Saturday, May 15, 2010

Derek Jarman

Derek Jarman's memoir, At Your Own Risk: A Saint's Testament-- I was constantly surprised how how different his world was, for someone only ten years older than me, and how innocently he reacted to it all with the trauma saved up for later. The films are so perfect, so knowing-- Where did that all come from? The memoir doesn't give much of a clue, but the garden at Dungeness does. I've only seen pictures, but it seems as perfect as his cinema. Dark, silent, alive. Is that garden still there? By the power plant? Could I go see it for myself? I'll try to make my own one of these days.