London films
I’ve seen about three films about the big smoke over the past few weeks, courtesy of the burgeoning documentaries section of the Film Shop on Broadway Market.
First of all I saw “London” by Patrick Keiller from the early 1990s, brilliantly captures the feel of the city at the that time (Major’s years, the final few flourishes of the IRA’s mainland campaign, the stock & house market crash). It’s filled with lonely images shot throughout the city. The premise is played out with a narrator taking us (an old friend who has been working at sea and been away from the city for a long time) on a journey of rediscover so that we can re-familiarise ourselves with the city once more. It’s beautifully done, and hopefully soon I might get around to watching the “Robinson in Space” sequal.
Then, next up, it’s "Finisterre" by members of St Ettiene (or Bob Stanley at least) and soundtracked with their music. Overall it is a bit disappointing. Billing itself as a film, which celebrates the parts and aspects of London which are sometimes over-looked or forgotten, it ends up being very sentimental in parts (bordering, almost, as a tourism promo). The music doesn’t come off too well either….I quite like some of there stuff but they seem to have lost their way recently.
Then finally, I watched "London Orbital" a film by Chris Petit based on the Iain Sinclair and friends’
walk around the M25 in 2001, which also led to Sinclair’s excellent book. More similar in style to Keiller’s film and probably the best of the three as it explores the myth and boredom of modern Britain around the buildings and sites situated near the road. They take in the mythical Sibel building, the gangster wasteland and Bluewater in Essex, Waltham Abbey, Heathrow as well as plenty of hospitals, golf courses and other retail parks. It's probably the best of the lot.
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