CAESAR MUST DIE at the GFT

It is hard to believe this film contains acting performances from inmates and not seasoned professional actors.



An excellent , well thought out review from Peter French sets out the influence of the veteran producers of this remarkable undertaking to humanise the outcasts of modern nationhood.

"Before the emergence of the Coens, the Farrellys, the Hugheses and the Wachowskis, there were the Taviani brothers, Paolo and Vittorio, born in Pisa in respectively 1931 and 1929, the sons of a lawyer jailed for his anti-fascist activities. Coming out of Italian neorealism and the French new wave, adapting works by Tolstoy and Pirandello and much influenced by Brecht, they emerged in the late 60s. Theirs was a humanist cinema that reached out socially and chronologically, from an aristocrat disillusioned with revolution in early 19th-century Lombardy to the idealistic inhabitants of a Tuscan village standing up against the Nazis in 1944."

There emerges a pattern of the list of prisoners , we have mostly inhabitants from the South of Italy , some from Naples , an Argentinian , some others from the countryside outwith Rome , Nigerians make an appearance ,and only two Romans.It seems it is the outside alien that fails to escape the Justice system , those with the least resources of access to legal defence in a system in which you can literally buy Freedom in the high financial and political circles.

Hence the choice of the play may be scene by those with the gift of underlying barely perceptible metaphor to see a comment on the scene of a nation in which the lines between Politicians and Criminal is blurred , event upto and including the highest elected President in some cases.

There are some overly contrived instances in the film which , if anything, detract and distract from the already amazing scenario the viewer is watching , somewhat taking away the gently building substance of a story that needs not to be embellished.More subtle are the use of colour and black-and-white to contrast the life of captivity from the moments of performance on stage to the public.

The brilliant Peter French captures the mood and grasp of the film in this review.

"The movie begins and ends with the last moments of Julius Caesar, performed on a stage in rough costumes and in colour. In between, it's shot in harsh black-and-white, which the Tavianis actually believe is less realistic than colour. We see the striking auditions where each would-be actor gives his name, age and address straight to camera twice, first as if he was speaking to customs officers, then as if saying farewell to his family. This is followed by the principal actors discovering their characters with the director, who insists on them sticking to their regional accents. In one arresting moment a Camorra strong-arm man says "Naples" instead of "Rome", and explains: "It seems as if this Shakespeare was walking the streets of my own city." In another, the imposing Caesar, who looks like (and probably is) a mafia capo, turns on Decius, the conspirator dispatched to bring him to the Senate, as if he were a genuine traitor luring him to his death. Briefly they step outside the rehearsal cell ready for a fight. This is a pared-down production in which the roles of Calphurnia and Portia have been dropped, and there's a touching (if clearly staged) moment when one of the actors runs a hand over a seat in the auditorium and says to himself: "Maybe a woman will sit on it."

THE SPIRIT OF 45 by KEN LOACH at the GFT

According to the blurb "1945 was a pivotal year in British history. The unity that carried Britain through the war allied to the bitter memories of the inter-war years led to a vision of a better society. The spirit of the age was to be our brother's and our sister's keeper. Director Ken Loach has used film from Britain's regional and national archives, alongside sound recordings and contemporary interviews to create a rich political and social narrative. The Spirit of '45 hopes to illuminate and celebrate a period of unprecedented community spirit in the UK, the impact of which endured for many years and which may yet be rediscovered today.1945 was a pivotal year in British history. The unity that carried Britain through the war allied to the bitter memories of the inter-war years led to a vision of a better society. The spirit of the age was to be our brother's and our sister's keeper. Director Ken Loach has used film from Britain's regional and national archives, alongside sound recordings and contemporary interviews to create a rich political and social narrative. The Spirit of '45 hopes to illuminate and celebrate a period of unprecedented community spirit in the UK, the impact of which endured for many years and which may yet be rediscovered today."

The screening on was followed by a live video link to a panel discussion, featuring Ken Loach, Owen Jones (writer, author of Chavs), Dot Gibson (General Secretary, National Pensioners Convention) and chaired by Jeremy Hardy.

Master film-maker Ken Loach has produced a fine work on a topic so vast that will not satisfy the many viewpoints of either the historians of the age or current views on how that landmark election can fit into todays challenges.As E.L.Doctorow said in his "Book of Daniel" an activist is only as good as his analysis , it is to this aspect of the captivating , inspiring documentary that we have to see if there is much in the way to salvage , yet alone direct the mood and determination of the public to withstand the all to visible diminishment of standards of living and services to the ordinary communities.



