Directed by:
Derek JarmanCinematography:
Gabriel BeristainComposer:
Simon Fisher-TurnerCast:
Nigel Terry, Sean Bean, Dexter Fletcher, Tilda Swinton, Nigel Davenport, Robbie Coltrane, Michael Gough, Noam Almaz, Imogen Claire, Vernon Dobtcheff (more)Plots(1)
Hugely significant to Jarman, his biopic of the Italian Baroque painter with whom he strongly identified was developed over many years. Ultimately shot on 35mm film, it looks incredible: the tableaux and sets project rich, painterly depth, brightness and colour. Sean Bean and Tilda Swinton deliver fine performances as the model and partner caught up in a complex and fatally doomed love triangle with the famous artist. Caravaggio struggles to reconcile the demands of authority (in the form of his church patrons) with his own artistic and sexual needs a tension then very close to Jarman's heart. (British Film Institute (BFI))
(more)Reviews (1)
It's definitely an interesting film for being a biopic, where it's not so much about the storyline as it is about the impressions and overall composition of the individual images. But it's precisely the way individual images are composed that is the strongest element of the film, which in other respects lags a bit and leans more towards experimental film, which I don't necessarily mean negatively, but in this case, it doesn't bring as much benefit.
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