At some point, we’ve all encountered the hypothetical question about a scenario in which we come into contact with some extraterrestrial being, and specifically what we’d show them to give a solid overview of the human race and our existence on Planet Earth, which often leads to compelling and interesting discussion and debate. This was the foundation of Friendship’s Death, the sole directorial outing of film theorist and writer Peter Wollen, who tells the story of an eccentric British war correspondent stationed in Jordan in 1970, tasked with covering the conflict between Jordanian and Palestinian forces in a series of violent clashes that have come to be labelled as Black September based on the amount of bloodshed during this period. Our hero soon encounters a mysterious figure named Friendship, who is a cyborg sent to the planet by alien scientists who are eager to learn about humanity. Still, instead of finding her way to MIT, she finds herself in the same conflict-riddled region of the Middle East, where the reporter acts as her guide, informing her of the various intricacies of the planet and its occupants. A fascinating and quite strange experimental drama in which the director explores certain themes that are somewhat mysterious but also deeply resonant, Friendship’s Death is a unique piece of filmmaking that is difficult to entirely comprehend at first glance but quickly grows to be more complex and engaging the more time we spend with it since everything about it feels very much aligned with common perceptions of global politics and international relations, just being presented in a bespoke and unconventional manner, which allows the film to grow into a much more ambitious project that is unique and oddly quite endearing, despite the sometimes challenging subject matter.

From the start, we understand exactly what Friendship’s Death set out to achieve, at least in terms of the surface-level premise. It is not a mistake that this is a film set in a very specific part of the world at a particular point in time – and while it was not intentional, watching this film at the present moment, where we see a similar level of violence and bloodshed in the Middle East, is quite a disconcerting experience, particularly in how we realize how little has changed, between the period in which the film is set (the early 1970s), the era in which it was made and the present moment, with the content being relevant to each timeframe. Nothing is quite as timeless as war and suffering, and despite the sometimes ethereal nature of the film, Wollen’s intentions were very much driven by a sense of social activism, with every moment in the film proving to be an effort to underline the central themes that drive the story. The idea of a cyborg designed to possess superhuman intelligence and an abundance of empathy and compassion for our species coming down to our planet to educate us on how to practice the art of peaceful co-existence sounds hackneyed and utopian, and would otherwise be beyond cliched had it not been carefully crafted by a director with a unique perspective and the social awareness to realize that all art is inherently political, and through crafting this film, which occupies many different genres, he can tell quite an intriguing and revealing story about the human condition and our relationship with one another, presenting quite a peculiar depiction of the past, but one that is nonetheless extremely resonant in ways that can be considered somewhat revolutionary and deeply experimental, which is exactly the approach that Wollen and his cohorts to which seemed to be aiming.

The style of Friendship’s Death is almost entirely as inventive and original as the narrative itself, which is a terrific surprise to those who expected it to be a prosaic, overly heavy-handed drama about conflict and humanity’s penchant for violence as a result of disagreement or differences in opinion. Wollen is a keen cultural and social critic, but before he became a well-regarded theorist and writer, he was a devotee of the moving picture, and while it may seem simple in theory, this film is a wonderful tribute to the genres of the past and present, which informed his sensibilities and developed him into one of the most inventive and unique film theorists of his generation. We find that his efforts to manipulate and reconfigure genre are responsible for some of the film’s most extraordinary moments, with the combination of character-based drama, science fiction, psychological thriller and even a few brief interludes of romance being the result of someone who spent his life exploring how different filmmakers told their stories. It undeniably not the easiest film to follow at times, and developing a clear understanding of what is being conveyed is not always possible, but as with a lot of experimental films, the most reliable approach is to simply surrender to its peculiarities, and rather than attempting to make sense of these ideas, we are better off just simply luxuriating in the fascinating themes to which we are introduced throughout the film. After a while, everything begins to fall into place, and we find that there is something much deeper lingering beneath the surface that keeps every moment genuinely engaging and intriguing, which is exactly the quality that the director was hoping to evoke through this film.

To bring these ideas to life, Wollen constructs the film around the two leads, who turn in exceptional performances. Friendship’s Death is a relatively early entry into the careers of both Bill Patterson and Tilda Swinton, who were well-acquainted with experimental and arthouse British cinema and were more than willing to collaborate with Wollen on this ambitious and peculiar film. The two leads have impeccable chemistry, which is not only a credit to their immense talents in isolation, but also Wollen’s ability to foster an environment where these two gifted performers can feel comfortable enough to make a genuine connection in terms of the characters they are playing. Most of the attention Friendship’s Death has received in retrospect has been around Swinton’s performance, and for good reason – she was a part of the artistic collective formed by Derek Jarman (her lifelong friend and the person who gave her the start in the industry), and a close collaborator with her childhood companion Joanna Hogg. However, this was one of her first major roles, insofar as it was a leading part that depended on her to carry the film. Playing this wonderfully elegant, sophisticated being from another planet, she portrays the clear fact that the persona she has cultivated over the years was present from the start and just as enchanting. However, the film is a two-hander, and we can’t dismiss the wonderful work being done by Patterson, who is equally as good and proves to be a worthy scene partner for Swinton, his everyman charms and ability to handle some of the more dense dialogue provided by Wollen being one of the many tremendous aspects of his performance. Considering how much of Friendship’s Death feels like a stageplay, with the limited locations and focus being almost entirely on these two characters, it’s incredible how the leads manage to make it feel so much broader and expansive, which is the result of a strong collaboration between actors and a director who knows precisely how to use them to get the desired results.

Friendship’s Death is a film that resided in relative obscurity for a while until it was lovingly brought back to life in a stunning restoration that captured all the vivid details that Wollen infused into absolutely every frame. Unfortunately, there’s a perception that it is a minor or trivial work, based on a few factors, such as the length (as it only runs a mere 75 minutes, a perfect length for such a film, but one that unintentionally conveys the idea that it doesn’t have much substance) and the fact that it sometimes defines the more parodic aspects of experimental cinema, such as stilted, dense dialogue and peculiar elements that exist solely to complicate the story and give off the illusion of depth. However, once we start paying attention, we find that these elements are all assets to the film as a whole. It’s a film that uses its brevity as a sign of its economic storytelling, never needing to overstay its welcome, and the more off-the-wall elements exist as a means to strengthen the tone of the story, which is deeply complex but sometimes unwieldy, requiring a more concise attention to detail to fully realize most of its ideas. Making sense of Friendship’s Death takes time and effort, but it’s worthwhile, since the results are exquisite and genuinely very compelling, and make for a film that is engaging, original and subversive in how it uses common ideas to explore something much more profound, bringing to light ideas that we haven’t seen conveyed in such an experimental way very often, but which form the foundation of this astonishing and poignant psychological drama in which reality and fantasy come together brilliantly.