SAMUEL BECKETT "FILM" AT ASHTON LANE

Two intriguing events at this years West End Festival that caught my eye were a Talk by James Kelman and a rare public performance of the only Film Samuel Beckett made.There was also the promise to hear Sammys Friend and Publisher John Calder discuss the film and give his take on Art and Culture for the 21st Century in view of Becketts legacy.

But first we had ice cream , the most tasty ice cream you could want on a summers day from a small parlour just opposite Cafe Andaluz on Cresswell Lane.It is the kind of place you could easily miss if it was not recommended by a person beforehand.Columbus may have discovered America , but the person that told us of this discovery of a wonderful jewel deserves our most heartfelt compliments and fondest appreciation.

Being High on Ice Cream and Coffee we went to the Ashton.

The "Film" was made in 1965 , staring Buster Keaton , who had been brought out of retirement and was directed by long time most trusted of Becketts stage production arrangers Alan Schneider.

The film is 21 minutes long and features only one piece of audio ( when one character cautions silence in the form of a "ssshhh") , apparently that one piece of audio doubled the cost of the film and they had to have a audio team brought in.

Here it is in 3 parts:









The first doubt that John Calder would not be able to shed any inner light on the themes of the film came when he boldly stated Beckett never ever discussed the Film with him , even though they sat down together to watch at least once.

Then Calder throw not one , but 2 curveballs when he started talking about Sex , im sure you will agree the film has many themes but Sex is not one of them.But the real disorientation came when he suggested with much conviction the out of focus sequences were due to Schneiders lack of ability to utilise the equipment rather than a deliberate fuzziness to show the vision from the point of view of Keatons character.He never quite explained why the lack of focus was only when the film portrayed the objects from the characters personal observation , though never when things were viewed from other perspectives.

It was heartwarming to see incorrectly maligned director Alan Schneider , who was Becketts chief stage production collaborator , which explains the brilliantly constructed sequence segments of the film inside the Room , so much like the work of a natural master of the stage set , yet given deeper moods and feeling by use of the Film format, being given his rightful credit by the audience.


Alas , by the time the very intelligent and perceptive comments from the audience finally brought things round to discussing the aspects and themes brought out in the actual film we seemed to run out of time.

It would have been fascinating to explore the political topics of alienation ; isolation ;dislocation inside and out.I would love to have seen more of this type of discussion about the work and its implications for culture lovers and artists today.

I especially enjoyed the many observations and interpretations of the tearing up pictures scenes.It just shows what a wonderful and highly stimulating piece of art this was.

The very best synopsis of the Film and the history of the technical team around it is a superb article from Barney Rosset on the Tin House website.

It is well worth giving a special mention for the organisers of this showing , The Film has never been put out on any form a national release , of a very rare and special treat.Check out their website below:

I am One ( This particular link also contains pics from the showing).