The Garden (1990 film)
| The Garden | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Derek Jarman |
| Written by | Derek Jarman |
| Produced by | James Mackay |
| Starring | Tilda Swinton Johnny Mills Kevin Collins Spencer Leigh |
| Narrated by | Michael Gough |
| Cinematography | Derek Jarman Christopher Hughes Richard Heslop |
| Edited by | Derek Jarman Peter Cartwright Kevin Collins |
| Music by | Simon Fisher Turner |
Production company | Basilisk Communications |
| Distributed by | Artificial Eye[1] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | GBP£380,000 |
The Garden is a 1990 British arthouse film directed by Derek Jarman and produced by James Mackay for Basilisk Communications, in association with Channel 4, British Screen, and ZDF. The film is loosely based on the story of Christ's crucifixion, except the figure of Christ is replaced with a gay male couple. The film has been seen as an allegory of the suffering gays were going through during the AIDS crisis and their ostracism by most of society. The film was entered into the 17th Moscow International Film Festival.[2]
Overview
[edit]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 an elegy to lost friends at the film's end.[3]
The film follows a seemingly innocent and loving homosexual male couple whose idealistic existence is interrupted when they are arrested, 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 trans woman who, to the background soundtrack of a fox hunt is similarly humiliated and shamed by paparazzi and privileged cis women; Jesus, who 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.
Other 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.[3]
It also focuses on what it meant to be required to be viewed as queer 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.
Production
[edit]The film has a soundtrack by Simon Fisher-Turner and production design by Derek Brown.
Home media
[edit]The Garden is available on DVD and Blu-ray.[4]
Cast
[edit]- 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.
Reception
[edit]On Rotten Tomatoes, The Garden has a 100% approval rating, based on six reviews, with an average rating of 8.75/10.[5]
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".[3]
References
[edit]- ^ "The Garden (1990)". BBFC. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
- ^ "17th Moscow International Film Festival (1991)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 3 April 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
- ^ a b c Maslin, Janet (1991). "REVIEW/FILM; Derek Jarman's 'Garden' Offers Visions of Decay". New York Times.
- ^ "The Garden (Jarman)".
- ^ "The Garden (1990)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2 July 2020.