This 1990 film written and directed by Derek Jarman is visually beautiful· The themes include gay rights, HIV/AIDS†, the modern world (in particular, celebrity, commercialism and consumerism), and the tension between religious dogma, personal belief, outlook and spiritual journey· The film is set in a remote part of the English countryside next to the sea, where Jarman lived towards the end of his life·
While Jarman was an Atheist, the film is steeped in Christian myth and theology· He speaks as prophet, not priest· "The Garden contains much religious, though not always Christian, imagery taking the pattern of suffering, death and resurrection as part of gay and lesbian experiences· The gaymen share the fate of Jesus, Jesus shares the fate of the gaymen· Interpreting Jarman's The Garden is not a matter of achieving THE one true reading of the film· Jarman delighted in the mystery and ambiguity of his films· When people came up to him and said that they had found their life portrayed in one of his films, he never argues with the interpretation, just marveled at the plethora of readings, of interpretations, that the film was capable of bearing·" [Stephen Carr, 1998]

† "Human Immunodeficiency Virus"/“Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome·” On 22 December 1986, Jarman was diagnosed as HIV positive and discussed his condition in public· At the time, diagnoses was eqivalent to a death sentence· By 1990, he was displaying serious AIDS-related illnesses· In 1994, he died of an AIDS-related illness in London, aged 52.