Derek Jarman (1942-1994) created eleven extraordinary feature films including Sebastiane, The Tempest, Caravaggio, The Last of England, Wittgenstein, and Edward II and over three dozen shorts.
This multi-talented artist is also acclaimed for his painting (several major exhibits), stage and film design (for director Ken Russell), gay and human rights activism, literature (memoirs, social criticism, poetry), and, on a serene note, his exquisite gardens. (this expert was taken from Jims reviews – the films of Derek Jarman).
Jarman steamed through his life, determined to live out the repression imposed upon him by a sick catholic schooling system. It is the type of repression that society imposes with all the self righteous venom of frustrated paternalism backed up by misrepresented and outdated religious dogma. The Church has been, and will always be, its own worst enemy.
And yet, in a triumphant way, maybe it was the Church then, that stimulated the artist Jarman in his particular role as liberator of the homosexual psyche. He has not been the first, and neither will he be the last.
History is riddled with homosexual/bisexual artists: shakespeare, t.s. elliot, michaelangelo, passolini, picasso, dali, lorca, caravaggio,…the list is endless….but one is never told this when studying them at school, at university.
In spite of the fact that I live in a country (South Africa) which has gay rights enshrined into the constitution, homosexuality still remains, in 2008, one of the most impossible to break taboos.
This documentary Derek by Isaac Julian, is perceptively (though at times somewhat bitterly) narrated by a down-to-earth Tilda Swinton (The Beach, The Chronicles of Narnia, the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) an actress who has taken part in many of Jarmans films, and who was a lifelong friend, possibly even his muse. There is much in her narration that provokes thought. The film gives us a good background to Jarmans youth, his formative years, his parents, and his fascination with film. The documentary reveals much of what inspired Jarman filmatically, and how he was able to incorporate his influences, transforming them into his own unique vision.
From the late 60s, his studio became a hub, a meeting place for many of Londons vibrant artists (Hockney, Kemp, Westwood, McLaren) and he was able to connect with punk, just as much as with high art. Although well recognised as an artist in his own country and in his own time, the British cinema shunned him possibly because he made quality films at a fraction of their budget, and expanded British cinema without their sanction.
But this is also a testament to an artist who was driven by a need to create, not by a need to be accepted in the right circles. His films are an affirmation of the spirit of a time when his fellow collaborators – Swinton in particular – were enthused and inspired by a drive to create something unique, undicatated to, fermenting their own rules outside of mainstream ‘acceptability’ yet within a high artistic credibility.
There is a brief and enlightening snippet in the documentary where a Liberal MP states during the Thatcher reign:
The measure of a Nation is the amount of freedom it affords creative intelligence.
Jarman himself, comes across as self depreciating, almost taking himself for granted, yet never falsely modest, not afraid to admit what he doesnt know, not afraid to reveal how he works….not afraid. He created films (using super 8) at a time when the gay scene was at its most vibrant. His films are without gay apology, are beautifully homoerotic, violent at times. He was diagnosed with AIDS in 1986, a time when the illness had only just been named, becoming the first well known artist to publicly declare his status. He was a great champion of gay rights.
It is absolutely telling about Durbans gay scene that at the viewing of this film at Misgave centre, there were about 7 people in the audience.
Here are two complete opposing excerpts from criticism of a Jarman film:
The Last of England:
The Last of England gets one star, but only because that is the lowest rating allowed by filmcritic.com policy. It really doesnt deserve any stars. I would say its one of the worst films ever made, but that would make it sound more interesting than it actually is. david bezanson
This film is an extraordinary work of art which illuminates much through its interconnected parts: its critical vision political, aesthetic and always personal; the raw beauty and power of the images, which intoxicate even as they sometimes horrify but ultimately strip away illusion; its sheer unstoppable momentum (more than once I began re-viewing a scene, and wound up watching the entire film again). While drawing on earlier works from all media, painting to poetry to music videos, it creates new possibilities of cinematic language. Jim
This latter quote comes from a virtual thesis of this Jarman film and is highly recommended for further reading.