Of Time and the City, the latest film from director Terence Davies has opened up to a number of positive reviews, and forms part of the BFI 'Film on the Square' listings.
The film collates a collection of old clips of Liverpool with a sensual narration that presents a subjective view of a city which feels complete in the past – lost, forgotten… held onto in memory. There are some issues with repeated themes – in a manner that seemed like a spluttering of thought rather than constructed narration…
But you have to view this film as what it is: an autobiographical documentary – wherein subjective narration lies upon ultimately objective images of a city. It presents a space which in real life is both so simultaneously subjectively experienced and objectively viewed by the masses in a unique and thoughtful way that is refreshingly straight-forward. This is not a Hollywood vision of a future city… its far more personal.
All-in-all Davies presents a Liverpool that has been plucked from the past by a very unique guide. Specifically, his subjective view of a childhood pasted together with documentative scenes of places long gone, as a way of conveying an urban landscape subjectively on screen, in memory, it is very successful. Liverpool comes alive in a way that is masterfully personal but that also stikes a cord with anyone who has ever lived in a city, or for that matter, heard of one.
The film collates a collection of old clips of Liverpool with a sensual narration that presents a subjective view of a city which feels complete in the past – lost, forgotten… held onto in memory. There are some issues with repeated themes – in a manner that seemed like a spluttering of thought rather than constructed narration…
But you have to view this film as what it is: an autobiographical documentary – wherein subjective narration lies upon ultimately objective images of a city. It presents a space which in real life is both so simultaneously subjectively experienced and objectively viewed by the masses in a unique and thoughtful way that is refreshingly straight-forward. This is not a Hollywood vision of a future city… its far more personal.
All-in-all Davies presents a Liverpool that has been plucked from the past by a very unique guide. Specifically, his subjective view of a childhood pasted together with documentative scenes of places long gone, as a way of conveying an urban landscape subjectively on screen, in memory, it is very successful. Liverpool comes alive in a way that is masterfully personal but that also stikes a cord with anyone who has ever lived in a city, or for that matter, heard of one.
Of Time and the City is reviewed by The Guardian and The Times.
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