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Distant Voices, Still Lives

1988

Terence Davies

Freda Dowie, Pete Postlethwaite, Angela Walsh, Dean Williams ...

6.9

1,086

Drama This is a bleak portrait (or rather, two portraits) of a British family just after World War II. The two segments are titled, appropriately enough, "Distant Voices" and "Still Lives." The first revolves around the death of an abusive father and the marriage of the oldest daughter, Eileen, and the second is focused on the marriage of brother Tony. The visual style is dark and brooding, the characters are constantly suffering, and yet in ... [+]

	Author	Review
United Kingdom	Andrew Pulver The Guardian	"Few British film-makers have dared to attempt such a thoroughly poetic treatment of their native land, and Terence Davies is the only one to have succeeded so spectacularly (…) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Vincent Canby The New York Times	"[The songs] clearly mean more to the director than they do to an audience that doesn't share his very specific feelings of loss and love (...) [It] has the rigorous, studied look of advanced film-school work."	NEU
United States	Peter Travers Rolling Stone	"An unforgettable amalgam of humor and heartbreak"	POS
United States	Fernando F. Croce Slant	"'Distant Voices, Still Lives' remains one of the most profoundly spiritual films in recent decades (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 4)"	POS
United States	Richard Brody The New Yorker	"The actors’ performances have a controlled yet passionate expressivity"	POS
United States	Variety	"Its very special qualities stem from the beautiful simplicity of direction, writing and playing, and the accuracy of the incidents depicted."	POS
United Kingdom	Stella Papamichael BBC	"A tough yet truly evocative family portrait (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United Kingdom	Dave Calhoun Time Out	"Davies’ storytelling is a unique joy (...) A masterpiece"	POS
United Kingdom	David Parkinson Empire	"A gem (...) This inspired blend of musical and melodrama succeeds in being both fond and forlorn, artistic and authentic (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Sheila Benson Los Angeles Times	"Terence Davies' mesmerizing memory film, 'Distant Voices, Still Lives' (...) becomes its own kind of poetry: taut, referential, inward, brilliant"	POS

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