Shadows on the Wall | Arthouse Films

Shadows off the beaten path
Indies, foreign, docs and shorts...

On this page: BASS IMPACT | DANCE REVOLUTIONARIES | THE PILGRIMAGE OF GILBERT & GEORGE

< < D O C S > >

See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL | Last update 22.Jun.24

Bass Impact
Review by Rich Cline | 3.5/5

dir-prd Danny Donnelly
with Skrillex, Hatcha, Skream, Goldie, Chase & Status, Roni Size, Danny Donnelly, Flux Pavilion, Pasquale Rotella, 12th Planet, Grooverider, Photek, Mala, Excision, Dieselboy , Alison Wonderland, Doctor P, Borgore, Rotella, Andy C, Pendulun
release UK/US 17.May.24
24/UK 1h49

Now streaming...

Tracing the origins and legacy of dubstep, this documentary is like an advanced course on Britain's bass culture as told by the people who created it. This includes director Danny Donnelly, who assembles the film as a stream-of-consciousness that circles around, dives down a few sideroads and ultimately tackles the bigger picture. It feels a little repetitive, perhaps overstating its message, but it's a thumping, rhythmic joy to watch.

After the Jamaican sound system evolved into the UK's 1990s drum-and-bass dance scene, Croydon-based DJs like Skream and Hatcha began blending garage, dub and 2-step to create a new genre of electronic music. The distinct rhythmic patterns caught the imagination of producers around the UK, then crossed to America in the mid-2000s, where they were popularised by Grammy-winning artist Skrillex. From here, dubstep entered into the mainstream, and its distinctive shuffling bass-line beat is now heard in music across all genres.

Chatty conversations with a range of musical artists tell this story, accompanied by a terrific range of archival footage and photos. New scenes are beautifully shot with skilfully prowling camerawork, and the film is punctuated with soaring views of epic music festivals. The music emerges in snippets, only occasionally surging into the foreground. Instead, the film centres on the spoken words of the interviewees as they revisit their experiences over the decades, from running pirate radio stations in the 1990s to battling with each other over selling out to pop stardom.

These interviews are packed with sparky humour, which brings out their big personalities and makes the film thoroughly engaging to watch. It's fascinating to see these men (and a couple of women) grow up as the clips traverse the decades, especially intriguing as these artists are always seeking new musical expressions. The key point here is that they created and developed dubstep simply because they loved it, playing for warehouse raves without any hope of making money. Of course, their work has made quite a few people millions (perhaps billions) since then, but these guys remain purists, finding satisfaction in the music itself.

themes, language 17.Apr.24

Dance Revolutionaries
Review by Rich Cline | 4/5

dir David Stewart
prd Yolande Yorke-Edgell, Jane Shackleton
with Dane Jeremy Hurst, Romany Pajdak, Edd Mitton, Jon Goddard, Freya Jeffs, Oxana Panchenko, Benjamin Warbis
music Nils Frahm, Olafur Arnalds, Bohuslav Martinu, Anton Webern
release UK 26.Jun.24
24/UK 1h14

For info:
YORKE DANCE PROJECT

Now streaming...

Yorke Dance and the Royal Ballet take live performance to sites around Britain to highlight the work of noted choreographers Robert Cohan and Kenneth MacMillan. Performed by first-rate dancers and inventively shot, the various pieces are hugely expressive, visually dazzling and viscerally resonant. This is an ambitious, passionate project, skilfully placing modern dance in striking settings that carry a real kick. It's a gift for dance fans.

First up are Cohan's Portraits, with five solo dances that ripple with visceral physicality. Mitton performs on a beach in a back suit, Jeffs is in a vast London studio with a view wearing a bright red gown, Hurst parks his motorbike and performs in a graffiti-covered tunnel, Goddard is covered in dust as he creates intense shapes in an abandoned building, and Pajdak performs a lyrical solo on-stage in a huge empty theatre. MacMillan's Sea of Troubles reimagines the Hamlet narrative in and around Hatfield House, as the prince (Hurst) grapples with his identity.

Each of the Portraits is photographed differently, using a range of wide shots that take in the dramatic settings, plus intimate closeups that catch a range of enormous emotions. Wearing low-key but eye-catching costumes, dancers are hugely emotive, performing pieces as moving internal monologues. By contrast, Sea of Troubles is an immersive cinematic production cleverly restaging Shakespeare's tragedy wordlessly using full-bodied performances and bold interaction. It's haunting, moving and outrageously sensuous.

Director Stewart often shoots scenes with a handheld camera, adding gritty realism to the stylised and often darkly intentional movement. This gives the film a strikingly far-reaching tone as it leaps through a range of moods, from the solo pieces of Portraits to the powerfully ingenious group numbers in Sea of Troubles. This is a rare chance to see such epic dances performed without the usual trappings of a stage, drawing the audience right into the action in unexpected ways.

themes, violence 22.Jun.24

The Pilgrimage of Gilbert & George
Review by Rich Cline | 4/5

dir Mike Christie
scr Michael Bracewell, Mike Christie, Michael Collins
prd Michael Bracewell, Michael Collins
with Gilbert Prousch, George Passmore, Julian Cole, Sandra Esqulant, Jay Jopling, Ileanna Sonnabend, Norman Rosenthal
release UK 31.May.24
24/UK 1h28

Now streaming...

Exploring the life and work of the groundbreaking duo whose life is their art, this documentary is a gift for fans of Gilbert & George, becoming another of their inventive sculptures as it peers behind the scenes. The film delves into their thought processes, which is fascinating because they refuse to follow the usual rules or expectations, allowing themselves to be influenced by and reflect the impulses of culture.

After meeting in art school in the 1960s, Gilbert & George become bored with forms and set out to create something alive. Under the manifesto "Art for All", they aim to become more complex human beings commenting on society around them. Developing their iconic Sunday-best dress code, they work proudly outside the art scene from their home in East London. After their "singing sculpture" makes a splash, they begin working with drawings and photographs that are exhibited globally. And their images continually expose themselves while presenting everyday things that we try not to think about.

Extensive interviews narrate the film in the artists' own words, with added comments from friends and colleagues. Their matter-of-fact honesty and bone-dry wit allows them to explore the mystery of how they are two people but one artist, looking inside rather than outward. Their images are intellectual and startlingly humane, provoking thought about social issues and personal preoccupations like economics and mortality. So their middle class perspective can't help but challenge elite artists and critics. But they speak warmly about those who opposed their work, knowing that their critics often turn into their biggest fans.

As gay men, they have made a complex range of comments about the subculture and, of course, the Aids epidemic. It's intriguing to look at their body of work as an unflinching document of their relationship over the decades, and this film frames their life alongside changes in the East End and the entire world. Their journey through life is the whole point, even as their art continually confronts hot potato topics; who they are is still the most important part of their work. As George says, "Life is complicated and marvellous."

themes, language, imagery 28.May.24

< < D O C S > >
See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL