Watch Derek Jarman’s unafraid short film for Marianne Faithfull’s ‘Broken English’
Marianne Faithfull’s 1979 comeback album Broken English proved what true music lovers had long understood—she was far more than just an it girl. Once a term of endearment for the era’s most iconic women, it girl has since taken on a dismissive edge, implying style over substance, image over artistry. But Broken English shattered that notion, serving as a defiant, unapologetic statement of Faithfull’s talent, resilience, and creative depth. This was the album that silenced doubters and put that label exactly where it belonged—out of sight and out of mind.
Faithfull’s landmark record was accompanied by a promo film from none other than acclaimed director Derek Jarman—an unprecedented move in 1979. At the time, music videos were still a rarity, and even fewer were created to celebrate an entire album rather than just a single track. If there was any doubt about what Broken English would be about, Jarman and Faithfull made sure it was dispelled by the end of their audacious 12-minute promo film.
Within the film are three songs that showcase Faithfull’s immense talent. Though often dismissed as merely Mick Jagger’s girlfriend for a time, the truth is that she was a supremely gifted singer all along—only weighed down by her association with the great and the good of the burgeoning ’60s rock scene. It was a scene that Jarman, alongside his fellow punks, torched to the ground as the late ’70s ushered in a new way of thinking. It’s only fitting, then, that these two artists would eventually meet and create together.
Faithfull had been struggling for some time when she readied herself to release Broken English. The album came at the end of a decade in which Faithfull had spent much of her money, energy and vigour on the pursuit of chemical hedonism, spending many years trying hard to kick her drug habit. By the time she emerged from her healing process, the world was a different place, and a new wave of rock was sweeping the globe. As such, her album arrived as not only a reflection of the journey she had travelled thus far but the world in which she had made the trek.
Likewise, Jarman was also looking to continue his own work and push for artistic purity. The director had been famed for his adventurous work on Jubilee and the homoerotic Sebastienne, therefore casting himself as one of the auteurs of the day. There’s something about these two huge forces of change meeting one another and creating together that can enrich and embolden the viewer.
Bookended by monochrome footage of Faithfull walking the streets of London and playing arcade games, the film features three songs from the new record. The first is ‘Witch’s Song’, which sees the film most closely follow Jarman’s unique style. The following song, ‘The Ballad of Lucy Jordan’, sees Faithfull projected over scenes of blissful domesticity, while the third sees a reflection of fascism that feels all too real.
Faithfull and Jarman shared such a strong creative bond that she later recorded the theme song for his film The Last of England, which featured Tilda Swinton alongside other notable stars. For now, though, sit back and watch Derek Jarman’s adventurous promo film for Marianne Faithfull’s album Broken English below.
