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Plot

Writer/director Derek Jarman injects his patented iconoclasm in this biography of Renaissance artist Michelangelo Merisa da Caravaggio. Nigel Terry plays the title role, whom (according to Jarman) essentially told his own life story in his paintings. Caravaggio travelled among thieves and prostitutes, many of whom were his models. He once killed a man, kept a deaf/mute child as a virtual slave, and squandered every penny he ever made. That we should care anything about so miserable and obscure a personality is a tribute to Jarman's filmmaking savvy--and the number of elements from his own well-publicized life that he injects into the film.
MPAA Rating:
R
Genre(s):
Drama
Run Time:
97min.
Theatrical Release Date:
04/09/1992
DVD Release Date:
06/24/2008
Director(s):
Derek Jarman
Starring:
Nigel Terry , Sean Bean , Garry Cooper , Spencer Leigh , Tilda Swinton
Themes:
Bohemian Life,Tortured Genius,Love Triangles,Life in the Arts
Tone:
Deliberate,Meditative,Understated,Reflective,Atmospheric,Stylized
Keywords:
artist,mistress,modeling,murder,prostitute/prostitution,renaissance,slavery
Language:
English