The Angelic Conversation main backdrop
The Angelic Conversation main poster

The Angelic Conversation

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5.2/10 • 23

1985-02-151h 18m

Drama

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.”

Directors
Derek Jarman
Editors
Cerith Wyn Evans

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Judi Dench

    Judi Dench

    (voice)

  2. Paul Reynolds

    Paul Reynolds

  3. Philip Williamson

    Philip Williamson

  4. Dave Baby

    Dave Baby

  5. Timothy Burke

    Timothy Burke

  6. Simon Costin

    Simon Costin

  7. Christopher Hobbs

    Christopher Hobbs

  8. Philip MacDonald

    Philip MacDonald

  9. Toby Mott

    Toby Mott

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

May 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

Media

  • The Angelic Conversation poster
  • The Angelic Conversation poster
  • The Angelic Conversation poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
poetryhomoeroticismlgbtgay themeerotic romance