The Last of England

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09/21/2015 A spiritual sibling to Terence Davies' more accessable Of Time and the City, Jarman's The Last of England similarly serves as visually poetic and angry indictment of England's oppressive and traditionalist tendencies, albeit in a more experimental way and with a more specific point of criticism (Thatcher-era politics). His film is filled with chaotic imagery, shots of bloody bodies, rampant drug use, boarded-up windows, a nightmarish rendering of contemporary British life set in the ruins of a once great empire. He interworks archival footage shot through a rosy lens and juxtaposes it with present-day destruction, signifying the end of the classic ideal of British imperialism, while making room for his signature portrayals of gay existence as a means of resistance. The shopping carts stranded in polluted rivers, the spoken word segments detailing political corruption, the scenes of man in a tutu dancing over the sounds of gunfire and 80s music all work together to convey the central criticism of the country's staunch religious and traditionalist tendencies and how they strand the nation in a ruin of its own creation. See more 02/18/2015 This is NOT a Tilda Swinton movie, despite what the blurb says. She makes a brief, wordless appearance late in the movie and that's it. My guess is that, when she became well-known, someone resurrected the movie and put her name up front, in the hope of making a few bucks. The movie itself, umm, well, how can I describe it? It's an hour and a half of visual images, with a voice-over recitation of what I suppose I might call neo-Beat poetry. Do you like "Revolution No. 9"? Have you ever listened to it and paid attention right through? Then you might enjoy this flick. See more 01/22/2014 A non-narrative film named after an 1850's painting about people emigrating from England. Basically a video collage, a nightmare put to film. Once billed "apocalypse as [music] video", the strange, disparate images and sounds collide in a bizarrely captivating way. "Signs of struggle are everywhere. A punk in torn jeans walks through a landscape of destruction, stomping the last vestiges of civilization; a baby lies in a carriage lined with newspapers proclaiming imminent doom. A bride lies dressed in tatters; the groom faces a firing squad. A man dressed as a terrorist and a naked man embrace on a bed covered with a Union Jack, with wine bottles and guns scattered around them." Weird and haunting. See more 06/15/2013 This is widely considered to be an unwatchable film. And I'd say that would be true for 90% of the world's population. This is my first viewing and it will stay that way for a long time. A solid understanding of Britain's history may help but the experience will take a lot out of you. This is not recommended for anyone outside those who know and understand what they are about to watch (i.e., those who know what Derek Jarman represents)......and even then you may find yourself wondering WTF is going on and WTF you are still watching it (if you made it all the way through; it took me two sittings to finish). This is one of the most extreme and bewildering experimental art films I have laid eyes on and normally I'll eat anything up like this, but it never worked outside the beginning episode of spoken poetry and the final scenes with Tilda Swinton; everything in between serves to infuriate, confuse, and bore the viewer into submission (this certainly would have worked better as a short film; 90 min. is almost pure torture with constant images that are the same, yet different, and the constant super-quick cuts of under 0.5 second are jarring in a bad way). I'm sure I'm missing a lot and future viewing(s) will be necessary but I refuse to revisit this one anytime soon. See more 03/06/2013 I've discovered as I make my way further through my list of movies that I have a low tolerance for experimental film. But most especially for experimental film that's as self-indulgent and repetitive as this. This isn't symbolism, nor even Symbolism, but SYMBOLISM. And then, five seconds later, "do you remember us talking about SYMBOLISM? Because HERE IT IS AGAIN!!!!" See more 10/24/2012 An impressionistic portrait of decaying late-80s Britain by avant-garde filmmaker Derek Jarman, THE LAST OF ENGLAND is an obscure and highly personal mixture of poetry, music, overlapping dialogue, and ever-shifting, manipulated, distorted images. Poetic and highly impressive, but after ninety minutes of rambling beauty mixed with tedium, it reminds you why shorts are the preferred vehicle for abstract experimental films. See more Read all reviews

The Last of England

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