Distant Voices/ Still Lives - Terrence Davies

Distant Voices/Still Lives
1988 Color, 80 min

The first few shots are still or slow moving. Popular music of the time is introduced within these first few shots (“I get the blues when it rains”), something which continues through the movie. The slowness to these shots has the quality of a memory. Another aspect of the movie that lends itself to this memory quality, at least in the very beginning, is the absence of clear dialogue.
Along with the hazy,nostalgic feeling established so early in the film, Davies demonstrates from the beginning how formally innovative it is. I agree with Brian McFarlene’s point ( in Cinema Britain and Ireland) about form and meaning being inseparable in this movie. The first thing to strike me about this film was the actors interaction with the camera. The camera feels present in the room with the actors, even while the scenes seem so removed and in the past. Form and meaning come together when the actors interact with the camera in Davies theatrical portrait shots.
The form/meaning of this movie seemed related to that of the Accursed Mazurka, at least to my reading of it. In both, I felt that the camera/auteur was exploring memory and process of remembering. The Accursed Mazurka felt like it was made for the audiences, to express and transfer these memories. Distant Voices doesn’t seem to have a distinct message.
In searching for some kind of meaning or connection I tried to connect the movie to its title. There were overarching themes throughout both movies. In Distant Voices, a photo of the father dominates the portrait shot of the family, he controls them even in death. Throughout Distant Voices and Still Lives, the men are very controlling and while the women complain to each other, it seems commonplace. The women lack control over their lives because of the men, but everyone experiences a lack of control due to death and war. Both movies are centered around life events central to the family. This lends a circular feeling to the story, as life continues but also stays the same.
Maybe this is why McFarlene finds the movie so accessible, because everyone experiences these life events, and everyone experiences memory.