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Closet Land (1990)

Director: Radha Bharadwaj

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From Time Out Film Guide

This highly stylised drama is resolutely theatrical: with the exception of fleeting flashbacks and fantasy sequences, the action is confined to one austere interior, and revolves around a political interrogation. Stowe plays a bewildered, nameless children's author taken from her bed in the middle of the night to face questioning by a government official (Rickman). She stands accused of 'subliminal indoctrination' in her book 'Closet Land', which explores the liberating force of the imagination. But subversion is far from the writer's mind: under torture, her creations are shown to provide redemption from her traumatised childhood. Writer/director Bharadwaj's debut offers appropriately brutal, intense exchanges, with Rickman's commanding performance quite overshadowing Stowe. But such a stage-bound project demands a stronger script, while the lack of identifiable names and political targets compromises a powerful subject.

Author: CM 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide

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Cast & crew

Director: Radha Bharadwaj

Producer: Janet Meyers

Cast: Madeleine Stowe, Alan Rickman full cast

Duration: 89 mins


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