A Woman's Tale is a 1991 Australian film directed by Paul Cox and starring Sheila Florance, Gosia Dobrowolska, Norman Kaye, Chris Haywood, Max Gillies and Ernie Gray.

Premise

Martha (Florance) is an elderly woman living alone in her flat and dying of cancer. Her love of life leads to an ambivalence about her age; her unique moral code leads to her playing cupid for her friend and nurse Anna (Dobrowolska) and Anna's married lover (Gray); her worrisome son (Haywood) wants her to move into a home; her neighbour Billy (Kaye) has dementia.

Production

Florance herself was dying of cancer as the film was being shot. She died, aged 75, nine days after being awarded the 1991 Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

Box office

A Woman's Tale grossed $49,584 at the box office in Australia. The film grossed $405,137 in the United States.

Reception

Roger Ebert added A Woman's Tale to his Great Movies list in 2004. In 1992, the film won the Grand Prix for Best Film at Film Fest Gent.