Deep End

Generational confusion, emotional chaos and absurdist sensibility of the Swinging Sixties poke up above water in Skolimowski’s touching and surreal coming-of-age story, his first film after exile in the UK. Taking a job in a tattered old London bathhouse, timid Mike is infatuated with Susan, an experienced attendant who helps him navigate client’s unsavoury advances and discover the world of lust and sex. Music from Can and Cat Stevens, along with expressionistic water imagery, articulates a loose, freewheeling feel drown in the allegorical world of the pool. A bizarre yet pathetic ending serves as the high point of this wonderfully mysterious film.

BAFTA Film Awards: Best Supporting Actress nomination