I Know Where I'm Going!

I Know Where I'm Going! is a 1945 film directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger and starring Wendy Hiller (Academy Award-winner, who acted from 1936-1993 in such films as Pygmalion, Major Barbara, A Man for All Seasons, 1974's Murder on the Orient Express, The Elephant Man); Roger Livesey (best remembered for this and 2 other Powell/Pressburger films); Finlay Curie (active from 1899-1968, including roles in the TV series The Prisoner and The Saint); John Laurie (who acted in film and tv from 1930-1979); and Petula Clark in her 4th film. This is the story of a young woman who has always known where she is going. And now she's almost there. This is wonderful and a beautiful film to watch.

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BFI Screen Online says,

It was perhaps the pair's most personal film to date: a metaphysical love story which confirmed their continuing departure from Britain's realist tradition. IKWIG (as the Archers themselves referred to it) is a full-blown critique of materialism -in the philosophical as well as the economic sense...

and concludes by saying it "is one of the duo's best-loved films, cherished for its heightened romanticism and fine performances, and for Erwin Hillier's ravishing cinematography."

The Guardian calls it "a great movie". Time Out says, "lyrically shot in monochrome by Erwin Hillier, it's all quite beautiful, combining romance, comedy, suspense and a sense of the supernatural to winning effect." Senses of Cinema asks, "Why have so many people fallen in love with this film? So much so that they trek to “the edge of the world” to visit its locations?" and concludes, "Powell and Pressburger’s film casts its own magic that cannot be replicated in the real world. But nevertheless, we can continue to appreciate the movie-made magic of I Know Where I’m Going! over and over again."

DVD Talk says, "A superlative film, I Know Where I'm Going! is as romantic as they come and twice as deep." It's listed in the book 1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. TCM has information. Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 100%.