NO OTHER LOVE

US, 1979, 120 minutes, Colour.
Richard Thomas, Julie Kavner, Frances Lee Mc Cain, Norman Alden, Robert Loggia, M. Emmett Walsh, Scott Jacoby.
Directed by Richard Pearce.

No Other Love is a sensitive telemovie about retarded adults. It is a love story with a social theme. It raises questions about the nature of retardation and the rights of men and women who grow to adult age without the ability to fully cope with life - where are the limits, where should there be restrictions on them? The story is straightforward and the impact of the film rests strongly on performances by Richard Thomas and Julie Kavner, familiar to television audiences. Direction is by Richard Pearce who made an interesting telemovie about terrorised old people in New York, Siege, and a moving semi-documentary feature about pioneers in the Mid- West, Heartland.

1. The impact of this kind of emotional telemovie? Audience identification, sympathy, insight and understanding? Response to social and personal issues? Sensitivity and change of attitudes?

2. The issues of human rights, maturity, adulthood, retardation? Love, marriage? Audiences understanding the characters, feeling with them, making judgments based on feeling and insight?

3. Julie Kavner's performance as a retarded young woman? Seeing her at work, at the inspection, with her family, with her brother, losing her job? Her wanting to work? Her coping at home? Her meeting with Andrew? Her tour of the institution and her being repelled? Her going to the house and liking it? Discussions with Andrew ? talking, shared interests, feelings? Discussion about love and marriage? The retarded adults going through the motions of courtship and love ? with the cliches from soap opera? The reaction of the parents and their fear? Her response to being separated from Andrew? Her taking the boat to go and search for him? Being reunited? The wedding? The importance of the film's attention to details in conversations, outings, the shop with the glasses, their being lost, the boat?

4. Richard Thomas' performance as Andrew? Stealing, his place in the house, discussions and sharing, the outing and his taking charge, the sequence of the buying of the glasses and the frames, telephoning when he was lost? The love sequences and his talking in terms of expectations (and soap opera?)? His attitude towards the parents, his friend? His being hurt with the separation? His decision to challenge the parents?

5. The portrait of the parents, their love, coping for so many years? Their treatment of their daughter? Wanting the best for her, but inevitably conscious of the pressure on themselves? The visit to the institution and their decision not to send their daughter there? The house? The brother and his taking his sister's side, being against her, capitulating? The contrast with the couple in charge of the house and their management of the men and women?

6. Themes of human dignity, the quality of life? The capacity for coping management of life, enjoyment of life? Simplicity of values? The focusing of these values in terms of work, freedom, marriage?

7. The questions of marriage and responsibility ? sexual relationship, birth control, children? Who sets the limits?

8. What was the audience left with in terms of understanding and judgment?