Distant Voices, Still Lives

The second film in Terence Davies s autobiographical series ( Trilogy , The Long Day Closes ) is an impressionistic view of a working-class family in 1940s and 1950s Liverpool, based on Davies s own family. The first part, Distant Voices , opens with grown siblings Eileen (Angela Walsh), Maisie (Lorraine Ashbourne) and Tony (Dean Williams), and their mother (Freda Dowie) arranged in mourning clothes before the photograph of their smiling father (Pete Postlethwaite). Soon after, the family poses in a similar tableau, but for a happier occasion - Eileen s wedding. While relatives sing at her reception, Eileen hysterically grieves for her dad, and recalls happy times of her youth. Tony and Maisie s memories, however, are troubled. Davies intermingles and contrasts scenes like the family peacefully lighting candles in church with the brutal man beating his wife and terrorizing his young children. In Still Lives , set (and filmed) two years later, the siblings are settled in life, but not all happily. For Eileen, relief from her drab existence comes only when singing at the pub. With his skillfully composed frames and evocative use of music in place of dialogue, Davies creates a lovely, affecting photo album of a troubled family wrestling with the complexity of love. Written by Anonymous Distant Voices, Still Lives is a 1988 English-language Drama Musical movie starring Freda Dowie, Peter Postlethwaite, Angela Walsh, Dean Williams, Lorraine Ashbourne, Pete Postlethwaite and Kenneth Williams. Distant Voices, Still Lives was Produced by Jennifer Howarth and Romila Parsekar. The film is written and directed by Terence Davies. Distant Voices, Still Lives was released on 16th November 1988 and takes a screen time of 85 minutes. The movie made a box office gross of $0 million.
Show More...