The Angelic Conversation (1987)

An unseen woman recites Shakespeare's sonnets - fourteen in all - as a man wordlessly seeks his heart's desire. The photography is stop-motion, the music is ethereal, the scenery is often ... See full summary »

Director:

Derek Jarman

Writer:

William Shakespeare (sonnets)

Stars:

Paul Reynolds, Phillip Williamson, Judi Dench

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Paul Reynolds
Phillip Williamson
Judi Dench	...	Narrator
Dave Baby
Timothy Burke
Simon Costin
Christopher Hobbs
Philip McDonald
Toby Mott
Steve Randall
Robert Sharp
Tony Wood

Storyline

An unseen woman recites Shakespeare's sonnets - fourteen in all - as a man wordlessly seeks his heart's desire. The photography is stop-motion, the music is ethereal, the scenery is often elemental: boulders and smaller rocks, the sea, smoke or fog, and a garden. The man is on an odyssey following his love. But he must first, as the sonnet says, know what conscience is. So, before he can be united with his love, he must purify himself. He does so, bathing a tattooed figure (an angel, perhaps) and humbling himself in front of this being. He also prepares himself with water and through his journey and his meditations. Finally, he is united with his fair friend.

---

Plot Keywords:

reference to william shakespeare | gay interest | independent film

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 February 1987 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Angelic Conversation

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Film Institute (BFI), Channel Four Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Black and White Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Features The Pantheon (1978)

---

Soundtracks

"How to Destroy Angels"
Performed by Coil

User Reviews

Like a painting in motion

This is possibly the most visually beautiful film I've ever seen.

Like many of Jarman's works, it has no conventional narrative, but a montage of images, music and voice. The film was made by putting the original footage through a variety of different visual processes which end up giving it the look of an oil painting in motion -- I've never seen anything quite like it. The hypnotic (and frequently homoerotic) visual imagery coupled with ethereal, ambient music and a female voice reading Shakespeare's love sonnets is almost trance-inducing -- you seriously feel like you're in an altered state of consciousness by the end of it.

Highly recommended for those who enjoy experimental/art films, but those who don't will probably find the lack of a conventional plot confusing.