I managed to see this at a small BAFTA screening a few weeks ago and even had a little chat with the film maker, who was surprisingly young for someone that produced such a mature film.
I felt the need to write about this little gem because I have an unpleasant feeling it will be neglected by the British film industry. The film employs aspects you rarely see in British short films; poise, contemplation, poetry, nostalgia and a keen understanding of cultural identity.
Being from a Welsh mining family I found it easy to relate to how much a sudden shut down of an industry can have major repercussions on small villages and towns. The industry becomes part of their identity, it's gives them purpose and meaning. When it's gone the communities are left empty and become like fish out of water.
No place in the UK established itself on it's industry like the Black Country, from the peoples dialect to the environmental characteristics -
"The Black smoke filled the streets"
It was the foundation of the industrial revolution in Britain and when the industry went, soon did follow it's unique identity.
I must add that despite the strong political backdrop, this short Docu-Drama is by no means political or does it make any obvious social economic sentiments. It is very personal and melancholic, exposing the sad acceptance of the inevitable rather than fighting to keep the identity alive.
It quietly floats down the Black Country canals passing derelict factories that at one point in time would have used the canals to transport coal. It encounters five different people along the way and asks them to reflect on their first love stories. The love stories (although I felt there were too many) begin to show a clear generation gap between the young Black Country people and the old. The young strive for freedom and embody a more free thinking mentality, yet the old display a much more nostalgic and sometimes bitter intuitive feeling.
Some stories are touching, some are funny, but unfortunately some seem awkward. For instance one of the stories is told by a young girl on a bike, it is shot phenomenally beautifully resembling that of an early Renoir. However it seemed the girl was more interested in getting away from the camera crew than telling her story.
Although, there are a few clumsy mistakes in the film, I am willing to overlook them due to the film makers young age and free hearted motivations.
I hope this film is seen by more people, despite its faults it is the most astonishingly beautiful British short film I've seen for years, it displays a poetic sense of wisdom and genuine compassion for a group of people that are loosing their place in the world.
For me the best British Short Film of the year, so far anyway.
I felt the need to write about this little gem because I have an unpleasant feeling it will be neglected by the British film industry. The film employs aspects you rarely see in British short films; poise, contemplation, poetry, nostalgia and a keen understanding of cultural identity.
Being from a Welsh mining family I found it easy to relate to how much a sudden shut down of an industry can have major repercussions on small villages and towns. The industry becomes part of their identity, it's gives them purpose and meaning. When it's gone the communities are left empty and become like fish out of water.
No place in the UK established itself on it's industry like the Black Country, from the peoples dialect to the environmental characteristics -
"The Black smoke filled the streets"
It was the foundation of the industrial revolution in Britain and when the industry went, soon did follow it's unique identity.
I must add that despite the strong political backdrop, this short Docu-Drama is by no means political or does it make any obvious social economic sentiments. It is very personal and melancholic, exposing the sad acceptance of the inevitable rather than fighting to keep the identity alive.
It quietly floats down the Black Country canals passing derelict factories that at one point in time would have used the canals to transport coal. It encounters five different people along the way and asks them to reflect on their first love stories. The love stories (although I felt there were too many) begin to show a clear generation gap between the young Black Country people and the old. The young strive for freedom and embody a more free thinking mentality, yet the old display a much more nostalgic and sometimes bitter intuitive feeling.
Some stories are touching, some are funny, but unfortunately some seem awkward. For instance one of the stories is told by a young girl on a bike, it is shot phenomenally beautifully resembling that of an early Renoir. However it seemed the girl was more interested in getting away from the camera crew than telling her story.
Although, there are a few clumsy mistakes in the film, I am willing to overlook them due to the film makers young age and free hearted motivations.
I hope this film is seen by more people, despite its faults it is the most astonishingly beautiful British short film I've seen for years, it displays a poetic sense of wisdom and genuine compassion for a group of people that are loosing their place in the world.
For me the best British Short Film of the year, so far anyway.
