Drama

The Angelic Conversation

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.”

Release Date : 1985-02-15

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : BFIChannel 4 Television

Production Country : United Kingdom

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : (voice)

Original Name : Judi Dench

Gender : Female

Character Name :

Original Name : Paul Reynolds

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Philip Williamson

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Dave Baby

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Timothy Burke

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Simon Costin

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Christopher Hobbs

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Philip MacDonald

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Toby Mott

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Steve Randall

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Robert Sharp

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Tony Wood

Gender : Male

Reviews

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2022-05-30

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