Then film composes its scenes like an impressionistic painting but also like a vintage photo that moves and draws you into it.
In the present day with digital film and Photoshop such effects are common but back in 1988 this required skill from the director, editor and the cinematographer.
Distant Voices, Still Lives are effectively two related short films spliced together.
The first half set during the 1940s is the effect on a family of a tyrannical, brutish father who haunts them even after their death.
The second half takes place in the 1950s with the characters getting married and yet for the women, some of them are never far away from the brutish life of their youth as the men they married might still be prone to violence.
You see the family at weddings, funerals, christening and at the pub. Like Dennis Potter dramas. Music and songs are used to reflect the mood and move the drama along.
Not all songs would be known to the modern ear. Just like some of the drinks the characters order in the pub, the songs they sing belong to another time.
Maybe the singing is too good, I doubt in reality families sung that well in the pub. Debi Jones carries off the difficult songs well, the cast are uniformly good.
Pete Postlethwaite dominates the film even though he is not there for the latter part of the film. Also notice the more cordial relationship he has with his youngest daughter in contrast with his other children.
It is an art house film, it may not suit everyone especially given the number of songs but its is an important British film of the 1980s.
In the present day with digital film and Photoshop such effects are common but back in 1988 this required skill from the director, editor and the cinematographer.
Distant Voices, Still Lives are effectively two related short films spliced together.
The first half set during the 1940s is the effect on a family of a tyrannical, brutish father who haunts them even after their death.
The second half takes place in the 1950s with the characters getting married and yet for the women, some of them are never far away from the brutish life of their youth as the men they married might still be prone to violence.
You see the family at weddings, funerals, christening and at the pub. Like Dennis Potter dramas. Music and songs are used to reflect the mood and move the drama along.
Not all songs would be known to the modern ear. Just like some of the drinks the characters order in the pub, the songs they sing belong to another time.
Maybe the singing is too good, I doubt in reality families sung that well in the pub. Debi Jones carries off the difficult songs well, the cast are uniformly good.
Pete Postlethwaite dominates the film even though he is not there for the latter part of the film. Also notice the more cordial relationship he has with his youngest daughter in contrast with his other children.
It is an art house film, it may not suit everyone especially given the number of songs but its is an important British film of the 1980s.