Jonathan_S2 Reviews

Swimmer (2012)

Swimming is dull.

[4/10 · 26 June 2012]

Seen as part of the London 2012 Festival programme of four short films, together with Max and Dania's What If?, Asif Kapadia's The Odyssey and Mike Leigh's A Running Jump.

Marvel as a swimmer's arm breaks the water, sending out a cascade of shiny droplets. Watch the reed-beds drift by in artful black and white. Hear fragments from British films of years long gone by. Lynne's Ramsay's film is one of those shorts which just isn't short enough. With no discernible narrative and far too much lingering on the play of light on water, The Swimmer is a reminder that however dull going for a swim at your local pool may be, sometimes doing lengths can still be a more interesting way to spend time than being sat in a cinema.

If this had been a 5 minute loop in a room at the Tate Modern, the visuals would have been enough to justify its existence. Stretched to a half hour film, the best I can say is it offers an opportunity to snooze in between the other three far more interesting films it's showing with.

A Running Jump (2012)

A fun half hour

[7/10 · 26 June 2012]

Seen as part of a programme of four shorts for the London 2012 Festival, Mike Leigh's short film follows a hectic day in the life of used car salesman Eddie Marsan and his family.

It's entertaining, drawing its humour from larger than life characters, moves at a break-neck pace and cleverly incorporates the sport theme by showing how it's involved in the everyday lives of ordinary people - this is done so subtly that you don't even realise it at the time.

In the end though, the humour is all there is, the characters are more caricatures who it's difficult to get care too much about, and there's no emotional pay-off to all the frenetic running around.

The Odyssey (2012)

Well-balanced (aerial) overview of London

[8/10 · 26 June 2012]

Seen as part of the London 2012 Festival programme of four short films, together with Max and Dania's What If?, Lynne Ramsay's Swimmer and Mike Leighs A Running Jump.

The Odyssey is a documentary short about London between 2005, when it was awarded the Olympic Games, and 2012, with the games due to take place a month or so after the film's release. It juxtaposes aerial views from across the city with the voices of a variety of people, some famous, some ordinary, talking about a broad range of topics, from the Olympics itself to the terrorist bombings which occurred the day after the result of the bid was announced, the 2008 Financial collapse, the effects of the subsequent austerity measures and the spiralling costs of putting on the games, and the riots of 2011. There are also clips from past Olympics and people talking about the moments from them which made an impact.

This is no simple glorification of the Olympics movement or London, the views represented offer a cross section of opinion, giving a rounded view of the good and the bad sides of London and Londoners and varying perspectives on the events of the past seven years. The aerial shots of the city, and in some cases the events being discussed, serve as a fascinating backdrop to the views being expressed. Well worth seeing.