Closet Land
| Closet Land | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
|
|
| Directed by | Radha Bharadwaj |
| Produced by |
Brian Grazer Ron Howard Karen Koch Janet Meyers |
| Written by | Radha Bharadwaj |
| Starring | |
| Music by |
Richard Einhorn Philip Glass |
| Cinematography | Bill Pope |
| Edited by | Lisa Zeno Churgin |
|
Production
company |
|
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
89 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $4 million |
| Box office | $259,012 |
Closet Land is a 1991 independent film written and directed by Radha Bharadwaj. The film stars Madeleine Stowe as Victim, a young author of children's books who is interrogated by a sadistic secret policeman (played by Alan Rickman) known as Interrogator. The film was released to mostly mixed reviews.
Set in an unspecified country, Stowe's character is taken from her home in the middle of the night, accused of embedding anarchistic messages into her book, entitled Closet Land. The book is a story about a child who, as a result of bad behaviour, has been locked in a closet as punishment. While in there, the child is greeted by a group of childhood ally archetypes who innocently attempt to comfort the scared little girl. The seemingly simple content is questioned by the government, which accuses the author of encouraging and introducing anarchism among its audience of naïve children.
While the Interrogator is obstinate in his belief that the author is guilty of hidden propaganda, the audience is convinced of the victim's innocence. The audience later learns that the novel was actually created as a form of escapism, providing a coping mechanism for the author, who endured sexual abuse as a child. Near the end of the film, the interrogator claims that he was the man who had sexually abused the author in her childhood. But one cannot be entirely sure he was the one who abused her, as the film suggests he was just using the abuse against her as a way of breaking her down.
After subjecting her to lengthy physical and mental torture, and pretending to be several other people (another prisoner, a more brutal interrogator) while the Victim is blindfolded, the Interrogator tries to get her to sign a confession—to save her life. While he knows now that the woman is innocent, he implores her to confess to avoid execution. She refuses, and goes to her death.
The script was Radha Bharadwaj's winning submission to The Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting program in 1989. The Nicholl Fellowships are run by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Bharadwaj later stated: "That same year, the screenplay was selected to participate in the prestigious Sundance Screenwriting Lab. At Sundance, I met director Alan Rudolph, who encouraged me enormously, pushing me to not compromise or give up in my fight to make my film on my own terms. I put in a cold call to director Oliver Stone's office. To my amazement, he not only read the script himself but also called me in for a meeting. He became a powerful supporter of my work. On the strength of his generous recommendations, I started to pass the screenplay to talent agents. Very soon, I was meeting with actors and actresses who were interested in playing the roles. The very same Hollywood that was once out-of-reach soon came a-calling. I took far too many meetings to count, with producers and financiers who wanted the script but wanted me out of the way as director—they wanted someone famous directing my script. Ron Howard and Brian Grazer's Imagine Entertainment gave me what I wanted: myself as director, with full creative control. I did my film with Imagine Entertainment, and remain grateful to Ron Howard and Brian Grazer for their faith in me and their support of me."
...
Wikipedia