Distant Voices, Still Lives
The convenient thing about liking a film that Jonathan Rosenbaum liked is that he has most likely already written a very long, almost comprehensive review of the film, including analysis of key scenes, a discussion of the technicalities of direction and what they transport. It’s not like he never makes mistakes: for example, the first part ends with the birth of Maisie’s child, not Eileen’s. But all these things don’t quite matter; what matters is that Mr. Rosenbaum here has practically covered everything I would have wanted to say about the film.
On a rainy day like today, and after being disappointed by the sheer beauty yet emotional lacklusterness of modern blockbusters, I decided that I need a film which transports something. Unfortunately I have no access to the endless possibilities on Netflix, and after liking “A Man Escaped”, I figured I could pick one of the Monolith films.
I have heard that British films are horrible, and except for Kubrick or Hitchcock who don’t really count as British, I got the impression that Terence Davies might be a brilliant exception. I also have never seen anything by Ken Loach, but I am not very inclined to see them honestly.
I enjoyed the English slang of the film very much; it wasn’t over the top and actually surprisingly pleasant, making the characters very likable to say the least. Ultimately I don’t know very much about the British and their language (doesn’t that sound weird considering that British English is supposed to be “Standard English”?); just like “Harry Potter” taught me “Blimey!” I now learned “turrah”.
In my opinion, the songs are all the film is about. All of the humor, the liveliness of the characters despite their harsh life and finally the Hollywood musical the film pays homage to – almost all of the songs make the film surprisingly happy and optimistic. It is fascinating how much I can associate with this group singing habit – just as much “Distance Voices, Still Lives” is about an older generation in Great Britain, it feels a lot like my parents’ generation. There is something very beautiful about that. And it is strange because I find happen to find musicals shallow and fake; “Distant Voices, Still Lives” is giving such musicals a meaning beyond their own intentions. I wonder if this will ever happen to the James Bond movies. Does this mean that musicals have a potential for becoming meaningful than action thrillers, or does it rather mean that film-makers just don’t like action thrillers as much?
Considering that I probably take it out of context, “Distant Voices, Still Lives” is a great film almost unrelated to any other, for me at least. I am very fascinated with this little film and wish there was more like this.
You finally watched this!
Terence Davies IS a master – and that J-Ro piece is great.
I find the depth of characterization incredible, given that the film is shorter than 90 minutes. Nothing quite compares to it, really. The mise en scene is as mind-boggling as a work by Tarkovsky. A perhaps even greater example of Davies’ directing of actors is The House of Mirth, which is one of my favorite films of 2000, and probably the greatest period-picture of the last decade.
omg you MUST watch A Brighter Summer Day sooN!!!
I am an hour into “The House of Mirth” now, and oh my God, it’s pretty much the exact opposite of “Distant Voices, Still Lives” – very impressive. I think that the directing in the former is absolutely great whereas the latter is even more special because there really isn’t anything similar to that.
The main appeal of “The House of Mirth” is that I can perfectly relate to it, and it is the type of story that always, always gets screwed up in a film adaptation.
On a side note, I saw that your LJ blog is gone! Ahhh, what about all those articles you wrote? Very sad.