Shadows on the Wall | Arthouse Films

Shadows off the beaten path
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On this page: BROKEN ENGLISH | OUT LAWS | UNDERLAND

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See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL | Last update 25.Mar.26

Broken English
Review by Rich Cline | 4.5/5

MUST SEE

dir-scr Iain Forsyth, Jane Pollard
prd Beth Earl
with Marianne Faithfull, George MacKay, Tilda Swinton, Sophia Di Martino, Zawe Ashton, Calvin Demba, John Dunbar, Nick Cave, Warren Ellis, Courtney Love, Suki Waterhouse, Beth Orton, Jehnny Beth
release UK 20.Mar.26
25/UK 1h39

VENICE FILM FEST

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This documentary about the original rock chick Marianne Faithfull is inventively set within a timeless Ministry of Not Forgetting. The point is to explore her expansive career, reminding us that she is so much more than Mick Jagger's ex. Filmmakers Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard include a fabulous range of archival footage alongside witty, insightful new scenes in this playfully surreal setting. The film's unusually offhanded approach is riveting.

Guided by the Overseer (Swinton), the Record Keeper (MacKay) interviews Faithfull about her life. As a 17-year-old folk and pop musician, she found herself at the centre of the 1960s cultural scene alongside Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones, bristling with youthfulness, intelligence and talent. But her image was continually shaped by the media, forcing her to tone down her expressive artistry. Other ministry staff sift through archives and host musicians and pundits in recording studios exploring the various aspects of her life and career, from the music to her uniquely effective style of activism.

Acclaimed as an actor, singer and songwriter, Faithfull was a force of nature who survived addiction, overdoses, suicide attempts, cancer and a Covid-induced coma. She died at 78, shortly before this film was completed. So this feels even more like a treasure trove, as old clips spark Faithfull's memory as she revisits her life, sharing wonderful anecdotes and clearing up misconceptions. She reveals feelings with a wonderful candour, tracing her highs and lows to the burst of personal expression with her 1979 comeback hit Broken English. Her gifted work over the decades is extraordinary, cemented in a gorgeous closing sequence: her final performance, alongside Cave and Ellis.

With its offbeat framing structure, the film's tone is brisk and light, anchored in the easy chemistry between Faithfull and MacKay. Her replies are strikingly frank, laced with humour as she reacts to things she said and did as an outspoken young woman. The filmmakers also hone in on the astonishingly sexist way the media covered her, and how she repeatedly fought against that. Her straight-spoken comments about dealing with addiction are revelatory. Her comments about friendship and love are profound. And in the end, the salient point is that cultural legacies need to be preserved intentionally and honestly.

themes, language 16.Mar.26

Out Laws
Review by Rich Cline | 4/5

dir Lexi Powner, James Lewis
prd James Lewis
with Friedel Dausab, Rosanna Flamer-Caldera, Raven Gill, Rahul Rao, Bob Mills, Matt Cook, Kit Heyam, Bisi Alimi, Paula Akpan, Ben Miller, Penny McMahon, Keio Yoshida
release UK Mar.26 flare
UK/26 1h19

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Tracing the experiences of three human rights activists, this engaging documentary explores how British colonialism left a legacy of harsh anti-LGBTQ laws around the world. Accompanied by a wide range of experts, filmmakers Lexi Powner and James Lewis trace the topic's history and present-day realities with honesty and clarity. And thankfully, the central figures add buoyant hopefulness as they encourage each other to keep up the good work.

In Namibia, longtime gay activist Friedel is challenging his nation's law criminalising homosexuality on the basis that it was imposed by former colonial powers. At the moment, he says, "there is no recognition of me as a human being". In 2022, trans activist Raven was successful at changing colonial laws against her in Barbados. And Rosanna travelled from Sri Lanka to make her case at the United Nations, resulting in a declaration that homosexuality must be decriminalised. All three gather in London for Pride festivities, and to look into the history of the issue.

These three people are fighting for simple human dignity. And just asking for happiness means they face backlash, including violent threats that can force them to flee for their lives. But they are tired of suffocating in the closet. In London, they get to explore historical archives, seeing Henry VIII's original 1533 declaration against homosexuality, the first anti-gay law on record, which was devised to seize property and control from Catholic priests. They also see the original 1828 document further codifying this in British Parliament. And the irony is not lost on them that the UK is now free of these laws, while Britain's former colonies are under their grip.

Even with such serious issues, the filmmakers maintain a light tone, honing in on the sunny, boisterous personalities of these activists, plus sharp contributions from human rights lawyers, authors and academics. Everyone on-screen is resolutely positive, determined to end these colonial laws and even harsher ones American Evangelicals imposed in 1990s Africa. The point is that queer people have been historically marginalised by laws that violate earlier cultural traditions that value two-spirited people, women and other groups colonials wanted to control. But as these articulate activist say in their Pride speech, "I am not a criminal. I just want to be my true self."

themes, language 21.Mar.26

Underland
Review by Rich Cline | 4/5

Underland
dir Rob Petit
scr Robert Macfarlane, Rob Petit
prd Darren Aronofsky, Lauren Greenwood, Ari Handel, Jessica Harrop
with Fatima Tec Pool, Bradley Garrett, Mariangela Lisanti
narr Sandra Huller
release US Jun.25 tff,
UK 27.Mar.26
25/US 1h19

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Spectacularly shot and edited, this documentary explores the human fascination with what lies beneath the surface of the earth. Based on Robert Macfarlane's book, the film paints a vivid portrait of how the past, present and future collide underground, as filmmaker Rob Petit tracks three intrepid subterranean explorers. This is a beautifully assembled film that feels almost elegiac as it blends images with music and Sandra Huller's poetic narration.

In the Yucatan, archaeologist Fatima and a team of intrepid spelunkers travel deep into a cave that was considered the pathway to the underworld by her Mayan ancestors. In Las Vegas, Bradley explores urban underground spaces, finding signs of culture in tunnels and culverts. He also treks below the surface around the world, including a cavernous trash dump built for toxic nuclear waste. And in Canada, physicist Mariangela works in a deep-underground lab with a team that's trying to detect and define dark matter, the undefined substance that makes up 85 percent of the universe.

Each of these three strands has a lot to say about the state of humanity. Fatima is seeking to understand her culture, mapping the cavern while marvelling at how ancestors travelled here centuries ago with only fire to guide them. Bradley often stumbles upon things society has thrown away out of sight, noting that in the far distant future these tunnels might be all that's left of our own civilisation. And Mariangela is trying to uncrack one of the biggest mysteries about humanity. Their stories are deftly edited together with some added side-trips to continually provoke us to think about profound issues that are almost unnervingly resonant.

Fluidly cut together with expert cinematography, evocative music and ethereal effects, the imagery is simply gorgeous, from tree roots dropping down into a deep cave to the darkly textured million-years-old ice at the base of glaciers. The cameras continually catch tiny details, while the offhanded voiceover commentary makes unusually astute observations. The film transports us into these pitch-black voids, which have a strange draw for us, combining history and mythology. It's a moody, surreal and eerily enticing because it appeals so fundamentally to our innate curiosity. And it makes us wonder what our descendants will discover about us down there.

some themes 18.Feb.26

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See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL