Distant Voices, Still Lives
The Observer, Sunday 30 August 2009
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The relative scarcity of films by writer-director Davies - whether owing to lack of funding or the obstinacy of a vision that brooks no compromise - is one of the great tragedies of British cinema. His first feature, which traces the life of a Catholic family in 1940s and 1950s Liverpool, is widely regarded as being among the finest depictions of British working-class life on film. It is divided into two chapters: the first reflects the trauma of war and growing up under an abusive father, the second, the struggle of his children to achieve happier lives as they build their own marriages and families following his death. The film is bleached of primary colours so that the action unfolds largely in drab greys and browns, but is enriched by a backdrop of radio, film and musical samples that reflect the wider narrative of a city re-establishing itself after the war.
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Distant Voices, Still Lives;
Terence Davies (1988), starring: Lorraine Ashbourne, Jean Boht, Carl Chase
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The Observer
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