Memoirs of a Survivor (1981)

Set in a bleak future where roving gangs of children terrorize city streets, and reality is often an illusion.

Director:

David Gladwell

Writers:

Kerry Crabbe, David Gladwell

Stars:

Julie Christie, Christopher Guard, Leonie Mellinger

3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Julie Christie	...	'D'
Christopher Guard	...	Gerald
Leonie Mellinger	...	Emily Mary Cartwright
Debbie Hutchings	...	June
Nigel Hawthorne	...	Victorian Father
Pat Keen	...	Victorian Mother
Georgina Griffiths	...	Victorian Emily
Christopher Tsangarides	...	Victorian Son
Mark Dignam	...	Newsvendor
Alison Dowling	...	Janet White
John Franklyn-Robbins	...	Prof. White
Rowena Cooper	...	Mrs. White
Barbara Hicks	...	Woman on Waste Ground
John Comer	...	Man Delivering Emily
Adrienne Byrne	...	Maureen

Storyline

'D' is a chronicler of a society in chaos, who looks down on the marauding gangs, and rubbish-strewn streets from the fortress prison of her flat. Buffeted by inner dreams and longings, D finds an alternative world by stepping through the wall of her flat, like Alice through the Looking Glass. Here it is Victorian England, the bosom of an unsettled family, harbingers, perhaps, of the decay to come. She flits between the two sides of her double life, always observing, never participating, and watches as her protégé, Emily, becomes involved with vagrants' leader Gerald and their efforts to control the violent scavengers fail.

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Plot Keywords:

gang | scavenger | future | children | post thermonuclear war | 

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Genres:

Sci-Fi

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Details

Official Sites:

Doris Lessing web site

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

September 1981 (UK)

Also Known As:

Memoirs of a Survivor

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Memorial Enterprises, National Film Finance Corporation (NFFC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Theatrical movie debut of Leonie Mellinger (Emily Mary Cartwright).

User Reviews

My brief review of the film

The sets, lighting design and foreboding music score all match the gloominess of the material here well, and the atmosphere that these combined elements achieve is what keeps the film relatively intriguing. The first third definitely works better than the final third of the film though, as in the beginning one is trying to decipher what it is all about, and towards the end it just drags, and it looks like it is building up to some revelation, yet at the end nothing new is revealed. The plot is really strange, with many different elements of science fiction worked in, ranging from portholes to the notion of a dire dystopia. It seems somewhat messy, but even so, some have been able to find their own meanings in it, so the film is probably worth a look if it sounds interesting. I would not call it a brilliant film myself, but it definitely does have some elements that will be of interest to certain viewers.