For his first American film, Scottish director Bill Forsyth (of Gregory’s Girl and Local Hero fame) adapted author Marilynne Robinson’s 1980 novel (which The Guardian lists as one of the 100 greatest novels of all time).
The affectionate drama follows two orphaned sisters (played by unknowns Sara Walker and Andrea Burchill) and their Canadian childhood in the charge of an itinerant unconventional aunt, Sylvie (Christine Lahti), who is haunted by ghosts from her past, but who knows how to deal with abandonment and loss by creating a spiritual home within one’s self.
The seasons are caught so well that you can almost smell and feel wood smoke and winter chill, and while the film does err on the slow side, it’s a perceptive, poignant, poetic and decidedly offbeat look at family life.
From Powerhouse Films in the UK comes the region free Dual Format Edition ( a world Blu-ray and UK DVD premiere) which includes the following special features:
• High Definition re-master • Original stereo audio • Bill Forsyth on Housekeeping (2017, 42 mins) • Marilynne Robinson on Housekeeping (2017, 14 mins) • Director of Photography Michael Coulter on Housekeeping (2017, 13 mins) • Editor Michael Ellis on Housekeeping (2017, 11 mins) • BFI Interview with Bill Forsyth (1994, 36 mins): archival audio recording of an on-stage interview conducted by Nick James at the National Film Theatre, London • Original theatrical trailer • Image gallery: on-set and production materials from the personal collections of the filmmakers • New English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing • Collector’s booklet featuring new essay, a production report and reviews
