GRADE: 9
Against a plain, unchanging blue screen, a densely interwoven soundtrack of voices, sound effects and music attempt to convey a portrait of Derek Jarman’s experiences with AIDS, both literally and allegorically, together with an exploration of the meanings associated with the colour blue.
Director: Derek Jarman
Country of Origin: UK | Japan
Thoughts:
A masterpiece of art cinema, Blue is essentially a sound collage of voices, music, recollections, allusions, poetry, and narrative put to a screen of luminous blue. Jarman was dying of AIDS and losing his sight at the time, and blue was literally the last color he was able to see. In this ingenious film, he takes us along with him as looks back on his life, expresses annoyance at his present state, and contemplates mortality and the pandemic that had taken his friends and would soon take him, as well. A must see/hear.