DVD: London/Robinson in Space and Robinson in Ruins | reviews, news & interviews
DVD: London/Robinson in Space and Robinson in Ruins
DVD: London/Robinson in Space and Robinson in Ruins
Patrick Keiller looks askance at modern England in his witty but melancholy trilogy
Thursday, 16 June 2011
No entry: A compromised urban landscape in Patrick Keiller's 'Robinson in Space'British Film Institute
The first part of Patrick Keiller’s trilogy, an attempt to address the "problem of London", begins just before the 1992 re-election of John Major. It’s a pseudo documentary ostensibly narrated by an acquaintance of one Robinson, a part-time art lecturer at the University of Barking. Nearly 20 years on, not much has changed – we’re in a place of bombings and bomb threats, with chaotic, privatised public transport. It’s a once civil society stretched to breaking point.
The first part of Patrick Keiller’s trilogy, an attempt to address the "problem of London", begins just before the 1992 re-election of John Major. It’s a pseudo documentary ostensibly narrated by an acquaintance of one Robinson, a part-time art lecturer at the University of Barking. Nearly 20 years on, not much has changed – we’re in a place of bombings and bomb threats, with chaotic, privatised public transport. It’s a once civil society stretched to breaking point.
Robinson in Space is a requiem for a nation where shopping centres bleed dry the communities they're meant to serve
Share this article
more Film
The Origin of Evil review - Laure Calamy stars in gripping French psychodrama
Sébastien Marnier directs an excellent cast in a story of shifting identities
DVD/Blu-ray: Padre Pio
Shia LaBeouf stars in Abel Ferrara's latest grungy spiritual quest, earthed by landscape and politics
Late Night With the Devil review - indie-horror punches above its weight
Controversy over AI-generated images aside, this is a wholly original film
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire review - a modest, well-meant return
Comic juice runs low for the stretched '80s franchise, which settles for amiable warmth
Immaculate review - grisly convent horror is timely but flawed
Sydney Sweeney impresses, but director Michael Mohan is too eager to scare
Baltimore review - the story of Rose Dugdale and the IRA art heist
An enigmatic portrait of the English heiress turned violent Republican
Robot Dreams review - short circuits of love
A colourful tale of a pooch and its metal bestie
The Delinquents review - escape to the country, Buenos Aires style
Rodrigo Moreno's film has a song in its heart and its tongue in its cheek
Blu-ray: Beautiful Thing
Much-loved film adaptation of a classic 1990s play has aged well
The New Boy review - a mystical take on Australia's treatment of its First Peoples
Warwick Thornton's parable is too mysterious for its own good
Monster review - superbly elliptical tale of a troubled boy
Hirakazu Kore-eda, on top form in his native Japan, directs an intricate psychological drama
Drive-Away Dolls review - larky lesbian road movie with some iffy gear changes
Comic violent caper meets queer romcom, both ending up shortchanged
Add comment