IMDb RATING
7.5/10
3.3K
YOUR RATING
A dying writer bases his last book on his own perception of his family.A dying writer bases his last book on his own perception of his family.A dying writer bases his last book on his own perception of his family.
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
3.3K
YOUR RATING
- Awards
- 11 wins & 2 nominations
Denis Lawson
- Dave Woodfordas Dave Woodford
- (as Dennis Lawson)
- Director
- Writer
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
- All cast & crew
Storyline
Clive Langham (Sir John Gielgud) spends one tormenting night in his bed suffering from health problems and thinking up a story based on his relatives. He is a bitter man and he shows, through flashbacks, how spiteful, conniving and treacherous his family is. But is this how they really are or is it his own vindictive slant on things? —Archie Moore <ar.moore@student.qut.edu.au>
- Taglines
- A Movie of Rare Intelligence
- Genre
- Certificate
- R
- Parents guide
Did you know
- TriviaSir John Gielgud, who spent most of his career on the stage, considered this movie and the television mini-series Brideshead Revisited (1981) to be his only two screen appearances of which he was genuinely proud.
- Quotes
Clive Langham: Don't you think to have only one bastard after sixty years of action is almost tantamount to self denial?
- Crazy creditsThe National Philharmonic Orchestra is misspelled as National Philarmonic Orchestra in the opening credits.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Zomergasten: Episode #7.4 (1994)
Top review
A hilarious trip
This is one of the strangest movies I know. French intellectual aesthete meets contemporary British playwright - this should be the title of Providence. When two completely different cultures meet for a common project, the risk of failure is enormous. But in this case something interestingly and uniquely hilarious was created. Providence is a feverish dream that was successfully created for the screen.
The dream sequences of an old, dying writer, played by John Gielgud are absurd in a very British way. John Gielguds's upper class "king's English" voice-over adds effectively to its strangeness. As usual in contemporary British plays, sex and bowel movements are of the utmost importance . no, the script as a whole is neither very original nor particularly funny. I liked the incongruous, illogical situations though. Every now and then, in the most impossible situations, a strange, sickly looking football player (he seems to have fallen off Monty Python's Flying Circus) jogs limply past.
Director Alain Resnais is responsible for the dreamscapes, and they make Providence worth watching. Real settings are artfully distorted into haunting, surreal spatial sequences. Foreground and background, light and darkness, different textures and beautiful color arrangements are expertly arranged into a world of its own that is never too far from reality. One is sometimes reminded of Magritte's surrealistic paintings. Strange sounds add to the almost psychedelic effect the dream scenes have.
The acting is remarkable, especially Dirk Bogarde as the writer's slick, cynical «dream son» gives an outstanding performance.
The dream sequences of an old, dying writer, played by John Gielgud are absurd in a very British way. John Gielguds's upper class "king's English" voice-over adds effectively to its strangeness. As usual in contemporary British plays, sex and bowel movements are of the utmost importance . no, the script as a whole is neither very original nor particularly funny. I liked the incongruous, illogical situations though. Every now and then, in the most impossible situations, a strange, sickly looking football player (he seems to have fallen off Monty Python's Flying Circus) jogs limply past.
Director Alain Resnais is responsible for the dreamscapes, and they make Providence worth watching. Real settings are artfully distorted into haunting, surreal spatial sequences. Foreground and background, light and darkness, different textures and beautiful color arrangements are expertly arranged into a world of its own that is never too far from reality. One is sometimes reminded of Magritte's surrealistic paintings. Strange sounds add to the almost psychedelic effect the dream scenes have.
The acting is remarkable, especially Dirk Bogarde as the writer's slick, cynical «dream son» gives an outstanding performance.
helpful•233
- manuel-pestalozzi
- Apr 10, 2003
Details
- Runtime1 hour 44 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.66 : 1(original ratio)
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