Bill Douglas Weekend

Below is a wee piece I wrote for Scottish Socialist Voice last week.

Later this month, Craigmillar Arts Centre will be hosting a weekend of events to commemorate the life and work of Bill Douglas, twenty years after the film director’s death. The planned events include an art exhibition, cinematic artefacts, and screenings of his own films and those of local children.

Born in the Lothians mining village of Newcraighall in 1934, Douglas was brought up in abject poverty. He found respite in the cinemas of Musselburgh and Portobello which he managed to enter by exchanging jam jars or sneaking in through the fire escape.

National Service saw to his permanent escape when he met and bonded with Peter Jewell over their mutual love of cinema. The two would become lifelong companions with Jewell supporting him in his burgeoning film career and acting as an advisor in all his major works.

On leaving film school in 1971, Douglas set about shooting My Childhood which would form the first part of his Trilogy, perhaps his most celebrated work.  Set and largely filmed in Newcraighall and Edinburgh, the Trilogy is based on Douglas’s own childhood. The Observer film critic Philip French described it as a “bleak, almost physically painful picture” adding “I believe this trilogy will come to be regarded not just as a milestone, but as one of the heroic achievements of British cinema.”

The Films of Scotland Committee did not share this foresight, refusing funding on the basis that it failed “to project a forward-looking country.”  Douglas had no time for simplistic sentimentality- the Trilogy is full of digs at a kitsch idea of Scotland that never existed for him- the embarrassment of the boy whose trouser legs come down while he’s wearing a kilt; the cosy cottage with an alcoholic granny; the public school boy who mocks his pronunciation.

His next film took some time to come to fruition due to funding issues and his own perfectionism.

Comrades would be shot in colour with a stunning countryside backdrop and sharing much in common with the Trilogy: the stillness and stripped back dialogue; the focus on the painful minutiae of poverty; and the subtle and moving performances.  “There is so much to be read in a person’s face,” Douglas said. “I use the camera to read that face and it will speak volumes if you will listen to it.”

While Douglas himself stated that it was not the politics and historical significance of the Tolpuddle martyrs that interested him so much as the characters, the closing speech, written by Douglas and delivered to the viewer in a style reminiscent of the end of Chaplin’s The Great Dictator, gives us an insight into his values.

“Has not the working man as much right to protect his labour as the rich man has his capital? [...] let the working classes of Britain, seeing the necessity of acting on such a principle, remembering that union is power, listen to nothing that might be presented before them to draw their attention from the subject [...] then no longer will the interests of the millions be sacrificed for the gain of a few, but the blessings from such a change would be felt by us and our posterity even to generations yet unborn.”

He wrote a further three film scripts which he was unable to go on to produce, including one for Confessions of a Justified Sinner. With his untimely death twenty years ago, Scotland lost one of its most imaginative and significant contributors to cinema.

Place of Dreams-The Bill Douglas Weekend is being held at Craigmillar Art Centre, 58 Newcraighall Road, Edinburgh on 29-30 October.

Sisyphus writes

Deary me, it's been an awfy long time since I've put anything up here.  It's certainly not for want of things to write about but getting it down on electronic paper has been another matter.

A few months ago I had enough of coming across various DVDs and thinking 'I've been meaning to watch that for ages'.  I decided to do an audit of my unwatched DVD collection and found there were about 150 of them.  I then compiled a list and put them in a rough order of preference to try and make some sense of the task ahead of me (I have also noted their length, whether they're borrowed, and whether my OH wants to see it too). 

The problem is that no sooner do I watch a DVD than I seem to acquire another.  My lovefilm list, for example, stood at about 120 in June.  A few months later and it's grown to 148.  That's over 6 years worth of rentals (before adding anything else that will come out in that time).

I've certainly increased my film-watching considerably this year, but this has only served to highlight how little I have seen and know.  When I come across a new director or genre that's intrigued or excited me then I've gone to try and track down more.  A frustrating, expensive but thoroughly rewarding pursuit.

This has left NPP sadly neglected which is a shame.  However, I have recognised that I am never going to catch up with all the films I want to see and need to be comfortable with that.  As such, instead of trying to cram another film in that spare couple of hours, I will endeavour to return here.

