| The Garden | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Derek Jarman |
| Written by | Derek Jarman |
| Produced by | James Mackay |
| Starring | Tilda Swinton Spencer Leigh Spring - Mark Adley |
| Narrated by | Michael Gough |
| Cinematography | Derek Jarman, Christopher Hughes, Richard Heslop |
| Edited by | Derek Jarman, Peter Cartwright, Kevin Collins |
| Music by | Simon Fisher Turner COIL Miranda Sex Garden |
| Distributed by | Basilisk Communications |
Release date | 1990 |
Running time | 95 min. |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | GBP£380,000 |
The Garden is a 1990 British arthouse film by director Derek Jarman produced by James Mackay for Basilisk Communications in association with Channel 4, British Screen and ZDF. It focuses on homosexuality and Christianity set against a backdrop of Jarman's bleak coastal home of Dungeness in Kent,[1] and his garden and the nearby landscape surrounding a nuclear power station, a setting Jarman compares to the Garden of Eden or Garden of Gethsemenae.[2] The film was entered into the 17th Moscow International Film Festival.[3]
Overview
Lacking almost any dialogue, the film is shown as Jarman's own subjective musings, which are tempered by the reality of his own mortality—when HIV-positive Jarman made the film he was facing death from AIDS. Jarman reads a moving elegy to lost friends at the film's end.[4]
The film follows a seemingly innocent and loving gay couple whose idealistic existence is interrupted when they are arrested, severely humiliated, tortured and killed. In between this are nonlinear images of religious iconography — a Madonna (Tilda Swinton) who is overexposed and harassed by paparazzi in balaclavas; a Jesus who painfully watches the world pass him by; a Judas who is hanged and used as a tool to advertise credit cards; and water dropping from an image of Christ on the crucifix. Otherr images include the Twelve Apostles as 12 women in babushkas, sitting at a table by the seaside as they run their fingers around the edges of wine glasses to create an ominous hum.[4]
It also focuses on what it means to be gay in the 20th century, highlighting Section 28, of which Jarman was from the start a noted opponent. The film is augmented with unusually tinted shots of beaches and bizarre changes between classical, Cypriot and other types of music and sound. The film has a soundtrack by Simon Fisher-Turner and production design by Derek Brown.
It is currently the only one of Jarman's feature-length films not available on Region 1 DVD.
Cast
- Tilda Swinton as Madonna
- Johnny Mills as Lover
- Philip MacDonald as Joseph
- Pete Lee-Wilson as Devil
- Spencer Leigh as Mary Magdalene / Adam
- Jody Graber as Young Boy
- Roger Cook as Christ
- Kevin Collins as Lover
- Jack Birkett as Pontius (as Orlando)
Other cast members; Dawn Archibald, Milo Bell, Vernon Dobtcheff, Michael Gough, Mirabelle La Manchega and Jessica Martin.
Reviews
Janet Maslin of The New York Times in 1991, thought that the film was an "assemblage of turbulent images" and "is a peculiar blend of reflectiveness and fury". It "has a burning, kaleidoscopic energy" and "genuineness and pathos of Mr. Jarman's own situation".[4]
On Rotten Tomatoes, The Garden has a audience score of 74%.[5]
References
- ^ Kent Film Office. "Kent Film Office The Garden Article".
- ^ William Pencak The Films of Derek Jarman at Google Books
- ^ "17th Moscow International Film Festival (1991)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 3 April 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
((cite web)): Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c Maslin, Janet (1991). "REVIEW/FILM; Derek Jarman's 'Garden' Offers Visions of Decay". New York Times.
- ^ "THE GARDEN (1990)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
External links