Taglines: No one can harm you in your imagination.
Closet Land movie storyline. 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.
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.
Closet Land (1991)
Directed by: Radha Bharadwaj
Starring: Madeleine Stowe, Alan Rickman
Screenplay by: Radha Bharadwaj
Production Design by: Eiko Ishioka
Cinematography by: Bill Pope
Film Editing by: Lisa Zeno Churgin
Costume Design by: Eiko Ishioka
Art Direction by: Kenneth Hardy
Music by: Richard Einhorn
MPAA Rating: R for psychological torture.
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Release Date: March 6, 1991
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