Edinburgh International Film Festival 2011

I get quite excited this time of year.  I'm usually on holiday (just back from two weeks in France on this occasion), it's my birthday (although that is becoming less exciting- the novelty wears off after thirty odd years), and I get a curious sense of optimism about the forthcoming football season (probably subconsciously justifying the purchase of a new Hibs season ticket to myself) .  However, no small part of this excitement is from the genuine anticipation I feel when the programme for the Edinburgh International Film Festival is launched.  The EIFF, which kicked off today, has had a fair amount of criticism over the last few months (more later) but none of that stopped me from picking up the programme on the first day and setting about my system for determining my cinema viewing for these next ten days.

I have a system for lots of things.  When I cook, I like to cut my vegetables in a certain order and in a particular way. I get irritated when my system for the laundry is ignored by my partner. It's not an OCD thing- there's a logic behind it all. 

My system for deciding what I'll watch during the EIFF has evolved over the years and is now a great deal more straight forward than it once was.  

Stage 1- I read through the programme and mark the ones that sound interesting

Stage 2- I have a second read though to see if I might have missed anything and begin the process of prioritising.  East Asian action films and most things with a strong political theme usually have a very big asterisk next to them.  At the same time I try to work out which films are likely to get a wider release further down the line.  I don't normally mind waiting a few months to see them and my fondest festival memories have come from watching things I would have been highly unlikely to have caught otherwise (I'm thinking of films like Boy, Baraboo, Komma, Murk, Next Door, Left Bank, and Au Revoir Taipei to name a few).

Me and my system

Stage 3- I type out my initial choices dividing them into an A list and a B list.  The A list will comprise the ten or so things I want to see most with the B list acting as a subs bench in the event of time clashes, work commitments, or lack of availability.  In a World Cup or European Championship year then I also have to avoid fixture clashes.

Stage 4- Buy the tickets.

My excitement notwithstanding, it was hard not to notice the reduced number of features this year.  I found my ten easy enough but that's not great.  I normally have a list of fifteen or sixteen I have to whittle down.  Then there's the lack of any ticket deals which is hugely disappointing.  We'll know in ten days time whether the new direction has worked.

Miscellaneous videos

A couple videos have come to my attention in the past week so instead of writing a proper post I thought I'd just share them with you instead.  Far more entertaining, I'm sure you'd agree.

First up are some deleted scenes from Airplane!  Surely these didn't get past the script editor.

Next is an alternative ending for The Wicker Man.  Say what you like, it still looks better than this.

Finally, with the forthcoming DVD release of Black Swan (my favourite film of the year so far) it gives me an excuse to post two videos I found particularly interesting around the time of its cinema release.  This first one points out a few of the visual effects, many of which may have passed you unnoticed.

Second is this one from the BBC explaining a little about Swan Lake itself.  So interesting, Inge's gone and bought me tickets to see it in June and I'm genuinely looking forward to it.

DVD Review: Blame it on Fidel

When it played at the EIFF a few years ago I remember being less than impressed by the description of Blame it on Fidel in the programme (how I make my EIFF choices will be covered in a future post- I bet you can hardly wait).  As a result I decided to give it a miss and so I only got round to seeing it fairly recently.  It tells the story of a young girl, Anna, growing up in early 70s Paris whose parents embrace radical socialism.  The subsequent adjustments to their lifestyle- behavioural and material- naturally have a marked impact on her.

I think I was put off for two reasons: firstly I was fearful from the promotional comments that politically I would find it annoying.  I imagined a film full of gross caricatures of left activists, an over-simplification of ideas, and difficult to like characters.  To an extent this assumption turned out to have some justification.  Their house is soon full of barbudos who come out with such statements as "Mickey Mouse is a fascist" and "your child is a reactionary" while Anna and her brother feel themselves more and more neglected as a result of their parents' newfound priorities.

My second concern was given the subject matter and the fact that first time director Julie Gavras is the daughter of lefty director Costa-Gavras, that this could turn out to be a tad self-indulgent and that the lead character could be an unrealistic and overly sympathetic representative of her younger self.  On this I was most definitely wrong.  If anything, it's actually difficult to like the child at all to begin with given how spoilt and selfish she is at times.  As the film proceeds, however, we see an impressive level of complexity conveyed as Anna wrestles with her surroundings and education.  The scene where she puts into practice the lessons she's learned in solidarity is both touching and amusing.  It's in this more fundamental story, how children process and assimilate information and how ideas and experiences shape our perceptions, that the real interest lies and there's certainly enough here to make me look  forward to Gavras's next film, due out later this year.

