Caravaggio (1986) Derek Jarman
A Caravaggio painting brought to life.
Derek Jarman’s film Caravaggio (1986) is not unlike one of the Italian master’s paintings. It’s rich and layered and full of cute boys. Jarman keeps the sets simple and uses his wondrous actors to fill the scenes. Included in the amazing cast, young Sean Bean before he fixed his teeth, a young Tilda Swinton (a frequent Jarman muse) who looks exactly the same (she may be a witch) now as she did then. It’s a touching and somewhat gritty biopic of this troubled and talented painter. Dexter Fletcher is the tough, young talent and Nigel Terry plays the older man more jaded and so much more brilliant. How do you reconcile such talent with such debauchery? The beauty of his painting with the rough company he used for his models and muses? His was a short but vivid life, not unlike Jarman himself.
If you enjoy films where every frame feels carefully composed, you might also like Phantom Thread. It shares that same attention to beauty, obsession, and the complicated personalities behind extraordinary talent. Continue reading → [link]
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