The Angelic Conversation

The Angelic Conversation

1h 18m 5.0/10

Overview

The Angelic Conversation is a lyrical, haunting film about a young man’s search for love in a dreamlike landscape. Its tone is set by the juxtaposition of slow moving homo-erotic images and opaque landscapes through which two men take a journey into their own desires. Offscreen, Dame Judi Dench recites a sequence of Shakespeare's sonnets that counterpoint the action. Jarman called it, “My most austere work, but also the closest to my heart.”

Director

Derek Jarman

Top Billed Cast

Judi Dench

Judi Dench

(voice)

Philip Williamson

Dave Baby

Simon Costin

Paul Reynolds

Timothy Burke

Reviews

CinemaSerf

CinemaSerf

5/30/2022

6/10

Paul Reynolds and Philip Williamson reminded me of silent film actors in this really quite poignant tale of homosexual longing, lust and pure love all complemented by a Shakesperian narrative consisting of fourteen of his sonnets read, emotively and vibrantly, by Judi Dench. The imagery is often quite disjointed and abstract: inanimate objects frequently imbued with animate traits - all as one man seeks his love, and also an assurance that he is pure enough to deserve and keep it. It lacks pace. At times this is more of a collage of loosely related scenes rather than a continuing storyline and it is certainly self-indulgent - not a criticism that could be laid unfairly at most Derek Jarman works, I find. That said, it is never boring. It won't be for everyone, indeed I'm not really sure it was for me - but it is more than cinematic wallpaper, and may well resonate more with those from the gay community of mid 1980s Thatcherite Britain than perhaps with many others. It is interesting, but I doubt I would watch it again

Similar Movies

Bend It Like Beckham

6.3

Bend It Like Beckham

2002

My Own Private Idaho

7.1

My Own Private Idaho

1991

Everything Is Illuminated

7.3

Everything Is Illuminated

2005

American Gigolo

6.2

American Gigolo

1980

Finding Forrester

7.1

Finding Forrester

2000

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

7.3

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

1994

And the Band Played On

6.4

And the Band Played On

1993