New Poll: Diabolical Attempts at a Scottish Accent

Well I enjoyed the last so I thought I'd give another poll a bash.  Before explaining what it's all about though, here are the results of our last poll- your favourite film set in Embra.

Greyfriars Bobby- 2%

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie- 0%

Restless Natives- 20%

Hallam Foe- 5%

Shallow Grave- 12%

Trainspotting- 40%

The Illusionist- 20%

Congratulations to Trainspotting- a worthy winner.  I don't think many of us will be surprised by the result; I caught it on telly last night and was as struck by its energy and relentless pace as the first time I saw it.  Interestingly for a comparative newcomer, The Illusionist picked up a very respectable 20%.  I was also pleased for the more than respectable showing of Restless Natives.  Was it the Big Country soundtrack?  Was it the cityscapes of the less scenic areas of Edinburgh?  Was it the way that it deals with the unfulfilled desire for adventure that lies in all of us?  Or was it the ongoing plug in the banner of this page?

So what next?  Well, in keeping with the Scottish theme I wanted to look at an area that has long bugged me- piss-poor attempts at Scottish accents.  This is a very personal issue for me; growing up in Englandshire I had many an annoying day as school mates took the piss out of my accent.  When I would then hear an atrocious Scottish accent on telly or at the pictures then it felt like a continuation of the piss-take.

There's a few good examples, but which is the worst?

Harrison Ford

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Best Line- "Wer her ta say tha tepistrees!"

I know it's not to be taken seriously but this really is poor.  Harrison Ford's 'Lord MacDonald' seems to have arrived in Austria via South Africa and possibly Russia.

Christopher Lambert

Highlander

Best Line- "Em Canner Mclewd af tha Clen Mclewd"

Fish in a barrel but he had a more convincing highland accent in Greystoke- the Legend of Tarzan.

Mel Gibson

Braveheart

Best Line- "Freeeeeeeedom"

I quite like this one actually but I am under the impression I'm in the minority.  I have more problems with his hair extensions.

Jessica Lang

Rob Roy

Best Line- "Though I love his honour, 'tis but a shadow to the love I bear him."

Could have had my pick from this film but have plumped for Oscar winner Lange's Norwegian inflected effort.

Robert Duval

A Shot at Glory

Best Line- "It was me who had his dorrterr stohlen from him"

Hands up who actually saw this.  I thought as much.  Watch the trailer and I'm sure you'll agree that he merits a place on the short list, even if he is overshadowed by a performance from young Ally McCoist so bad that he somehow convinced me he wasn't a jokey womaniser.

Honourable mentions to Mike Myers in Shrek, Robin Williams in Mrs Doubtfire and James Doohan in Star Trek.  If you can come up with better suggestions early on then I may be inclined to add them.

Cast your votes!

Normal Service Has Resumed

Apologies for the delay in posting my humble thoughts on all things film-related in sunny Embra.  I won't bore you with the reasons for the unplanned hiatus (although you can find some of my interim work contained here and here) but I'm now back and raring to go.  Or at least as much as I am ever raring.

Perhaps the first thing I need to get sorted is a new poll.  I'll do that later in the week but any suggestions?  I'm also about 20 films behind in my reviews so I'll need to address that in the next couple of weeks too.  

One of my most recent viewings was of the low-budget Scottish feature The Inheritance.  Made for just £5000, it got me thinking how easy it is nowadays for any numpty to produce a short film (see below for evidence).

This is obviously due in part to the ubiquity of cameras, either on our posh mobies or my own defunct Flip micro.  Equally as important, however, is the availability of easy-to-use editing software that requires neither the budget nor expertise that previously made film-making a more elite pursuit.

It was only a matter of time before people far more talented that me demonstrated the real potential in all this. There's now even an iPhone Film Festival accepting submissions, some of which are really quite impressive. Have a look at some of them at http://www.iphoneff.com/.  I might hold off on submitting mine for the time being.

