Directed by:
Derek JarmanScreenplay:
Derek JarmanCast:
Karl Johnson, Michael Gough, Tilda Swinton, John Quentin, Jill Balcon, Nabil Shaban, Sally Dexter, Donald McInnes, Clancy Chassay, Vania Del BorgoPlots(1)
A highly stylized comic biography of eccentric German philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein (Karl Johnson), this film features the thinker struggling with the absurdities of his life, including a bright green martian and an out-of-place rhinoceros, while also tackling serious subjects such as society's feared reaction to his own homosexuality. Derek Jarman directs this spare, understated look at the life and work of the brilliant yet tortured man. Utilizing only a sparse collection of props to evoke each era and locale, the film follows Wittgenstein from his childhood home in Vienna (symbolized simply by a grand piano) to his enlistment in World War I and, finally, to Cambridge University in England, where he befriended scholars Maynard Keynes (John Quentin) and Bertrand Russell (Michael Gough) and engaged in homosexual affairs with his students. Although he left Cambridge several times, briefly living in Norway and once trying to move to Soviet Russia to assist the revolution there, Wittgenstein always returned to the university--and it was there he finally died. Throughout his life, the philosopher, whose writings explored issues of language and communication, struggled futilely to make others understand his own complex words and ideas--a sentiment expertly captured by Jarman's unique film. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Karl Johnson
UK
Best movies:
Frankenstein (2011) (theatrical recording)
Hamlet (2015) (theatrical recording)
Agatha Christie: Poirot (1989) (series)
Michael Gough
Malaysia
Best movies:
Corpse Bride (2005)
Out of Africa (1985)
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Tilda Swinton
UK
Best movies:
The Boys (2019) (series)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
John Quentin
UK
Best movies:
Gandhi (1982)
Blue (1993)
Shadowlands (1993)
Jill Balcon
UK
Best movies:
Wittgenstein (1993)
An Ideal Husband (1999)
Edward II (1991)
Nabil Shaban
Jordan
Best movies:
Children of Men (2006)
Wittgenstein (1993)
City of Joy (1992)
Sally Dexter
UK
Best movies:
Dalziel and Pascoe (1996) (series)
Wittgenstein (1993)
Firelight (1997)
Donald McInnes
Best movies:
Clancy Chassay
Best movies:
Wittgenstein (1993)
Under the Bombs (2007)
War Requiem (1989)
Vania Del Borgo
Best movies:
Wittgenstein (1993)