The Garden (1990 film)

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. It focuses on homosexuality and Christianity set against a backdrop of Prospect Cottage, 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]

The Garden
Directed byDerek Jarman
Produced byJames Mackay
Written byDerek Jarman
StarringTilda Swinton
Spencer Leigh
Spring - Mark Adley
Narrated byMichael Gough
Music bySimon Fisher Turner
COIL
Miranda Sex Garden
CinematographyDerek Jarman
Christopher Hughes
Richard Heslop
Edited byDerek Jarman
Peter Cartwright
Kevin Collins
Production
company
Basilisk Communications
Distributed byBasilisk Communications
Release date
1990
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
BudgetGBP£380,000

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. 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.[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.

Production

The film has a soundtrack by Simon Fisher-Turner and production design by Derek Brown.

Home media

As of 2013, it is the only one of Jarman's feature-length films not available on Region 1 DVD.[5][6]

Cast

Other cast members; Dawn Archibald, Milo Bell, Vernon Dobtcheff, Michael Gough, Mirabelle La Manchega and Jessica Martin.

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, The Garden has a 100% approval rating, based on six reviews, with an average rating of 8.75/10.[7]

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]

References
  1. Kent Film Office. "Kent Film Office The Garden Article".
  2. William Pencak The Films of Derek Jarman at Google Books
  3. "17th Moscow International Film Festival (1991)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 3 April 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  4. Maslin, Janet (1991). "REVIEW/FILM; Derek Jarman's 'Garden' Offers Visions of Decay". New York Times.
  5. "the films of derek jarman". 18 September 2013. jclarkmedia.com. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  6. "The Garden [1990] [1991]". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  7. "The Garden (1990)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
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