Women in Films

This interesting wee video was brought to my attention recently and I thought it was well worth sharing.  It's to do with the role of women in film or, perhaps more precisely, the way the male perspective dominates in cinema.  It's worth checking out the comments and some of the other links (I know Inge will enjoy the ones on Veronica Mars).

According to my little black book I have seen 21 films for the first time so far this year.  Of those, only 4 pass the test- Black Swan, Blame it on Fidel (review forthcoming), Unrelated (sort of review forthcoming), and Fish Tank (review forthcoming if I can be arsed- suffice to say if you haven't seen it then do so).

What's striking is not only the dearth of prominent roles that 50% of the population can identify with but also how we accept as 'normal' the dominance of the male narrative.  A James Bond film is as clear a commentary on masculinity as anything else (what man out there hasn't tried the pose) but we think of it as a kind of default entertainment, almost gender neutral and no reason why it shouldn't appeal to everyone.  Even when we see female leads, it is rare for men to be excluded entirely- the same cannot be said of the reverse.  

Part of the problem is the lack of women elsewhere in the industry.  Women make up only 7% of directors and of the 4 examples I gave above, 3 of them were the only films I have seen by female directors this year.  Things might be changing- of the Time Out 100 best British films referenced in a previous post there were 4 films by female directors, an improvement of 4 on the 1999 BFI poll and all of which were made in the last 20 years.  Some feel that the solution lies in the championing and funding of female writers and film-makers, with the closure of the UK Film Council making this more difficult.   There may be some merit in that but the fact that so many of us accept the secondary role of women in cinema is perhaps a reflection of wider societal attitudes.

Review: True Grit

And not before time.  I've no idea why it's taken me so long to see this- I like the Coen brothers and modern takes on the western- but it was only last weekend I finally sat down and watched it.  Well worth the wait it was too with the biting black humour you come to expect from the Coens, wonderfully shot and a few frights thrown in.  It's surprising that it has garnered so few awards over the past few months, especially from the excellent performances from the cast.   Much has been said of Hailee Steinfeld's performance as Mattie Ross and she deserves the plaudits.  She sells every last syllable of what is at times pretty fast, complicated dialogue and is utterly convincing- tough and determined with just the right level of vulnerability.  As everyone else has said, Jeff Bridges is equally as impressive as Cogburn, the fact that you can only pick up every other world only adds to the authenticity of the character.  Matt Damon also deserves a mention as it's only through his interaction with them that the relationship between Mattie and Cogburn really works.

My friends and I were discussing the ending over a couple of drinks in the pub afterwards (Cloisters if you're wondering- if you don't know it then really should go some time and give me a shout).  One of them was wondering whether the epilogue was really necessary and I am certainly often critical of films that feel like they go on five or ten minutes too long (or in the case of the Stieg Larsson trilogy about 4 1/2 hours).  However, in this instance the epilogue really added something to our understanding of the film [SPOILER ALERT]; not only about how Hattie was shaped, physically and mentally, by the experience but also how Cogburn was.  He leaves the old ways behind, we don't know for certain why- maybe he feels too old, perhaps he came too close to death, for the first time maybe he felt a productive purpose in his life rather than a destructive one (when he replaces his horse I was reminded of Major's speech in Animal Farm "Man is the only creature that consumes without producing...he is too weak to pull the ploough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits.")  Or perhaps times just change- the film ends not just with his death but that of the Wild West itself.

Anyway, well up there with the best of the Coen brothers and, for me, much more rewarding that the distinctly ok King's Speech.

Time Out 100 Best 'British' Films

A couple of weeks ago Time Out produced a list of the all time top 100 British films based on a poll of 150 actors, directors, writers and other industry insiders, and an entertaining list it is too.  As with any list of this type there are some inclusions that raise eyebrows (Dr No is the weakest of Terence Young's Bonds imho), omissions (Red Road, A Fish Called Wanda, A Man for All Seasons) and, I have to admit, a fair few with which I'm quite unfamiliar.

