Distant Voices, Still Lives

Freda Dowie in Distant Voices, Still Lives

A re-release from one of the most distinctive cineastes in British film. Terence Daviesā€™s 1988 maundering autobiographical film (ā€œIt all happenedā€¦ I had to tone down the violence of my dadā€, Davies told The Guardian) is set in the Liverpool of his youth and is more an impressionistic montage of vibrant tableaux vivants than a drama with a traditional structure. Itā€™s a two part affair, the first half concentrating on the brutish, violent dad (Pete Postlethwaite), long suffering, sad-eyed mum (Freda Dowie) and their three kids ā€“ as wartime austerity starts to crack and the good times of the late 1950s start to make their presence felt, which is the theme of the second … Read more