Wedding in White is the story of a young woman, played by Carol Kane, who is raped by a soldier during WWII, but finds the worst part of the experience is the treatment she receives at the hands of her domineering father and timid mother. The movie was filmed in Canada, back in 1972, and it's varied messages about unwed mothers, social mores, and even military "honor" are as poignant today as they ever were back when this was made. Keep in mind this was made when abortions were illegal and that unwed pregnant women typically had a choice of being sent away or forced to marry someone completely repulsive as a means of saving face.

The movie's director, William Fruet, is best known for his varied syndicated television series that usually revolve around science fiction or horror of some sort. His vision here was almost surreal in how bleak and uncaring the world is portrayed with no hope for our young protagonist. Her father, played aptly by Donald Pleasence, was a character study in how oppressive society could be towards a woman in such circumstances. Today is the 8 year anniversary of his death and fans of his performances will want to at least rent this one, as will fans of Carol's.

Picture:

The picture was relatively clear for such an older foreign film and had no artifacts or other major problems. It was presented in full frame 1:33 color with a washed out look most of the time that was fitting for the subject matter.

Sound:

The audio was good for such an older film and presented in two channel stereo.

Extras:

The dvd contained biographies of Carol Kane, Donald Pleasence, and William Fruet. The best extra was the audio commentary by Carol. She provided a fair amount of background information and anecdotes of her life so fans will probably enjoy this extra at least as much as the movie itself. The dvd also included a photogallery.

Final Thoughts:

When I first watched the movie, I thought about how depressing it was. Most movie I've seen from Canada have been a lot lighter in scope and topic. I couldn't deny that the subject matter, and particularly the ending, was a downer for me. Upon watching it a second time, within the context that Ms. Kane provided in the audio commentary, I saw it in a different way. In both cases, the movie got me to thinking about the subject matter and that is no small feat. Regardless of your political leanings, the message was clear on several levels about the inequities of life and social standings. I recommend this as a rental to anyone other than those who want escapist fantasy (they'll want to skip it), or fans of Donald or Carol who may consider it worth a purchase.