Absolute Beginners by Denni Rusking

Julian Temple’s musical drama Absolute Beginners was very loosely based on Colin MacInnes’ novel from the 1950s. The tale concerns a struggling young photographer called Colin and a beautiful and ambitious fashion designer called Crepe Suzette.  Steven Berkoff appears as a fanatic not unlike Sir Oswald Moseley and David Bowie makes an appearance as a slick advertising executive. Colin’s parents are played by Ray Davies and Mandy Rice-Davies. There are also lovely cameos from the brilliant James Fox (as "Henley of Mayfair") plus Alan “Fluff” Freeman and Lionel Blair

  In the film we see Colin and Suzette drift apart, while watching the country drift towards social upheaval. Looking back on his movie several decades later Temple told us: “We were trying to hold up a mirror to 1958 and another to 1985, and bounce ideas between the two... We were very naive and made a lot of mistakes” Over the years some critics have been harsh and called said that Absolute Beginners was an “Absolute Turkey” that killed the British film industry. According to Wikipedia the film cost over 8 million to make and made back less than 2 million which led to the collapse of Goldcrest, (a major British film studio).

The best thing about Absolute Beginners is David Bowie’s title track which reached number 2 in the charts (it was denied getting to number one because of Chain Reaction by Diana Ross). And the second best thing about the film is the song Quiet Life sung by Ray Davies. When Patsy Kensit attempts to pay homage to Bardot in God Created Woman, or when ageing Teddy boys try a West Side Story style fight/dance routine or when Smiley Culture raps over a Miles Davies track it so nearly works but depressingly always just misses the bull’s eye. Mr Temple gets away with it just because the music is so good and the cameos are so good. In 2012 Temple made a brilliant documentary about London ("The Modern Babylon") which would feature very well edited short clips from Absolute Beginners. I guess all the right ingredients to make an absolute masterpiece were always there. This film is a mess but it's an interesting mess.

The new re-release on DVD and blue ray which tie in with the 

film's 30th anniversary feature brand new restoration and a documentary featuring interviews with Julian Temple and some of the cast. 

Text by Denni Rusking (2016)

The Bicycle Thieves by Simone Hoffs

The most famous Italian film directors I can think of are Fellini, Antonioni, and Bertolucci. I feel Vittorio Di Sica, who made my favourite Italian film never really got the attention he deserves so I’m delighted that this month BFI are screening his 1948 masterpiece.  I love the film because of the intelligent way it reflects both the harshness of life and also compassion and decency of everyday people. Cesare Zavattini who wrote the screen play was a Marxist who believed that with Mussolini gone, Italy could now make films that were shot on location and that featured realistic heroes who were trying to get back on their feet after the mess of World War 2. De Sica’s documentation of a downtrodden Rome couldn’t be more sad or beautiful.

A producer called David O Selznick told De Sica he would get the money to fund the making of the film on the condition that the lead character – a loving father who is unable to do his flyposter job when his bike is stolen – was played by Cary Grant. It’s a good thing De Sica rejected the offer. It is unlikely that moments such as Bruno being informed by his Dad that “You live and suffer” would hit home if they came from Grant’s lips rather than Lamberto Maggiorani’s.

Watching the desperate father and son struggle as they search for their lost bike is an experience that will stay with you. You won’t regret buying a ticket to see this classic film on the big screen.

Bicycle Thieve is on at the BFI Southbank, NFT3 until the 28^th of August.

Text by Simone Hoffs (2016)

Josephine Pryde by Astrid Horkheimer

Through photography and installation Josephine Pryde (born in Alnwick, 1967), explores the very nature of image making and display. She is fascinated by the relationship between art and photography, of art as commodity and of the seductive qualities of the wider art world. Her work often calls into question the conventions of the gallery and the complex networks of the art world. Josephine Pryde is an artist who never fails to surprise her audience. Her works embrace moments of beauty – the shimmering surfaces of fabric, portraits of staged personas, or frozen images of splashing liquids. On first glance, the conventions of commercial and artistic photography seem to apply to these images, but on closer viewing, there are cues that subtly question the very visual language that she uses and references. This time last year she had a solo show in San Francisco entitled "Lapses in Thinking By The Person I Am." The exhibition featured a fully functional model model freight train which visitors could ride through the gallery. Josephine Pryde is the artist I want to see win this year's Turner Prize. 

Text by Astrid Horkheimer ( 2016)