Funeral Parade is proud to present Caravaggio, Derek Jarman’s highly stylised biography of one of Renaissance art’s most enduring figures.
The year is 1610 and renaissance painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (Nigel Terry) is wanted for murder. Having been on the run for four years, he finds himself on his deathbed, where he tended to by his young apprentice, John Jerusaleme (Spencer Leigh). As he slips away into death, Caravaggio recalls his life: his rise to prominence with the help of the Vatican; his unorthodox use of sex workers and homeless people as models for religious paintings; and his tempestuous love affairs with Ranuccio (Sean Bean) and Lena (Tilda Swinton). A biopic that’s unconventional as it is stunningly beautiful, Jarman’s Caravaggio remains a powerful portrait of the interplay between art and life from one of queer cinema’s most essential filmmakers.