Away From Her is the lyrical film adaptation of Alice Munro’s beloved short story, “The Bear Came Over the Mountain,” a beautiful yet unconventional story of a couple coming to grips with the onset of memory loss. There are extraordinary performances at the core of this touching film, but it was the emergence of Sarah Polley, in a remarkable move into feature film direction, that drew rave reviews at the Toronto International Film Festival last year.

Grant (Gordon Pinsent) and Fiona (Julie Christie) have been married for decades. They have been through rough patches, but their lives are inextricably connected and their relationship seems idyllic: they share a private language and obvious affection for one another. Now retired, they live comfortably in a house in the country, but their contentment is permanently disrupted when Fiona’s memory starts to deteriorate. Determined not to saddle Grant with her declining health, she insists upon going to a rest home – which only tears Grant apart. He feels guilty about decades-old behavior, and his state is worsened by the rules of Fiona’s new residence, which demand that he not communicate or visit with her for a lengthy period of time.

Dealing with the slippery divisions between memory and forgetting, guilt and freedom, Away From Her has even more to do with compassion, empathy and enduring love. It is a heartbreakingly lovely and memorable cinematic experience.