Why did Scotland join with England in 1707?
October 22nd, 2023 by Roger Darlington
I sometimes wonder how well the peoples of the United Kingdom understand how that union was brought about and I really recommend the new BBC television series “Union” written and presented by David Olusoga.
I am in Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital, for a few days. Today I went on a walking tour that I postponed from yesterday when it was still wet because of Storm Babet.
It was enjoyable but, when I asked the guide about the Darien Scheme, he confessed that he had never heard of it. Yet the venture of 1698-1699 was a major factor in the union of Scotland with England in 1707 – a union which is now contested.
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A review of the classic Indian film “Pather Panchali”
October 19th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
The story of the little Bengali boy Apu started as the first of three bestselling novels by Bhibuti Bashan Bannerjee and became the first of three films by acclaimed Indian director Satyajit Ray: “Pather Panchali” (“Little Song Of The Road”) in 1955, “Aparajito” (“The Unvanquished”) in 1956, and “Apur Sansar” (“The World Of Apu”) in 1959. Astonishingly, the first film in the Apu trilogy was Ray’s debut and it took him a couple of years to make because of lack of funds.It is a black and white work of some two hours shot in the Bengali language with evocative music from Ravi Shanker and I was fortunate enough to see a restored version at the British Film Institute. The story is one of grinding poverty and repeated misfortune, but it is told in a loving and humanist way. Much of the photography – especially the use of water, wind and reflections – is magical and the only sign of modernity is a famous scene where Apu and his older sister Durga have a glimpse of a passing train.
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A review of “Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin
October 18th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
I was attracted to this novel by its intriguing title, its wonderful cover, and the awareness that it has become a global bestseller. The title is a reference both to the possibility of infinite rebirth offered by video games and to the soliloquy about the meaninglessness of life in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”. Spanning two and a half decades, the narrative is about the working and personal relationships between three young pioneers of the American video gaming industry and alludes to many real and imagined games.Now I have never played a video game in my life, the story begins slowly and the text runs to almost 500 pages, so at first I was not sure how I was going to get along with it, but I found that I really enjoyed the novel and did not want it to end. The author knows her gaming, having two parents who worked in computers and being a lifelong gamer, but the novel is as much about love and friendship as it is about the gaming industry and there are some astute observations about ethnicity and disability, so it has wide appeal.
One of the leading characters, comparing his troubled life with that of the gaming character Ichigo that he created, laments: “He wanted Ichigo’s life, a lifetime of endless,immaculate tomorrows, free of mistakes and the evidence of having lived.” When he gives a TED Talk, he insists: “What I believe to my very core is that virtual worlds can be better than the actual world. They can be more moral, more just, more progressive, more empathetic, and more accommodating of difference.”
“Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow” is going to be a film and I look forward to seeing it.
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A review of the bizarre new movie “Poor Things”
October 15th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
I confess that I struggled with the last work from director Yorgos Lanthimos, the 2018 film “The Favourite”, as I found the treatment of historic British characters just too off-beat and his whole style just too dislocated. But I warmed much more to “Poor Things”. Aurally, visually and narratively, this is an unsettling film but I found it stunning: always fascinating, frequently sexy and funny, and ultimately quite profound.Lanthimos’s odd angles and curving wide-angle shots suit this bizarre tale of a Dr Frankenstein-type figure (a grisly-looking Willem Defoe) who has brought back to life a female suicide Bella Baxter (Emma Stone) by replacing her brain with that of her unborn child. Stone’s unconventional looks are perfect for this evolving role and, in a magnificent performance, she reveals all, both physically and emotionally. As two very different suitors of Bella, Mark Ruffalo and Ramy Youssef rise to the occasion.
The radically unconventional story – set in Victorian times – comes from a novel by Scottish writer Alasdair Gray published in 1992, but the treatment is pure Lanthimos, while the sound, sets and costumes all help to create a world that is overwhelmingly theatrical (it was shot in studios in Budapest). At almost two and a half hours, it is the longest work by Lanthimos but it is never less than captivating.
I saw “Poor Things” at the 2023 London Film Festival and it will be released in cinemas on 12 January 2024.
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A review of the coming film “One Life”
October 15th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
The 2000 documentary “Into The Arms Of Strangers” was a harrowing account of the Kindertransport, the transfer from the Nazi terror of Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia to Britain of some 10,000 unaccompanied Jewish children in the nine-month window of opportunity between Krystalnacht and the outbreak of war. “One Life” is the story of how one young British businessman, called Nicholas Winton, organised evacuations that saved the lives of 669 of those children.Veteran actor Anthony Hopkins plays Winton in old age, thinking back to his rescue efforts when he is portrayed by Johnny Flynn. Hopkins, as always, is wonderful and the scenes where, on the television programme “That’s Life” he meets as adults some of those whom he saved as children, brought tears to my eyes. A strong support cast includes Helena Bonham-Carter, Jonathan Pryce and (a personal favourite) Romola Garai.
