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out, during which some of them say that he needs to "control woman". Then she tries to throw Del out, saying that the relationship is over. Del is initially unmoved, but then reacts angrily, claiming that it is his flat. Pat points out that it is hers. Then he slaps her quite violently. She grabs a knife from the kitchen drawer. He finally leaves. She does not break down in tears, but is visibly distressed.
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a cab back to her flat. Del claims to be chivalrous because he opened the taxi door for her. They go up to the door of her flat, but Pat will not invite him in, saying: "It's late." Del protests that he has taken her to the "best black restaurant in town" and paid for everything, implying that he expects something in return, but ultimately he leaves slightly disappointed.
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kicks her after she falls to the ground. The others gradually come outside, and try to restrain
Chamberlain. Del tries to calm Chamberlain down. Chamberlain pulls a knife and says it's none of his business. The police arrive. Del resists manhandling from a plainclothes officer, pulls a knife, and slashes the officer's face.
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One of Pat's friends is having issues with her boyfriend being dominating. Chatting on a park bench with a third friend, Pat says she should leave him. Meanwhile, at the pool club, Del's friends are saying that in a relationship the man should dominate. Pat asks Del when he's going to "settle down".
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Del manages to obtain the phone number of Pat's parents, and happens to call it while she is there, despite her having had her own flat for three years. He invites her on a date, on which they go to a restaurant and drink wine after the meal, though they both agree they dislike the wine. They take
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fuelled my inspiration to make
Burning an Illusion. I hadn’t known Horace prior but my then business partner David Kinoshi was playing one of the characters in the film and invited me along. Seeing a black director at the helm made me see that creating that kind of film was possible. ... The title
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They go to a gig with Sonya, Chamberlain, and other friends. Chamberlain becomes jealous when Sonya is talking to another man (a friend from school), and drags her outside. She says she can "talk to who I like, when I like, and if you don't like it, you know what to do about it." He slaps her, and
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Pat continues to iron Del's shirts and cook his meals, shopping from her wages, while Del begins to take liberties, treating the place as his own, inviting friends round to gamble at cards and expecting Pat to wait on them. Eventually, she won't put up with it any more. She throws Del's friends
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The film begins with scenes of a house party, with Pat on voice-over introducing herself, somewhat as if from a diary. She is 22 years old and not sure where she is going in life. Her voice-over narration is used at several other points in the film, but not often.
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who appears to be racist, singling out Del for scrutiny. Del is often late for work and eventually loses his job. He thinks it is no big deal and that he will easily be able to find another job, but discovers that there are no machinist jobs available.
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A while later, Del knocks on Pat's door. He is carrying a holdall. He has had a row with his father and either been kicked out of the family home or has left voluntarily (it is left unclear, perhaps for the viewer to decide which). He moves in with Pat.
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Pat regularly visits Del in prison. Initially he is angry about the injustice. But then he gets into reading, and Pat sends him various books, which she has been reading herself, at least one of which is about black people's condition in society.
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Her friend, Sonya, gives her and Del a lift home from the party. Sonya's boyfriend, Chamberlain, is in the front passenger seat and they are exuberantly chatty, while Del appears to whisper sweet nothings in Pat's ear in the back seat.
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they are marooned. They agree to meet, whereupon Pat explains the problems with their relationship. Del orders wine, with a cheeky grin. When they wander and skip around the streets afterwards, it seems like they are new lovers.
364:, as "it's about black people who aren't radical". Solanke writes: "Like all drama, the film is about characters facing conflicts. ... or most of the story it dramatises personal conflicts, not socio-economic or political ones."
389:, Nick Roddick concluded: "It reflects an experience, burns an illusion and portrays a consciousness. That, in the context of its production and its potential distribution, is more than enough."
383:, Roland S. Jefferson wrote: "What an eye opening surprise! Menelik Shabazz has given us our first glimpse of contemporary black life in London and it is long overdue." In
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website, avoids "the tradition of placing white males at the centre of a story". It is also rare example of prioritising the personal drama of black woman over the
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described it as "lively, accurate and thought-provoking, burning illusions without substituting too many of its own. A highly promising debut." However, in 2020,
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The film ends with Pat putting books in an incinerator, saying she could never believe her life and dreams could change so much.
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considered it "a movie that begins with a buoyant free-fall individualism ends up like a speak-your-fate agitprop manifesto."
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that the film "dramatizes issues, attitudes and hazards of life in London's black communities." In 2021,
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communities. It was only the second
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Del points out that things are fine at the moment, though concedes "maybe in five or six months time".
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Some time later, Del spots Pat in town. She tries to evade him, but he follows apace, and at a
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is characterised as "a meeting ground for romantic love and politics"): "Being on the set of
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had a lyric 'Burning an illusion inna
Babylon' which became the inspiration for the title."
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Burning an
Illusion, as with many of my films, comes from a reggae song. In this case,
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Pat is shot in the leg in a drive-by shootnig, and hospitalized. It's not clear why.
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Black in the
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Giving the history to the film's making, Shabazz wrote on his website (where
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as "the first
British film to give a black woman a voice of any kind."
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worked with
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758:"Tribute To A Classic: Burning An Illusion (1981)"
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691:"BURNING AN ILLUSION - CLASSIC MOVIE AWARD 2011"
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581:"Burning an Illusion: Story Behind the Film"
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604:Jefferson, Roland S. (May/June 1985),
654:"Burning an Illusion - Movie Reviews"
509:, DVD Video Review, 1 September 2005.
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459:Classic Film Award in October 2011.
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449:for "Most Promising New Actress".
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298:Victor Romero Evans (Del Bennett)
352:on the British Film Institute's
310:Malcolm Fredericks (Chamberlain)
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392:Almost 40 years after release,
295:Cassie McFarlane (Pat Williams)
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813:English-language drama films
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493:"Burning an Illusion (1981)"
205:(1975), and is described by
16:1981 film by Menelik Shabazz
693:. YouTube, 23 October 2011.
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179:written and directed by
301:Beverley Martin (Sonia)
737:British Film Institute
377:Reviewing the film in
314:Corinne Skinner-Carter
71:Corinne Skinner-Carter
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455:was honoured with a
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803:British drama films
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346:Burning an Illusion
327:Burning an Illusion
276:Del is not granted
241:At Del's work as a
172:Burning an Illusion
56:Victor Romero Evans
24:Burning an Illusion
373:Critical reception
175:is a 1981 British
67:Malcolm Fredericks
764:, 1 October 2017.
762:Women Of The Lens
613:The Black Scholar
386:Sight & Sound
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99:Seyoum Nefta
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83:Roy Cornwall
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350:Ade Solanke
148:105 minutes
39:Produced by
29:Directed by
778:1981 films
772:Categories
606:Review of
477:References
331:Horace Ove
321:Background
197:Horace Ové
105:Production
403:The Times
400:wrote in
362:conflicts
333:'s movie
307:(Cynthia)
243:machinist
88:Edited by
470:Pressure
463:See also
335:Pressure
202:Pressure
161:Language
96:Music by
47:Starring
746:at the
665:30 June
638:30 June
526:Feature
368:Release
340:Culture
247:foreman
164:English
153:Country
130: (
107:company
634:. 1982
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565:5 July
440:France
430:Awards
278:parole
185:London
447:Award
726:IMDb
667:2022
640:2022
592:2021
567:2021
410:for
217:Plot
191:and
177:film
132:1981
128:1981
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514:^
484:^
669:.
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569:.
134:)
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