Broken English

How do you make an extraordinary music documentary? Leave that to directorial duo Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard. Following their critically acclaimed Nick Cave film 20,000 DAYS ON EARTH, they prove once again with BROKEN ENGLISH how to truly bring a life story to life. This is no ordinary biography, but a poetic tribute to Marianne Faithfull—the British singer and actress who became a global style icon in the 1960s, yet spent her entire career fighting the prejudices of the outside world.

Forsyth and Pollard package her turbulent life into a format that is as surprising as it is provocative. They introduce the fictional ‘Ministry of Not Forgetting’, where civil servants Tilda Swinton and George MacKay dive into the archives. Their mission is crystal clear: to dismantle the persistent myths surrounding Faithfull and grant her the rehabilitation she deserves. For far too long, her own unparalleled artistry was overshadowed by the lazy label of “Mick Jagger’s muse.”

Throughout the film, Faithfull looks back on her eventful journey through archival footage, raw, intimate conversations, and her music itself. She speaks candidly about early fame, her destructive addictions, and her eventual resurrection. The result is an intimate and vital portrait of an artist who refuses to let anyone else write her history.