Derek (2008)
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88% of critics liked it
(8 reviews) -
39% want to see it
(182 ratings)
Actress Tilda Swinton collaborates with director Isaac Julien on this richly textured tribute to the late British filmmaker Derek Jarman. In 2002, Swinton penned the text entitled "Letter to an Angel" in memory of her deceased friend and collaborator. In this film, that elegiac piece of… More Actress Tilda Swinton collaborates with director Isaac Julien on this richly textured tribute to the late British filmmaker Derek Jarman. In 2002, Swinton penned the text entitled "Letter to an Angel" in memory of her deceased friend and collaborator. In this film, that elegiac piece of writing is carefully woven with a previously unseen interview with Jarman to create a highly original biography that doesn't rely on talking-head interviews but instead a dreamlike flow of images and observations. Jarman's old family films flicker across the screen as his parents recount his early life and adolescence, and excerpts from the director's films offer insight into the passion of an artist who flouted convention to create a truly unique body of work. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Directed By
- Isaac Julien
- Genres
- Documentary, Television, Special Interest
Unrated,
Critic Reviews
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Michael Esposito, Chicago Tribune
They're interesting tales lovingly rendered.
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Stephen Holden, New York Times
This fragmentary portrait of the British filmmaker, painter, set designer and writer Derek Jarman, is a cinematic scrapbook of the life and times of an iconoclast, aesthete and provocateur.
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Melissa Anderson, Time Out New York
Derek Jarman, queer provocateur and one of British cinema's most fearless directors of the past 40 years, rightfully receives the hagiographic treatment in Isaac Julien's slender portrait.
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Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
Strikes a moody and atmospheric tone that's perfectly suited to Swinton's somnolent voiceover. And a wealth of imagery makes it worth seeking out
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S. James Wegg, JWR
This homage to one of the world's most creative, impassioned artists paints a fascinating portrait of Derek Jarman's life through the filmmaker's most extensive on-camera interview and a letter of retrospection written and read by long-time collaborator a
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Cast
- Derek Jarman
-
Tilda Swinton
as Narrator
- Isaac Julien
