nominated
Mort Ransen Best Achievement in Direction Nominated
Clive Russell Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Nominated
Helena Bonham Carter Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role Won
Kenneth Welsh Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role Won
Kate Nelligan Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Won
Nicoletta Massone Best Achievement in Costume Design Won
William Fleming
David McHenry
Best Achievement in Art Direction/Production Design Nominated
Vic Sarin Best Achievement in Cinematography Nominated
Milan Kymlicka Best Achievement in Music – Original Score Won
Mort Ransen
Gerald Wexler
Best Screenplay Won

In 2001, an industry poll conducted by Playback named Margaret's Museum the 14th best Canadian film of the preceding 15 years.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "Margaret's Museum". Canadian Film Encyclopedia. TIFF. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  2. ^ a b Ebert, Roger (21 February 1997). "Margaret's Museum". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Margaret's Museum - Awards & Festivals". Mubi. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  4. ^ Vale, Allison (20 November 1995). "Special Report: The Genies: Margaret looking at the big picture". Playback. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  5. ^ "Film shows Canada at its best". Quesnel Cariboo Observer. 14 April 1996. p. 16. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  6. ^ Posner, Michael (25 November 2001). "Egoyan tops film poll". The Globe and Mail.
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