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Death Watch review

A world where disease has been all but banished

Reviews
By Philip Kemp published 23 May 2012

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Set in Glasgow and Western Scotland, Bertrand Tavernier’s only purely English-language movie to date (made in 1980) is an offbeat sci-fi that uncannily prefigures the rise of ‘reality TV’.

In a world where disease has been all but banished, Romy Schneider’s gutsy heroine contracts an incurable illness.

She goes on the run – but unscrupulous TV boss Harry Dean Stanton, determined to exploit her final days, sends after her lenser Harvey Keitel, who’s had cameras installed behind his eyeballs.

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It’s let down by preachy dialogue, but makes striking use of the Scots locations.

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Philip Kemp
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