April 4th, 2019
Written by: Amy Jump
Starring: Julian Barratt, Peter Ferdinando, Richard Glover
Budget: £316,000
Quote: "Then I shall become it! I shall consume all the ill fortune which you are set to unleash. I shall chew up all the selfish scheming and ill intentions that men like you force upon men like me, and bury it in the stomach of this place!"
Trivia: The film was released on 5 July 2013 on multiple platforms simultaneously, including cinemas, home media and video on demand. It was also broadcast on Film4 on the day of its release.
A Field in England. The movie that answers the question, what would happen if Alexandro Jodorowky made a historical movie about the English Civil War? It's incredible that the filmmakers were able to create something so vile yet beautiful and enchanting with only a relatively small budget (around $400,000 US). The film incorporates a plethora of visual and auditory effects to build the surreal hallucinatory feel of the film and like Jodorowky's movies, the film uses surrealism to tell a story. However, while Jodorowky used surrealism primarily to explore the subconscious of the individual and humanity, the filmmakers of A Field in England use surrealism to explore a historical event. Upon first viewing, the film may seem like a bizarre collection of psychedelic images and incoherent events as a four bearded guys wander around a field killing each other. However, this is one of the few times in my life that my history degree comes in handy. What this film is, is actually a fairly straightforward retelling of the First English Civil War. But if you're not a history nut like me, it's also a pretty great way to spend ninety trippy minutes.
