The movie seems like an attempt to represent Quebec for a French audience, with an emphasis on what's unusual about the province's language, landscape, religious and working practices, etc. There's a lot of music and singing as well (including "Alouette" and other familiar songs of the times), with ultimately only a wisp of a story.
The title character, Maria Chapdelaine, is in love with François Paradis, and has to deal with his absence as he leaves to earn his livelihood as a fur trapper over the winter months. I won't say more about the story, because I would spoil the few surprises that it has to offer.
Unless you have a fascination for rural life in Quebec in the 1930s, you will find the movie slow going.
The title character, Maria Chapdelaine, is in love with François Paradis, and has to deal with his absence as he leaves to earn his livelihood as a fur trapper over the winter months. I won't say more about the story, because I would spoil the few surprises that it has to offer.
Unless you have a fascination for rural life in Quebec in the 1930s, you will find the movie slow going.