Post 5 - Patricia Rozema

I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing is a Canadian film released in 1987, written, directed, co-produced and edited by Patricia Rozema, that had been sitting in my Netflix queue for quite some time. The film is semi-narrated by the protagonist – Polly - a young-ish, socially awkward, redheaded introvert. Polly bikes around town, daydreaming and taking photos of the beauty she finds in ordinary life. When she gets a job as a secretary at a private art gallery, she develops a small crush on the exotic French curator, Gabrielle. Polly eventually builds up the courage to (anonymously) send in her own photos to the gallery, but is heartbroken when the curator, not knowing whose photos they are, calls them simple-minded. When Polly discovers that Gabrielle and her on again off again partner, Mary, have been passing Mary’s work off as Gabrielle’s, she becomes disillusioned, throwing hot tea in Gabrielle’s face. The film ends with Gabrielle and Mary going to see Polly at her apartment, realizing that she was the one who took the photos, and walking through a door to a woodland dream world where Polly supposedly frequently goes in her mind.

            This film certainly passes the Bechdel Test (I think I saw one man in the entire film and he didn’t have much to say) but it’s also an important work of art for women. Through Polly, Rozema manages to capture the identity crisis that many women (and men) face at some point in their lives. Polly struggles to find her place in the world, unable to secure a job that she’s actually good at, or obtain satisfaction living in reality. She daydreams frequently, in one fantasy she’s flying high over the city, and fills up her free time taking photos of situations in everyday life that she finds beautiful. Photography is her passion and when the curator, a woman that Polly has come to idolize, rejects her work, Polly falls apart.

I think Rozema has made this film very accessible to many by exploring the difficulties faced in trying to define oneself in a world that can frequently feel uncomfortable and alien to us. While Polly’s social ineptitude is perhaps more exaggerated than most people I know, I do think many can relate to her experiences.