Film, Theatre and Book Reviews
A bestseller in France since its publication in 2009, Frédéric Gros’, A Philosophy of Walking has recently been released as an English translation by Verso, billed as an “insightful manifesto” on walking. The book charts Gros’ reflections on walking, but also considers walking as a practice in the lives of great thinkers such as Nietzsche,… Continue reading Review: A Philosophy of Walking by Frédéric Gros
Patrick Keiller’s film London (1994) has haunted and intrigued me since I first saw it nearly five years ago. The film, a blend of documentary and fiction, presents a year in London as seen through the eyes of an imaginary protagonist, Robinson, whose thoughts and insights are related by an unnamed narrator. Keiller, through Robinson, seeks to… Continue reading Review: The View from the Train by Patrick Keiller
When describing his influences for the film Get Carter (1971), the acclaimed director Mike Hodges cited two films which had supremely fueled his gritty portrayal of cockney criminality. The first being Brighton Rock (1947) the film derived from Graham Greene’s book of criminality centering on the young psychopathic ‘Pinkie’. And the second, much less well known,was The Small World of… Continue reading London Through The Lens: The Small World of Sammy Lee (1963)
A much-underrated director and supreme stylist, Max Ophuls is having a renaissance with a series at the British Film Institute this February that should not be missed. His films, spanning the 1930s to the mid-50s, are beautiful models of melodrama, with femme fatales, longing lovers and doomed romances. Ophuls began his career in German theatre and radio,… Continue reading Review: Madame De (1953)
In 2009, the film critic Danny Leigh wrote a fantastic piece in the Guardian film blogon the lack of African films enjoyed in British cinemas. It doesn’t seem that much has changed since then. Outside a few niche audiences, films from the African continent have largely been ignored by mainstream UK audiences—unless we count Meryl Streep (and… Continue reading Film Review: Madame Brouette (2002)
Alan Bennett has had more mileage from his childhood and northern upbringing than most writers of his generation. Many of his countless books, radio diaries, and plays rake through the details of his early life with a fine-tooth comb. And yet, as Bennett returns again and again to these subjects with such charm and witty… Continue reading Review: Untold Stories: Hymn and Cocktail Sticks by Alan Bennett at the Duchess Theatre