Joseph Cotton and Orson Welles running through Vienna

As I was reading through, however, I was surprised by the inclusion of some, in particular Walkabout and The Third Man, which I hadn't really thought of as 'British' films.  Fair enough, I thought, they have British directors, but then so does Gandhi and that's nowhere to be seen on the list.  Alexander Mackendrick's work is well represented but arguably his greatest film, The Sweet Smell of Success set in New York, is missing.  There are two pre-war Hitchcock films, but nothing from his career in Hollywood.  Would Inception or the new Batman films qualify as British by the definition of some contributors?

However, on looking through the list it appears that the nationality of the director doesn't really matter either-  Night And The City, Repulsion, and three Stanley Kubrick films have also been selected.  Confused, I scanned the site looking for what definition of 'British' they were working to only to find that they didn't have one.  That's fine but it did make me wonder what definition individual contributors were thinking of in making their selections.

Brigadoon: a Scottish film?

I then looked through to see how many Scottish films are included on the list but found the same problem- how should I define 'Scottish'?  The Bill Douglas Trilogy, Gregory's Girl, and even Local Hero I suppose are quite straightforward.  I think most Scots would accept Trainspotting, Whisky Galore, and probably Culloden too.  What about The Wicker Man?  The 39 Steps?  For that matter what about Braveheart or Brigadoon?

You'll notice in the poll on the right-hand side I've been careful in my wording.  They are not 'Embra films' but 'films set in Embra' precisely because I was sure there would be some pedant arguing that none of them were truly Edinburgh films.  With the exception of Hallam Foe, none of them have a Scottish director, never mind one from the city itself.

In an age where casts, crew, settings, and production are frequently international some might argue that it is pointless to think about films in terms of nationality.  I'd like to think otherwise.  Just as those films in the Middle East Festival told us something about their countries of origin, does Trainspotting and Restless Natives not do the same for Scotland, and Edinburgh in particular?  Is that the definition? 

Middle East Festival

Last weekend I had the pleasure of watching a couple of cracking films showing at the Edinburgh Filmhouse as part of its Middle Eastern Film Festival (in turn part of the larger Edinburgh International Festival of Middle Eastern Spirituality and Peace).  With the whole of the region (and beyond) entering a period of uncertainty and transition it was interesting to see some of its cinematic output from recent years.

First up was Captain Abu Raed, the first film to be produced in Jordan in 50 years.  Abu Raed, played by UK-based Nadim Sawalha, is an airport janitor nearing retirement who is leading a somewhat insular life following the death of his wife and son some years before.  Finding an airline captain's hat, Raed decides to wear it home which prompts the local kids to mistake him for a pilot.  Fighting against his instinct to ignore them, he goes along with it and regales them with stories of his imaginary foreign adventures which gradually leads him to come out of his shell and start to take an active interest in the lives of others, especially the children and a friendly female pilot.

While the music and use of fades and slo-mo leads the film to occasionally come across a little twee, it is still a highly enjoyable couple of hours.  Key to its success is the superb performance of Sawalha who makes it so easy to relate to and sympathise with Raed.  He wrestles with his decisions- whether to do nothing or to put himself to inconvenience and danger by helping others.  Doing the right thing is not always easy and instinctive- the dilemma is successfully conveyed without ever being oversold.

Sawalha was available for a Q&A after the screening and explained some of the background to the production and his relationship with his excellent child co-stars.  Interestingly he remarked that he liked that the film stays clear of overt references to religion and politics but that view seems at odds with some of the key themes that run throughout.  The film confronts issues of domestic abuse and gender equality as major plot points and class is broached in the same way.  "You can tell he's not an airline pilot," says one of the boys.  "People like us don't become pilots."

The second film I caught was Times and Winds from Turkey, a much slower work following the lives of four children, their families, and fellow villagers over the course of a year.  The picture opposite, showing off the stunning the scenery and the sleeping kids, is a great summary of what the film's about.  Over the course of a year, the kids encounter a lot of problems, some bigger than others but all of huge importance to them.  The landscape serves as an indication of their isolation which acts as a kind of prison, but its scale also reminds us that their problems are miniscule in a global context.  This is not to minimise how they feel, but is more a comment on how children in particular sometimes have difficulty putting things in perspective (although this is obviously not a trait confined to exclusively to children).

