The Last of England

If Jubilee was Jarmans punk rock film, then The Last of England represented the fruits of the artistic freedom made possible by the tabula rasa of punk. No wonder this guy worked with Coil. Its poetry of fire inspired by equal parts anger and Anger. Brilliant.

Like a poem written during a boring class, sincerely uninspired, and then filmed.

It's insane that this is still relevant and works 30+ years later. If like me you've been disappointed by Kenneth Anger's stuff, Jarman in this at least does it far better and manages to sustain it for a feature length film.

Such an aggressive film, bursting through its seams with all the virulent, furious energy, with a black sense of humour and cries of utter anguish (as far as the latter is concerned, the ending of the film stands out as truly thrilling in its sheer kineticism and visceral impact whilst also being utterly heartbreaking).

Disjointed and occasionally tedious or repetitive, but at its best, a harrowing apocalyptic vision. Jarman's images are alternately beautiful, melancholy, and horrifying. Speaking of beautiful, hello young Tilda Swinton.

makes one wanna desecrate the flag if u kno what i mean