''Final Assignment'' is a 1980

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

thriller drama film, written by Marc Rosen and directed by

Paul Almond Paul Almond (April 26, 1931 – April 9, 2015) was a Canadian television and motion picture screenwriter, director, producer, and novelist. He is most known for being the director of the first film in the '' Up'' series. Life and career Paul A ...

Gerald Pratley Gerald Arthur Pratley (September 3, 1923 – March 14, 2011) was a Canadian film critic and historian. Piers Handling"Gerald Arthur Pratley" ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'', September 18, 2011. A longtime film critic for the Canadian Broadcasting Cor ...

, ''A Century of Canadian Cinema''. Lynx Images, 2003. . p. 77.

Plot

In this complex spy caper, Nicole (

Geneviève Bujold Geneviève Bujold (; born July 1, 1942) is a Canadian actress. For her portrayal of Anne Boleyn in the period drama film '' Anne of the Thousand Days'' (1969), Bujold received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her other film cr ...

) is a Canadian broadcast journalist working on assignment in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. She is there to cover a visit by the Canadian Prime Minister, but along the way she discovers an unethical experimentation on children involving the use of steroids, she is also involved in smuggling out a girl for emergency brain surgery. Things get complicated when in the process, she develops a romantic liaison with yoshita (

Michael York Michael York (born Michael Hugh Johnson; 27 March 1942) is an English film, television, and stage actor. After performing on stage with the Royal National Theatre, he had a breakthrough in films by playing Tybalt in Franco Zeffirelli's ''Romeo ...

), a bureaucrat in the Soviet press corps whose job is to watch her during her stay. A rich businessman (

Burgess Meredith Oliver Burgess Meredith (November 16, 1907 – September 9, 1997) was an American actor and filmmaker whose career encompassed radio, theater, film, and television. Active for more than six decades, Meredith has been called "a virtuosic actor" ...

) she knows happens to be in Russia at the same time, and she asks him to help her in the smuggling attempt. The film's cast also includes

Colleen Dewhurst Colleen Rose Dewhurst (June 3, 1924 – August 22, 1991) was a Canadian-American actress mostly known for theatre roles. She was a renowned interpreter of the works of Eugene O'Neill on the stage, and her career also encompassed film, early dra ...

and

Richard Gabourie Richard Gabourie (April 30, 1939 – October 11, 2004) was a Canadian actor, screenwriter and film producer, most noted for winning the Canadian Film Award for Best Actor in 1978 for '' Three Card Monte''. Born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Gabou ...

Cast

Genevieve Bujold Genevieve (; ; also called ''Genovefa'' and ''Genofeva''; 419/422 AD – 502/512 AD) was a consecrated virgin, and is one of the two patron saints of Paris in the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church. Her feast day is on 3 January. Reco ...

as Nicole Thompson *

as Lyosha Petrov *

as Zak *

as Dr. Valentine Ulanova * Michelle Mostovoy as Tasha *

as Bowen * Len Doncheff as Colonel Kozlov *

Alexandra Stewart Alexandra Stewart (born June 10, 1939) is a Canadian actress. Biography Born in Montreal, Quebec, Stewart left for Paris, France, in 1958, to study art. Within a year, she made her film debut in '' Les Motards'', and has since then enjoyed a ste ...

as Samantha O'Donnell * Septimiu Sever as Buchinsky (credited as Septimui Sever) *

David McIlwraith David McIlwraith is a Canadian actor who has appeared in numerous television series and in several films since the 1970s. He co-starred in the 1993 television series ''White Fang'' and also had a prominent role as Dr. Reginald Murdoch in the 200 ...

as Richard * Renato Trujillo as Argentinian Guerrilla Leader * Michael Maloley as KGB Agent (credited as Michael Mololey) * Jeffrey Ladenheim as Guitarist / Gypsy In Final Scene (credited as Jeff Ladenheim) * Andrew Semple as Russian Juggler

Production

The film had originally been slated to be directed by

Silvio Narizzano Silvio Narizzano (8 February 192726 July 2011) was a Canadian film and television director, who lived and worked primarily in the United Kingdom. He is best known for directing the acclaimed 1966 comedy-drama film '' Georgy Girl,'' which is cons ...

, although he left the production and Almond was brought in. Production was further complicated when the Soviet government refused Almond's request for stock film footage of

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, due to its displeasure at Canada's diplomatic response to the 1979

Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War took place in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from December 1979 to February 1989. Marking the beginning of the 46-year-long Afghan conflict, it saw the Soviet Union and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic o ...

. Dewhurst described her experience working on the film as "summer stock in Podunk". She clarified that "the crew was terrific. The hierarchy was at fault. I keep praying that it will never come out. I have no comment about Mr. Almond and you can write that down. You will never see four more confused actors on the screen in your life."Sid Adilman, "Colleen Dewhurst is coming home". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'', March 22, 1980.

Critical response

In his 2003 book ''A Century of Canadian Cinema'', film scholar Gerald Pratley trashed the film, calling it "probably the worst spy movie ever made".

References

External links

Final Assignment
at

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Final Assignment
at

Internet Movie Database IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

English-language Canadian films 1980 films Films set in Montreal Films directed by Paul Almond Films set in the Soviet Union Cold War films Canadian thriller films 1980s English-language films 1980s Canadian films {{1980s-Canada-film-stub