"My most austere work, but also the closest to my heart." So Derek Jarman described The Angelic Conversation, his lyrical celebration of gay love set within the context of a series of Shakespeare's sonnets. Ethereal Super-8 images slowed to a magical, meditative pace follow the love affair between two men, as Dame Judi Dench provides a soothing presence with her narration of fourteen sonnets. The disruption of the narrative with images of barren and threatening landscapes echoes perfectly the exaltation and torment explored in the works. Polished off with dreamlike music by Coil, Jarman's most cherished film is an intoxicating portrait of love. —Zeitgeist Films