From the BAFTA nominated directors of the Sundance award winning 20,000 Days on Earth - comes Broken English, a bold documentary portrait of the inimitable singer, songwriter and icon: Marianne Faithfull. Broken English is an intimate and unflinching exploration of a fractured yet unbreakable life shaped by fame, creativity and relentless public scrutiny. The film unfolds within The Ministry of Not Forgetting - an imagined, cinematic institution where memory and mythology collide. Featuring a cast led by Tilda Swinton and George MacKay, with powerful, intimate performances from friends and collaborators including Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, Courtney Love and Suki Waterhouse. Broken English is a genre-defying act of resilience and rebellion.
The Garden Cinema View:
Through interviews, video archives, and articles, Broken English’s unusual documentary/docufiction approach attempts to reconstruct Marianne Faithfull's real legacy, separating it from the media's often distorted portrayal of her personality. By the end, we have a 360-degree view of a prolific artist working across multiple media - a far cry from the one-dimensional ‘Mick Jagger ex-girlfriend’ persona. After her initial battles with addiction, Faithfull emerges as an unapologetic proto-feminist, anarchic and lustful in equal measure.
The archival material is interspersed with a curious fictional device: an interview of Faithfull by actor George MacKay, orchestrated within a strange ministry operated by Tilda Swinton. Although this conceit feels somewhat clumsy at times, tempering the film's overall strength, Broken English is clearly a labour of love.