Like Captain Abu Raed there is a very forward-looking feel to the film.  The kids constantly find themselves in conflict with their elders and traditions although they don't fight against it and there are no value judgements placed on the village traditions.  The film ends on a spring morning with the children looking out beyond the sea- it's their choice what they do next.  As it is for millions across the region today.

A couple of days later I spotted in Fopp for just £7- well worth it.

Foreign Language Hollywood Film Titles

I must apologise for not posting as much as I had intended over the past couple of weeks- not enough hours in the day it seems.  Plenty of stuff to come, including a couple of reviews, once I find a bit of time next week.  In the mean time, here's a wee quiz for you (via IFC).

You'll know that when Hollywood movies are released in different countries, they're often given new titles for the new audiences.  Lurking Title has made a worryingly addictive game based on translating the titles back into English.

Tip- Corridor of Death is not the German title for High School Musical 3.

Enjoy

ThunderCats movie? Jist gonnae no!

The Guardian reported this week that there are increasing demands online to see a remake of 80s kids show ThunderCats.  This has apparently been prompted by the circulation of this rather poor piece of footage.

The prospect of a remake is as welcome to me as a poke in the eye for two reasons.  Firstly, Hollywood's record in this department are dodgy to say the least.  The producers of Transformers, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Inspector Gadget and others have already shit on the memories of kids growing up in the 80s while straining to wring every last cent out of these once forgotten classics- fat chance of a radical change of form.  Secondly, and it's important for kids today to learn this, ThunderCats was rubbish: Snarf, Wilykit/kat, the theme music and that stupid 'hooooooo' cry, it all irritated me tremendously even as a ten year old.

It's not like I was particularly discriminating as a child either (I liked Angel Delight and Bournville) and there are films I loved as a child which look decidedly ropey to me today- Santa Claus: The Movie, Escape to Victory, Star Wars (don't get me started).  As such it should be obvious that this is a remake that has no chance of being any good.  Unless they make it with real cats.  I might be persuaded to watch that.

'The Wicker Tree' Trailer

The trailer for the long-awaited follow-up to The Wicker Man is now available.  Expected to be released later this year, it is apparently not a sequel as such but has a strong thematic relation with its predecessor.  Robin Hardy once again directs, this time adapting his own novel Cowboys For Christ with filming in Haddington and Gorebridge. 

Obviously The Wicker Tree has great potential to disappoint those of us who are fans of the 1973 film, and I'm more than a little concerned by some of the snippets here.  Hopefully I'm wrong.

Review: Animal Kingdom

I love it when we get free tickets from See Film First, especially if it's for a film that's got the reviews and plaudits that this film has had on the festival circuit over the last few months.  David Michôd's Animal Kingdom is an Aussie crime thriller telling the story of 17 year old J who moves in with his Gran and her sons.  His uncles are caught up in a murderous tit for tat with the police which leaves J having to decide whether loyalty to his family or working with the police (Mike from Neighbours) will provide his best chance of survival.

It's not hard to see why this film has been so well received.  It's grittily shot and maintains an air of danger throughout, prompting comparisons with Jacques Audiard's A Prophet.  There are times you feel that Michôd could do with reigning it in a little; the use of slow motion in places detracts from its realist style and the over-affectionate behaviour of the matriarchal Smurf (yes, that's the character's name) would be far more interesting if it were more subtly handled.  These are relatively minor quibbles though as is its inconsistent pacing.  It starts off as a potentially interesting gangster flick with entertaining interplay between the family members before changing tack and focusing on J and how he reacts to the changing circumstances.  The last twenty minutes or so feels so rushed that it almost seems that it was an afterthought, even though it ultimately delivers a satisfying resolution.

But it was about fifteen minutes before the end when I realised what the major problem is.  Without giving too much away, J is being led into court for a crucial point in the story which will determine his entire future.  I didn't care what happened to him.  Not a bit.  One of the great achievements of A Prophet is how much you find yourself empathising with Malik in spite of his weaknesses.  All we have with J is a mumbling teenager, occasionally smiling so that we know he approves of something.  Just because he's been dealt a lousy hand isn't reason enough to care.

Despite all this, Michôd is clearly talented with a great deal of potential.  His debut is worth a view when it goes on general release in a couple of weeks.

