Film Review

Requiem for a Village

todayJanuary 19, 2023 214

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By Gareth Jones

For fans of poetic cinema, Lindsay Anderson, folk horror, experimental cinema

Sight and Sound has compared this unique film to other British films such as The Wicker Man and A Canterbury Tale, both examples of the conflict between old and contemporary Britain.  This film, directed by noted painter and editor David Gladwell, meets much of the same criteria of folk horror, including some startling rape scenes.  The past and the present intermingle in Requiem, even with the dead rising from the grave.  That said, someone expecting a typical British folk horror film would be disappointed.  The lingering shots of the landscape and the slow motion are experimental in nature and give the film a dream-like atmosphere, one that could and does turn nightmarish. The film was released in 1975, and funded by the British Film Institute Production Board.  Gladwell edited two of noted filmmaker Lindsay Anderson’s best films (If and O’Lucky Man), and his editing prowess is on full display with this film as it transitions from past to present and back again. Requiem for a Village is a challenging film, but one well worth taking notice of, as it masterfully captures something distinctly British–the small village with a buried past.

Indicator recently released a brilliant Blu Ray, but it can also be rented on Amazon and other streaming platforms. 

Written by: jamric

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