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Pity the poor, aging Liverpudlian who has witnessed his once charming hometown descend into the twinned rots of public housing and Beatlemania—especially when that man is Terence Davies.
Davies is a filmmaker obsessed with memory; it's wonderful and bracing to have him able to spin those memories into this potently nostalgic testament to the glories of a city and the ravages of time. With his first essay film Davies delivers rah-rah civic pride as only a bitter celibate queer Englishman can: laced with arsenic. Davies takes his viewers on a magical, musical tour of the Liverpool of his Catholic childhood, set to the ditties of his youth. (Don't ask about the Beatles.) Back then he was having a gay old time—before, he says, his life was ruined by his sexual awakening.
"Of Time and the City was commissioned by the city of Liverpool as part of the celebrations surrounding its designation as the European Capital of Culture 2008. Davies was the obvious choice; much of his masterful body of work (The Terence Davies Trilogy; Distant Voices, Still Lives; The Long Day Closes) breathes through Liverpool's damp lungs. Yet the burghers were surely not expecting a tribute such as this. " — from TIFF 08 program
Of Time and the City consists of mostly archival images of old working-class Liverpool, carried along by an acerbic narration by Davies, integrating snippets of his favourite poets with extremely personal reminiscences and self-analysis. There's nothing Davies omits about his childhood (loved it), the monarchy (despises it) or his feelings towards his birthplace. All of Davies' pet themes are present—the power of the cinema, the power of the Church, the powerful ramifications of discovering your true self. At times downright hilarious, Davies has made an across-the-pond version of Guy Maddin's My Winnipeg.
Terence Davies was born in Liverpool. His first successes came with three short films, Children (76), Madonna and Child (80) and Death and Transfiguration (83),which were later combined and screened as a feature, The Terence Davies Trilogy (84). He went on to direct the acclaimed features Distant Voices, Still Lives (88), The Long Day Closes (92), The Neon Bible (95) and The House of Mirth (00). Of Time and the City (08) is his most recent film.
"Beautiful...At once a symphony of the city and a memento mori."—Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
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