Save the Old Odeon- Sign the Petition

The Old Odeon in Clerk Street brings back a lot of fond memories for me.  As a student living two minutes up the road I was a regular visitor.  It was there that I saw all the classics of late 90s/early 2000s cinema- American Beauty, Gladiator, Blair Witch Project, Spice World etc.  I was sad to see it close in 2003 although I was encouraged to see its life extended by becoming a Fringe venue.  However, that came to an end in 2007 and it has remained unused since. 

It's not so much a sense of nostalgia that saddens me about this.  I don't particularly long for my lost youth; I'm fitter and healthier than I was ten years ago and I like sleeping in a bed instead of a mattress on the floor.  No, it's because from its art deco facade to the many original 1930 internal features it's an iconic building, and one that could still do a job serving the people of Embra.

I think the last thing I saw there was in 2005- the always entertaining Tiger Lillies (see the end of the post).  Around the same time I remember the Filmhouse was publishing plans to relocate to a new purpose-built facility in Festival Square which would provide a suitable home and main venue for the Edinburgh International Film Festival.  I remember at the time thinking that surely it would be cheaper and just as exciting for them to renovate the Old Odeon and relocate there.  

My idea came to nothing, hardly surprising as I didn't tell anyone about it.  However, today the New Victoria Project is campaigning not only to protect the building but in the long term to ensure it will "be a space for everybody; open to the community and committed to the development of the arts. Space will be allocated for the use of community education groups, meetings, societies and clubs, alongside the specialist music, cinema and cabaret auditoriums."   Many of you will agree that this sounds like a fitting use for a venue such as this, but not its owners Duddingston House Properties who want to demolish parts of it and convert it into a hotel.  However, these plans were put on hold last year by a ruling which said that the building should be marketed again in the hope of finding a use which would avoid any demolition.

Unfortunately, since then DHP have not accepted any bids (with many feeling their valuation to be unrealistic) and there are growing concerns about the state of the building, with photographs of the inside showing that water and vermin are getting in.  The worry is that if this is allowed to continue the owners will eventually be able to argue that it is beyond repair and thus be permitted to demolish it as planned.

The Southside Community Council are fighting against this.   They want to see this building returned to its former glory as a cultural hub for this part of the city.  They have sponsored a petition which is calling on the council to initiate urgent compulsory repairs and compulsory purchase proceedings so that it can be used as a cinema and arts venue.  I hope you add your name and then hopefully we can see more performances there like this.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/save_our_cinema/

DVD Review: Army of Crime

I have a certain fascination with the resistance movements of the second world war.  In there lies a million individual stories of the best and worst of human behaviour.  In France for instance, less than 2% of the population were ever actively involved in the Resistance in one way or another.  Of them, one in five were killed as a result of their activities (approx 100,000).  These stark figures prompt the question about whether we could have shown such defiance and bravery in similar circumstances or whether we would have followed an easier and safer path (a well trodden theme perhaps brought into focus most famously for a UK audience in It Happened Here).

Since then there have been many attempts to tell this story on film, far more than I have seen (and probably ever will see).  I've tried to keep up to speed with some of the more recent films about resistance but have become increasingly disappointed.  I'm thinking in particular of Paul Verhoeven's Black Book, the Danish Flame and Citron, the Oscar nominated Outside the Law set in the struggle for Algerian Independence, and my most recent viewing Army of Crime.  Black Book with its gratuitous close up of the (female) lead dying her pubic hair, as well as stripping and covering her with slurry later in the film, is only slightly less sensationalist than Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds (which, despite its faults, is a better film than any of these imo).  Flame and Citron plods along fairly predictably while Outside the Law is overlong and loses its way.

Army of Crime, unfortunately, doesn't do much to breathe life into this genre.  From the director who so delicately handled The Last Mitterrand we got something that felt much more like a TV movie, uninterestingly shot and lacking any distinctive qualities.  It also falls into the same trap as the others with its jarringly expositional dialogue that hammers home the background and motives of the individual résistants without going to the trouble of making you care.  They seem to miss the point too- I don't need to be told the reasons why someone has chosen to resist- that would be perfectly obvious to every non-fascist.  What I'm interested in is what is it about their character that has led them to do what the majority of the population didn't.  Flagging up that one of them reads Marx and another has a Jewish dad is not a satisfactory substitute.

