Andrew Birkin's alarming and gripping film "The Cement Garden", (released in 1993) was based upon a 138 page novella by Ian McEwan written in 1978. It's an interesting story that deals with adolescant confusion, death and depravity. We meet four siblings from a lower middle class family - Jack, his older sister Julie, younger sister Sue and the youngest, Tom (who indentifies as female) - are orphaned by the death of their Mum, their Dad having died earlier. In order to stay together and avoid being put into the care of the local authority, they hide their Mum's death by hiding her body in a trunk, filling it with cement and leaving it in the basement of their house.
Andrew Birkin, (born London, 1945) is the brother of the actress and singer Jane Birkin. The Cement Garden won him Germany's prestigious Golden Bear Award for best director. Ian McEwan was also impressed with Birkin's efforts. He praised the film for being "sensitive to its subject matter, generous to its instincts" and for being "emotionaly wise and very moving."
Julie (played by Charlotte Gainsbourg says to Jack (played by Andrew Robertson):
"Girls can wear jeans and cuttheir hair short and wear shirts and boots because it's ok to be a boy; for girls it's like a promotion. But for a boy to look like a girl is degrading, according to you, because secretly you belive that being a girl is degrading."
Duration: 1 Hour and 5 Minutes. Certificate: 18
Rating 4 out 5
The Julie speech is sampled in Madonna's 'What It Feels Like For A Girl'.
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