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July 18, 2005
films about London
Recently two films about London have been made available on DVD, and they're highly recommended.
The first is Patrick Keiller's London (in a double pack with the also-excellent Robinson in Space).
This is one of my favourite films, a 90 minute psychogeographical psychohistorical narration of 3 trips by Robinson and the unnamed narrator around London. It's filmed over the 1992 election period; Robinson is a staunch Labour supporter who realises the inevitability of a defeat. To the pictures of John Major's acceptance speech, Robinson weighs up his future:
Has all of that come to pass? Well, no, but some was fulfilled after the Tories left power.
What is interesting is seeing London 13 years ago, and way that Londoners lived their lives, especially given the recent London atrocities. Terrorism was a daily mentality; posters everywhere keeping people alert, 8 bombs in a week. Everyone used to it, if not accepting it. As the pressure from Ireland thankfully eased, due to work from both Major's and Blair's governments, London might have become a bit complacent. The protections - the ring of steel - befitting a very British kind of terrorism, and no other.
This may give the impression that London is a sour film, but it isn't. It's really quite funny, and fantastical, and the characterisation of the two protagonists is quite amazing given the constraints of fixed ethnographic camerawork and one unseen narrator.
There's more on Keiller here, three film clips and stills from London, and one of the essays from the DVD booklet. If anyone knows about screenings of his newer films, The Dilapidated Dwelling and The City of the Future, please let me know.
The second DVD is Finisterre, filmed by Paul Kelly, Kieran Evans with music by Saint Etienne. Paul's review is better than anything I could write. It's a more romanticised view of London, obviously drawing inspiration from Keiller's work (a bit hamfistedly), but still a wonderful addition to the filmography of London.
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Comments
Thanks for the heads up. Finisterre DVD ordered from amazon uk... Cheers! A
Posted by: andersja at July 21, 2005 06:24 PM
