An adaptation of Louis Hémon's novel Maria Chapdelaine, the film was directed and co-written by Gilles Carle and starred Carole Laure in the title role.
Maria Chapdelaine is set in the Lac Saint-Jean region of Quebec in the early years of the 20th century.
The beautiful Maria (Carole Laure), who dreams of an easier life than the one she must endure in the wilderness, gives her heart to a handsome lumberjack (Nick Mancuso) and waits for his return.
The cast includes Claude Rich, Amulette Garneau, Yoland Guérard, Pierre Curzi, Donald Lautrec, Gilbert Sicotte, Guy Thauvette, Stéphane Quéry, Josée-Anne Fortin, Louis-Philippe Milot, Gilbert Comptois, Patrick Messe, Claude Evrard, Claude Berval, Guy Godin, Marie Tifo, Jean-Pierre Masson, Dominique Briand, Claude Prégent, Angèle Arsenault, Jean Ricard, Guy L'Écuyer, Rolland Bédard, Raoul Duguay, Michel Rivard, Gilles Valiquette, Michel Langevin, Cédric Noël, José Ledoux, Renée Girard, Rock Demers, Yvon Sarrazin, Claude Trudel, Jean-Pierre Rhéaume, Georges Levchtouk and Gilbert Moore.
Gilles Carle was selected to direct the film due to his successful adaption of Roger Lemelin's Les Plouffe.