094889 / 16 / GB / 1985 / Frears, Stephen / / drama
My Beautiful Laundrette / Poikien pesula / Rakas pesulani (TV).
PC: Channel Four. P: Sarah Radclyffe, Tim Bevan. D: Stephen Frears. SC: Hanif Kureishi. CAST: Gordon Warnecke (Omar), Daniel Day-Lewis (Johnny), Saaed Jaffrey (Nasser). 97’. 1,66. Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Anna-Lisa Holmqvist. A somewhat soft Finnkino / SEA print. Viewed in Helsinki, SEA, Cinema Orion, Tuesday 2 December 1997. ***
(In a bizarre accident the film’s Finnish cinema premiere was delayed to September 1987. Two weeks later TV already transmitted it, killing it in theatres!)
Forceful stuff from Frears’ strongest period. British realism at its best – examining the cultural clash between the Pakistani and the skinheads, facing the challenges of the Thatcher era. Visually unappetizing – is it because the print is unfocused or is it because it was made on 16 mm for TV and not even supposed to look good on a big screen? This film has my favorite credits effect of all time: the lines stay on the screen and then whirl like in a laundromat drum. It is a simple and fascinating rhythm.
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