These films are not without their positives (except Black Book which is awful) and tell an important moral story that is as relevant as ever today.  I just can't help but feel that the subject matter deserves better than these most recent offerings.

Or perhaps I'm just using too high a benchmark (see right).

Poll: Embra-based films

So where to start this blogging adventure?  Well, it's a blog about watching films in Edinburgh so I thought I'd kick off with a poll on that theme.  I've set one up on the right for you to vote for your favourite film set (not necessarily filmed) in this braw city.

I picked the best films I could think of to include but if you feel I've made an obvious omission please let me know.  I don't think I have but prove me wrong.

"What about Journey to the Centre of the Earth?"  That's really more set under the city than in it, I would say.

"You've left off Annie Griffin's Festival from 2005 starring Stephen Mangan, Chris O'Dowd, and Daniela Nardini."  Yes.  Yes I have.  By no means the worst way to spend two hours but I've never heard anyone describe it as one of their favourite film.  For a reason.

"What about Burke and Hare?"  Go away, you're not welcome here.

A near addition was the film below before I was told that the city in question was not Edinburgh.  Shame.

Welcome to Namby Pamby Pish

So here it is, my attempt to jump on the blogging bandwagon- it was bound to happen sooner or later.

"Why has it taken you so long?" I hear you ask.  Well, I guess I never really saw the point; or rather I never really had a point.  Then it struck me.

The origins of Namby Pamby Pish

I have a terrible memory.  Not for everything- if I make a conscious effort then I can remember lots of things.  If you name a year since 1939 I can tell you who won the English FA Cup for instance.  I am a keen quizzer so there's general knowledge up there in my head, it's just a question of finding where I've put it.  However, there are other things I'm hopeless with; if you are a friend of mine then there will no doubt have been at least one occasion when you've said to me, "And of course you'll remember such and such," only to be met with a blank stare.  I probably don't remember doing it to you but I'm sorry anyway, it's not deliberate.

The same goes for films.  Not all films- I remember the good and bad that I've seen, and I can quote Spinal Tap, Monty Python, and Reservoir Dogs when the mood takes me and the company is obliging.  But there are those that I don't remember seeing (probably because they're not worth remembering) and of the good and the bad, I will often forget how good or bad I found them or indeed why I thought that at all.  As such, six months ago I resolved to make a note of all the films I watch for the first time along with a brief note of my thoughts.  The results were surprising for a couple of reasons.  Firstly, I was struck by how many 'new' films I get through- an average of 8 or 9 per month.  I would have guessed at half of that if I hadn't been keeping a note.  Secondly, by committing my thoughts into writing, even if it is three or four sentences in wee moleskin notebook, I was forced to reflect much more on the film than I had previously been doing.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I was sitting having coffee with a couple of friends I hadn't seen for a few months and was telling them this.  One of them asked why I didn't blog it.  I may have been fairly dismissive of it at the time, after all, who would be interested in my opinion on the films I see, but it did get me thinking.

The philosophy of Namby Pamby Pish

Of course, there is no particular reason why anyone should interested in my opinion on the films I see.  There are other blogs that are far more professional and comprehensive (see the links on the right) but I am interested in other people's opinions.  Not just the critics but among those who don't know their Demme from their Dovzhenko- I want to be able to talk about films without having a firm grasp on critical vocabulary.

Beyond that, Edinburgh is great place to be a film fan.  One of the first things I tell people about my flat in Fountainbridge is that I'm within a 15 minute walk of 5 cinemas, including the Filmhouse and the Cameo.  We have the oldest continuous International Film Festival in the world which doesn't seem to get the attention I think it merits from my fellow Edinburghers.  We have community projects such as the brilliant Pilton Video and the fight to save the old odeon in the Southside for future film goers.  I hope I can use this site to play my small part in promoting these.

Other than that, I'll post things I find amusing, diverting or anything in the search of instigating some sort of dialogue.  Well, that's the idea anyway.  Let's see if I can keep this up for more than a few weeks.

Why Namby Pamby Pish?

Good question.  The title is a tribute to one of the best-loved films to come out of our city (see right).  It seemed a nice way to sum up the blog.

Now, where's that second post going to come from?