Distant Voices, Still Lives
1988
Directed by Terence Davies
As we get closer to the end of the List, the remaining titles tend to fall into two categories. One segment consists of films so obscure, they seemingly only exist on one film roll in Dawson City. The other category contains movies I am putting off because I have absolutely no interest in the subject matter (stay tuned!). This film falls into the former category, but I happened to stumble upon an online version. It reminded me that obscure movies are usually that way for a reason.
The movie focuses on a suburban working class family in 1940s Liverpool. It doesn't follow a plot so much as it flutters from memory to memory. The three siblings, Maisie, Tony, and Eileen, all experience abuse at the hands of their father, but they have different recollections of certain events. It's also not a musical per se, but music is a constant presence in the story, and seems to be the only source of a joy for a few of the characters.
This was a very odd movie that didn't quite settle with me. It felt very artificial to me, which is strange, because the movie was semi-autobiographical so you would think it would feel very real. I guess the style was so strange that it prohibited the actors from doing anything that felt authentic.
A non-musical musical I could have lived without.
RATING: **---
Interesting Facts:
Pete Poslethwaite didn't believe Terence Davies' father (on whom his character was based) could have been so vile to his family. Davies finally asked his sister to tell him about being beaten in the cellar by their father (as shown in the movie) that he accepted it was true. Um fuck you Pete. Why would you presume to know how much of a dick his father was?
The film had a very low budget and was shot intermittently over a period of two years.
Yech!
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