The Last of England (1987)

An impressionistic portrait of decaying late-80s Britain by avant-garde filmmaker Derek Jarman, THE LAST OF ENGLAND is an obscure and highly personal mixture of poetry, music, overlapping dialogue, and ever-shifting, manipulated, distorted images. Poetic and highly impressive, but after ninety minutes of rambling beauty mixed with tedium, it reminds you why shorts are the preferred vehicle for abstract experimental films.

[font=Century Gothic]Directed by Derek Jarman, "The Last of England" is different from his other films that I have seen("Edward II", "Wittgenstein" & "Caravaggio") which all had a minimalist aesthetic. This is certainly a unique movie which consists almost entirely of footage showing a postapocalyptic landscape, sometimes through a red filter, but also flashing back to to happier times and New York City. There is no real story to speak of, just some narration to convey alternating emotions of sadness and anger. The images are so intense that the overall effect is quite mesmerizing. [/font]