The Garden

Dream sequences and hallucinatory passages recur throughout Jarman’s work. The dreamlike element takes center stage in this boldly free retelling of the crucifixion of Christ, in which a contemporary gay couple is subjected to acts of violence. The opening scene, in which the filmmaker sleeps at his desk, grants access to his symbolic realm of dreams. The way Jarman draws on religious iconography in this scene outraged the puritanical forces still very much present in British society at the time of the film’s release. Thus, this film is also a fiery response to the conservative government’s homophobic legislation (Section 28). In this dazzling collage of scenes and impressions—featuring Tilda Swinton as the Virgin Mary and devoid of conventional dialogue and narrative strategies—Jarman addressed his HIV infection on film for the first time. (N.Y.)