Broken English (15)

Marianne Faithfull is quizzed by a fictional ministry fronted by Tilda Swinton about a confounding career, from 60s It girl to art scene guru.

She was the pop singer, the folk singer, the tragic addict and the indomitable survivor. This documentary arranges all of these incarnations like museum exhibits and invites its subject to review each one in turn – and then smash the glass to set them free. The Overseer (Swinton) of ‘The Ministry For Not Forgetting’, a fictional organisation, provides the framing device.

With George MacKay’s Record Keeper as an interviewer, a notably frail Faithfull is walked through the extensive archives of her history. She’s visibly moved by some clips of her younger self, but bristles with irritation at some of the more strident newspaper headlines. Faithfull’s legacy, the film suggests, is something that can be touched, something with which we are encouraged to interact or be inspired by.

Made with the full collaboration of its subject during the last years of her life, Broken English is a film which is fully infused with her distinctive spirit – it is free, candid and rebellious to the core.