Customer Reviews

The Cement Garden

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

With "The Cement Garden," Andrew Birkin has created a spare, atmospheric and erotic cinematic adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel of the same name. This tale of grieving and incest is artfully shot and strangely compelling. A fateful attraction develops between Jack and Julie, the oldests of four siblings, following the death of their father and shortly thereafter of their mother. For fear that their younger brother and sister will have to go to an orphanage (in much the same vein as Jacques Fansten's "Cross My Heart"), the two bury their mother's body in a vat of cement in the cellar and proceed to take on their parents roles. While Sue, the youngest sister, deals with her pain through writing, and Tom (the younger brother, played by the director's son) begins dressing in girl's clothing, the tension between Jack and Julie builds toward an inevitable and highly anticipated climax. The film is slow-moving but hypnotic, and masterful in its poetic use of landscape. A few semi-significant inconsistencies aside, "The Cement Garden" succeeds in immersing you in its world. I especially enjoyed Charlotte Gainsbourg's performance as Julie.

I would give it 4 and 1/2 stars if I could.

I enjoyed the quality of the european acting.
I enjoyed the authentic scenery and the enviroment chosen for this film.
The the protagaonist is the oldest boy, well played and somewhat convincing in his pursuits.
Julie(Charlotte Gainsbourg), the oldest girl, role is done well and is very attractive, as necessary for this role.
The sibling conversations are authentic, reminding me of conversations I had with my large family.

The movie is shocking and tries hard to challenge what is left of social taboos.

What led me to watch this movie was hearing the voice of Gainsbourg, as Julie, respond to the oldest boy concerning knowing "what it feels like for a girl", in the title song of Madonna's current release.

This movie is not for the faint of heart.

The DVD version was transferred from a tape rather than from a film print; tell by the image quality. There isn't much behind the scene stuff either besides a few slides of texts.
Still, I gave a 5 stars rating because not many films can pull off controversial topics like "The Cement Garden." I bought the DVD because I loved the film so, and that's all it matters.
For art film lovers, it might be worth collecting.

Reviewing the DVD and not the movie here, New Yorker's edition of 'The Cement Garden' is enough to make you gag. Pan-and-scan (that's right, cropped), dark, muddy, low-resolution, flat audio, and so forth. Why bother putting this stuff on DVD if you're just going to give your buyers VHS-quality? This sort of business ethic is lazy, cynical, deceptive, and cheap.

It's a small wonder that this film was ever made, given the controverial nature of the original book. If you've read the book by McEwan, you'll appreciate how faithfully they have stuck to the story. I won't give it away or re-tell what's available elsewhere, but this film is a superbly acted version (by a very young cast) of a grim story (incest, death, family secrets) that is interesting to contemplate.

I saw this movie in a small independent movie house about 5 years ago, and I've thought of it often ever since. Memorable camera work and sense of place. Disturbing yet compelling.

Adolescent children conceal the death of their parents from authorities. Finely acted and directed film with view of events through children's mores and attitudes. However, incest subplot may make the film unsuitable for some viewers. Viewers may also enjoy "Nobody Knows" (2004) and "Our Mother's House" (1967).

Awesome movie! Give it 6 stars! If you appreciate this genre, this movie is a must have!

The Cement Garden was different from any other movie I've ever seen. The courageousness of the brothers and sisters was inspiring, and I can understand why the oldest brother and sister did what they did. They had only each other to lean on, not to mention the responsibility of taking care of two younger siblings. What would a family do under such circumstances? It is hard to understand,but you had to feel compassion, because after all, they now had to take on the role of parents and providers. Some may find this film offensive, but I would say to them, Keep an open mind.

Based on Ian McEwan's fine novel by the same name, CEMENT GARDEN is the tale of four children who are orphaned twice in rapid succession by the deaths of their father and mother. The film catches the sheer horror of children's having to deal with the deaths of parents and of their attempts to somehow carry on with their lives. The photgraphy captures the bleakness of both the home the children inhabit as well as the urban environment around them.

The acting by the youngsters is really quite remarkable. The plot follows very closely McEwan's novel. On the other hand, this great novelist's works seem-- at least to me-- to be almost untranslatable to any other medium, certainly not the fault of the director. What I would never have gleaned from this movie because of the dialogue that is often incomprehensible, had I not previously read the novel, is why these children do what they do with their mother's body. That is totally necessary for understanding the movie and a major flaw.