Blue (1993)

Blue (1993)

Derek Jarman’s last testament in film, a losing battle with AIDS set on an unchanging screen of blue

The Very Best

8.0

Movie

United Kingdom
English
Documentary, Drama
1993
DEREK JARMAN
Derek Jarman, John Quentin, Nigel Terry
79 min

What it's about

Against a plain, unchanging blue screen, a densely interwoven soundtrack of voices, sound effects and music attempt to convey a portrait of Derek Jarman's experiences with AIDS, both literally and allegorically, together with an exploration of the meanings associated with the colour blue.

The take

Part documentary yet part surreal daydream, director Derek Jarman’s final film is one last rallying cry into a blue void. Against an unchanging screen of International Klein Blue, most of the film is Jarman’s voice, drifting through various subjects, from day-to-day complications of AIDS to contemplations about the color blue. Some of his frequent collaborators chime in. Choirs singing about damnation occasionally pop up too. While essentially a radio drama, the combination of voices, foley, and scores all merge together into an ethereal, haunting soundscape, that sticks in your head long after the film ends. Mirroring his partial blindness, Jarman’s last experiment leaves an impression of his own experience. It’s absolutely devastating.

Comments

Add a comment

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

Comrades, Almost a Love Story (1996)

Almost Hong Kong natives become almost lovers in this heart stirring romance drama

8.2

Problemista (2024)

Dark, weird, poignant, and funny, this debut feature by Los Espookys star Julio Torres is a modern parable of the American Dream

8.6

City Hunter (2024)

Cool graphics and choreography can’t save this live-action adaptation’s hackneyed story and misogynistic humor

6.7

The Glass Castle (2017)

A disjointed, but still touching, adaptation of the audacious family memoir

6.7

How to Have Sex (2023)

A drunken summer vacation turns melancholy in this sober observation of teenage rites of passage

7.7

Spermworld (2024)

People take family planning into their own hands in this fascinating look into sperm donation online

7.3

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

A star-studded and riveting legal drama with a blockbuster feel.

8.1

River (2023)

A delightful and ultimately life-affirming Japanese time loop comedy clearly made with love

8.8

The Guilty (2018)

A minimalist, razor-sharp thriller that will have you gasping for air.

9.0

Forgotten Love (2023)

The stunning third take of the classic Polish pre-war melodrama

7.7

Curated by humans, not algorithms.

agmtw logo

© 2024 agoodmovietowatch, all rights reserved.