The Cement Garden

"Love knows no limits."

1993 1h 41m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 111

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

After the death of her husband, the mother of Julie, Jack, Sue and Tom begins to suffer from a mysterious illness. Aware that she is going to have to go into hospital she opens a bank account for the children, so that they can be financially self-sufficient and will be able to avoid being taken into care by the authorities. Unfortunately she also dies and Julie and Jack (the older, teenage children) decide to hide her body in the basement so that they can have free reign of their household. Soon Tom has taken to dressing as a girl whilst Sue has become increasingly reticent, confiding only to her diary, meanwhile Jack and Julie sense an attraction developing for each other. However Julie's new beau, Derek, threatens to unearth the many dark secrets within this family as he becomes increasingly suspicious of Jack.

“Love knows no limits.”

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Cast

Andrew Robertson
Jack
Charlotte Gainsbourg
Julie
Alice Coulthard
Sue
Ned Birkin
Tom
Sinéad Cusack
Mother
Hanns Zischler
Father
Jochen Horst
Derek, Julie's Friend
Gareth Brown
William

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Andrew Birkin
Writers: Andrew Birkin
Languages: English
Countries: France, Germany, United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

33 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: France, Germany, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Andrew Birkin, shot by Stephen Blackman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Edward Shearmur. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Toby Tremlett shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Andrew Robertson and Charlotte Gainsbourg and Alice Coulthard carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Love knows no limits.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Andrew Birkin directs. Stephen Blackman behind the camera. Edward Shearmur scores. Toby Tremlett cuts. Produced in France, Germany, United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

133 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2International production across 3 countries: France, Germany, United Kingdom.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Directed by Andrew Birkin, shot by Stephen Blackman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Edward Shearmur. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Toby Tremlett shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Andrew Robertson and Charlotte Gainsbourg and Alice Coulthard carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Love knows no limits.".
9IMDB entry: tt0106535 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 11 themes, including "puberty", "beach", "sibling relationship", "based on novel or book".