Is remembering the same as not forgetting?
This question is at the core of Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard’s BROKEN ENGLISH, a brilliant, bold documentary portrait of the sensational singer, songwriter and icon: Marianne Faithfull.
The film unfolds within The Ministry of Not Forgetting — an imagined, cinematic institution where memory and mythology collide. Headed by a hard headed Orwellian figure portrayed by Tilda Swinton with George MacKay as her field operative, The Ministry of Not Forgetting seeks to sift through the six decades of Faithfull’s astonishing life and career and separate perception from misconception with powerful use of archival material, intimate performances from friends and collaborators including Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, Courtney Love and Suki Waterhouse, as well as face to face interview/interrogation of the subject.
Watching her life observed and examined through the media, the marketing and manipulation and the misogyny, with her present, is like watching as tears go by, an intimate and unflinching exploration of a fractured yet unbreakable life shaped by fame, creativity and relentless public scrutiny, decades defying expectations while constantly reinventing herself.
A survivor, provocateur, and true original, Marianne spent more than six decades in the spotlight releasing over 35 albums. Made with her full involvement, BROKEN ENGLISH, like the album it is named after, is a genre-defying act of resilience and rebellion, Marianne Faithfull’s final fearless declaration, her defiant swan song.
Archive plays a vital role, not merely as documentation, but as a kind of electronic séance, summoning many versions of Marianne to join together and speak. Working in this semi-improvised, exploratory way means surrendering to the unknown. This demands exceptional collaborators on both sides of the camera and the demands are well and truly met. The outcome is extraordinary, a product seasoned with her searing honesty, riotous wit and endless complexity. Always eager to work, to create, she remained defiantly true to herself until the very end, as demonstrated in a rendition of Misunderstanding. The final scene in the film is Marianne’s last ever performance, accompanied by her friends and frequent collaborators Nick Cave & Warren Ellis.
Age cannot wither, nor custom stale her infinite variety. Remember Marianne, Never forget. Remain Faithfull.
Thank you for your great review. will definitely see this film!