The 1939 scenes are shot in Prague, from where the Kindertransport children boarded the trains, so there is a strong sense of verisimilitude. Sadly the problem of refugees fleeing a tyrannical regime is all too contemporary.
I attended the European premiere of the film in the presence of the director, writers and crew (the actors were on strike), an event held at the Royal Festival Hall as part of the 2023 London Film Festival. I was privileged to be accompanying my friend, 95 year old Gerda Svarny, who was one of 11 surviving Kindertransport children at the screening.
“One Life” will be released in cinemas on 1 January 2024.
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A new film honouring the lifesaving work of Nicholas Winton
October 14th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
This week saw a very special occasion as I walked the red carpet at London’s Royal Festival Hall and attended the European premiere of the British film “One Life”. The film tells the story of Nicholas Winton who, in 1939, saved the lives of 669 Jewish children by organising kindertransport from Czechoslovakia.I attended the event with my remarkable friend Gerda Svarny who was one of those children and who is now aged 95. I will be telling Gerda’s story in my next book.
Also at the screening was another of the children of the Kindertransport, Labour peer Alf Dubs, with whom I renewed an old acquaintance. In all, there were 11 surviving members of the 669 plus at least a hundred relatives of those whom Winton saved.
“One Life” is being shown this week as part of the 2023 London Film Festival and will go on general release in January 2024.
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A review of the new film “The Old Oak”
October 6th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
Ken Loach is a singular British director who addresses social issues that few others consider and does so in a characteristically humanist, even socialist, style. so it’s rather sad to learn that this is probably the last work from the 87 year old filmmaker.Following “I, Daniel Blake” (the benefits system) and “Sorry We Missed You” (the gig economy), “The Old Oak” – the title is the pub where much of the action unfolds – looks at the way some working class people (the story is set in the north-east of England) react to the arrival of refugees from war-torn Syria (the sitting is 2016). Like the previous two films, the mood is almost unremittingly grim, although this time there is an attempt to manufacture an uplifting ending.
As with all Loach’s work, the director highlights an important social issue with force and passion, but his approach is didactic. As so often, the characters are one-dimensional and the dialogue is rather leaden (the script is from Loach’s regular screenwriter Paul Laverty) and the cast is mostly unknown and inexperienced (it often shows). So a worthy, but ultimately rather underwhelming, finale from Ken Loach.
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Is Britain a world leader on reaching net zero?
September 22nd, 2023 by Roger Darlington
Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says he’s “proud to be a world leader in reaching net zero by 2050”, but is it a world-leading target?A total of 27 countries plus the European Union have passed net zero emission laws, according to the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit thinktank. While most of them have set a 2050 goal, Sweden and Germany are targeting 2045, Austria and Iceland have gone for 2040. Finland is aiming for 2035, and the Maldives has vowed to hit the target by 2030.
Eight countries are already net zero, according to Energy Monitor. Unfortunately, they’re among the smallest countries in the world, and have been able to achieve net zero (or in many cases are carbon negative) due to presence of large forests that absorb tonnes of carbon. These countries are Bhutan, Suriname, Panama, Guyana, Gabon, Madagascar, Comoros and Niue.
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The threat to democracy from the rise of populist parties
September 21st, 2023 by Roger Darlington
Almost one-third of Europeans now vote for populist, far-right or far-left parties, research shows, with wide support for anti-establishment politics surging across the continent in an increasingly problematic challenge to the mainstream.Analysis by more than 100 political scientists across 31 countries found that in national elections last year a record 32% of European voters cast their ballots for anti-establishment parties, compared with 20% in the early 2000s and 12% in the early 1990s.
The research, led by Matthijs Rooduijn, a political scientist at the University of Amsterdam, and shared exclusively with the “Guardian” newspaper, also found that about half of anti-establishment voters support far-right parties – and this is the vote share that is increasing most rapidly.
“There’s fluctuation, but the underlying trend is the numbers keep rising,” Rooduijn said. “Mainstream parties are losing votes; anti-establishment parties are gaining. It matters, because many studies now show that when populists secure power, or influence over power, the quality of liberal democracy declines.”
More information here.
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A review of the streaming film “The Unforgivable”
September 18th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
This story started out in 2009 as a British miniseries written by Sally Wainwright and titled “Unforgiven”. Then, in 2012, it was turned into a film and transposed to the United States as a starring vehicle for Sandra Bullock who was a co-producer.Bullock plays a woman, released from prison after 20 years for killing a cop, who is determined to track down her much younger sister who was adopted after the crime. It is slow and serious, verging on grim, but Bullock acts against type to give an impressive performance and the viewer awaits an explanation and a resolution.
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