‘Broken English’ reappraises Marianne Faithfull’s legacy at Venice

VENICE: The life and career of British singer-songwriter Marianne Faithfull are reappraised at the Venice Film Festival in “Broken English”, a movie that mixes documentary and fiction in an effort to redress her often distorted public image.

“Marianne was an artist’s artist … but public perception had been frozen and been stuck. And I think that were it left to AI, broken data is just going to stay broken,” said Jane Pollard who co-directed with fellow British filmmaker Iain Forsyth.

Often remembered as simply the former girlfriend of Mick Jagger, despite having released over 30 albums in her own right, Faithfull is portrayed through a series of interviews conducted in the years leading up to her death at 78 last January.

“When Marianne died so many of the obituaries that ran were headlined ‘Mick Jagger’s ex-girlfriend dies’ … And you kind of think, would you want to be defined for a lifetime by a fairly fleeting relationship that you had in your youth?” Forsyth told Reuters.

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Placed within the setting of the fictional “Ministry of Not Forgetting,” the film also makes heavy use of archive material, including interviews with journalists who home in on Faithfull’s rock-and-roll escapades and drug addiction in London’s swinging 60s rather than her creative work.

“Why have a ‘Ministry of Not Forgetting’? Well, because there are many artists whose legacies if left to the algorithms of AI will be misrepresentative of the truth,” said Pollard ahead of the film’s premiere on Saturday.

“I hope (our film) can begin a conversation and begin a process of reevaluation, both of Marianne as an artist, but also how we consider particularly female artists in the media, which in 50 years has really not changed that much.” Forsyth added.

Named after Faithfull’s comeback album released in 1979 after spending two years living on the streets of London, “Broken English” features actors Tilda Swinton as the ministry overseer and George MacKay in the role of record keeper and interviewer.

Faithfull, who suffered a severe bout of COVID-19 in her latter years, gives her final musical performance in the film, singing “Misunderstanding” from her 2018 album “Negative Capability” with backing from Nick Cave and Warren Ellis.

“The physical feat of it with COVID having ravaged her body and not feeling comfortable to talk for long without oxygen, to take it away and to sing was incredibly moving,” MacKay said.

Faithfull died during the production but the directors said the finished work reflected 99% of their intended vision.

“Broken English” is playing out of competition at Venice, meaning it is not in the running for the prestigious Golden Lion award that will be handed out on September 6.