Remembrance

One of the first films produced by Channel 4, REMEMBRANCE features an ensemble cast including Gary Oldman and Timothy Spall in one of their earliest screen roles. This 1982 film, about a group of junior Navy Sailors who go out on the town before sailing off to America for a six-month NATO exercise, does not have a single plot. Instead, the scenes switch between interweaving scenarios, which depict the main characters’ individual stories.

The characters in question are Vincent (Pete Lee-Wilson) who has a strained relationship with his parents (who are separated), Douglas (Timothy Spall) whose girlfriend is pregnant, Chris (Nick Dunning), John (Al Ashton), Malcolm (Martin Barrass) and Steve (John Altman). It’s the lads last night on shore and each one of them decides to make the most of it, or at least try to make the most of it seeing how Vincent has a hard time making the temporary farewell from his rather estranged parents a pleasant experience, while Douglas finds himself subjected to his pregnant girlfriend’s mood swings and anxiety attacks, as she is fully aware that her beloved Doug will in all likelihood not be present when she gives birth.

Most of the junior Navy Sailors hit the stretch along the once notorious Union Street district of Plymouth, complete with its seedy bars, clubs and pubs. It is in one such club, Doll’s (the actual club, a strip club, was called Diamond Lil’s), that another central character (if not the central character) bounces onto the scene in a drunken stupor: Daniel (Gary Oldman), who arrives in town on his own. No one knows where he came from and why he came to Plymouth and in particular, Union Street. As he enters Doll’s Club, he might considered to be a nuisance due to his drunkenness but is otherwise harmless. Taking to the dance floor by himself, three men observe him from the bar area, they are Dutch Matelot (Wolf Kahler), Matelot (Jesse Birdsall) and Dave (Peter Jonfield) – resident troublemakers and bully boys who always provoke and violently attack at random but get away with murder (quite literally). It’s no different on this fateful night when they chuck empty pint glasses at Daniel on the dance floor, prompting the bouncers to assume that it is him breaking the glasses in his intoxicated state. One of the bouncers, Frank (Dicken Ashworth) not only kicks Daniel out but violently beats him up outside the club, so much so that an ambulance has to be called. Meanwhile John, who has witnessed what was going on, feels a sense of duty to find out who the badly injured young man is though there is no identification in his wallet.

Soon, the whole district knows about the incident and Stan (Jon Croft), who is the new boyfriend of Vincent’s mum, happens to be the owner of Doll’s Club and now he rightly fears repercussions for what has happened and of course, for not having taken action against Matelot and his cronies and against bouncer Frank. Meanwhile during the same night, Steve and his girlfriend gatecrash a posh party where he first provokes a stuck up, female party guest (Myra Frances) who makes condescending remarks about the tattoos in his arms, before he provokes everyone else and gets kicked out. The next day, Vincent has yet another argument with his father (Derek Benfield) while John visits Daniel, who lies in a coma, in hospital. Still with no clue as to his identity, Daniel finds a photo in the young man’s wallet which finally offers a clue and his reason for having come to Plymouth… and the reason is all the more shocking as it is linked to one of John’s fellow junior Navy Sailors…

REMEMBRANCE has just been released newly restored on Blu-ray, iTunes and Amazon Prime, was given added poignancy and relevance upon its initial release date due to the outbreak of the Falklands War several months earlier.

Bonus Material includes: Optional introduction by Gary Oldman (2018), interviews with director Colin Gregg, screenwriter Hugh Stoddard and actor John Altman, ‘Raleigh: The First Few Weeks’ about the daily drill of new naval ratings (1986, 19 min), Galleries, plus Illustrated booklet (first pressing only).