DVD Released: 2005
Approximate Running Time: 94 minutes
Aspect Ratio: Letterbox
Rating: NR
Sound: Stereo Sound
DVD Release: DigiView Productions
Region Coding: Region 0 NTSC
Retail Price: $1.00

Produced by TripTych Media, a Canadian corporation that develops and adapts screenplays, this drama is an adaptation of a novel by David Adam Richards. The Bay of Love and Sorrows was nominated for 2 DGC Awards.

The Bay of Love and Sorrows is based in a small town just outside of New Brunswick, Newcastle in 1973. World traveler Michael Skid (Jonathan Scarfe) idealizes a communist lifestyle to his young impressionable peers. Everett (Peter Outerbridge) manipulates Michael’s ideology in an attempt to benefit himself and furthering his dark designs. Hell breaks loose as dreams, relationships, and friendships tear apart.

The Strength of The Bay of Love and Sorrows relies on its intense atmosphere and beautiful cinematography thus setting itself apart from other Canadian dramas. Some may find the characters a bit stereotypical and limited. The dialog doesn’t suffer as much with this predictability. The actors, however not top billing are more than acceptable with strong performances. The overall effect of The Bay of Love and Sorrows is cut and dry, yet fitting for this otherwise dismal film. American audiences undoubtedly categorize The Bay of Love and Sorrows as a sleeper as it lacks the necessary crescendo to achieve “classic” status. The violence in this film is left off-screen to the viewers’ imagination.

The DVD:

This single-layered DVD was produced by DigiView, a budget company lacking any real special features and non-existent liner notes. The slim line jewel case and printed cover is surprisingly professional for a budget release. The name-dropping of awards overwhelms the packaging, detracting from the feature. The cover design leads the viewer to incorrectly believe this is a black and white feature.

This film is quite soft and much of the 35mm detail is lost, colors muddle together and ghosting is visible, the video probably compressed from a poor master. Compared to other budget releases, however this film shines like a masterpiece and is quite watch-able. No subtitle options are found. The sound is quite atmospheric. The film appears to be in its correct aspect ratio.

View The Bay of Love and Sorrows trailer here:

The Bay of Love and Sorrows is well worth a viewing for its quality and low price.