As the comment on the above video by "Pakistani Cult" states  "Preaching to the converted, mate. A film like this should be on prime time television and watched by the biggest audience possible. The thing is that demented notions of 'individual' living is unsustainable. Child care costs too much, young people are unemployed, middle-aged folk are being made redundant, and oldies are succumbing to degenerative diseases. The only way to combat that will be inter-generational living. Community spirit will have to prosper again."

A major , some would say fundamental , miss in the film is the complete absence of the New Labour Years ( 1997-2010) from the record of the film which is not shy to demonise the easily demonised Thatcher years.Whereas Thatcher had a mandate , however distasteful to us , to smash the Trade Unions and initiate the Privatisation Process both individually and collectively , it was New Labour , with a mandated majority to make sure the great institutions created in 45 like the National Health Service and Universal State  Funded Education would be so established that it could never be victim to dismantling by future Governments of whatever dogmatic ideology , which systematically failed to repeal any Thatcherite Trade Union Laws whilst allowing privatisation through the back and side doors of the NHS and Further Education that no Conservative Government would have had the courage or strength to undertake.All the while being fully supported by political financial contributions by the very Unions that Labour failed to support whilst in Power.Even now the only certainty is that present Labour Leader Miliband will likely distance himself from any National strike action designed to oppose the cuts , which are mostly cuts the Labour policy makers had planned which the Conservatives have fast-tracked , that seems to be the only difference in the economic approach between the two staunch entrenched neo-liberal parties.

This review from the Guardian does cogently list arguments that bring perspective to over-eulogising of the post war Labour Government.The good thing is the review is contained in the dedicated film website which also has many interactive features and many viewpoints from all across the spectrum.

"The film is right to say that many Labour 1945 voters expressed the view of "never again": they did not want a return to the kind of society that allowed mass unemployment to exist. The vast majority certainly supported the implementation of the 1942 Beveridge report and its promise of cradle-to-the-grave social security. Yet those that liked his suggestion of a National Health Service did so largely because they hoped to personally benefit, far fewer looked on it as an act of redistribution. In any case, the Liberal William Beveridge's scheme was a continuation of progressive Edwardian reforms and it entailed welfare payments only just above subsistence. His was not a socialist measure, but one designed to make capitalism work more effectively."

The post screening discussion was highly educational and revealing.Ken Loach argued the The Labour Party is no longer the vehicle to help the bona-fide welfare model , Dot Gibson gave the most sophisticated , nuanced analysis of the panel about the hopes , ultimate short-comings and the extra burden of responsibility of the older members of society to talk and communicate with the youngsters about the initial hopes of the post-war period , to create a broad multi-generational response to the challenging requirements of the age.A charismatic , though seemingly out-of-touch Owen Jones still saw mileage in backing New labour , of which he still is a member, as to the forum to change the direction of society for the better.This link gives a good synopsis of the debate highlights and contributions made.

A look back to the time of 1945 from the long distance advantage of hindsight is that what we saw was a change from the powerful ministries being run by the high elites drawn from the great public schools to a hiatus of powerful ministries being run by those educated by scholarships drawn from the great public schools that came from the middling classes.The gap in upbringing may have been materially different , but the gap in mindset was less wide.

Things today have regressed in that we are back to high elites from the great public schools running our affairs again , whether in Tory or New Labour guise.

The last word goes to Ken Loach who discusses in depth the film and the issues raised.

MARK THOMAS BRAVO FIGARO at the ORAN MOR

According to Mark this is the most personal show he has ever done.And listening to it the audience is drawn into a performance of great emotion , depth and feelings.Every time he performs this show he hears his Fathers voice , sees his Fathers work , im the form of an ark his father handmade for him over 40 years ago which is still in durable condition, and has a "conversation" with him that he can no longer do so in real life due to his Fathers suffering of an incurable degenerative disease.This is the story of Childrens relationship with their Parents , the story of how we try to reach each other in the most significant time when the passing of the Parents is nigh.They are Humorous and Sad , they are emotional and they are powerful , they forge us and make us who we are and determine the course of our lives.At the end of the day you have to rectify and make amends the best you can.

Mark initially trained as an actor in drama school , and the show is akin to a one man play with precision being required between dialogue and visual and audio cues , but at no time does the show seem contrived , there is always scope for adhoc and improvised observations of the day and the moment , even quality put downs of hecklers.If anything , the props and cues give the story more dimension and the audience feels they are being invited into a very personal universe rather than just being told a story at a distance.

The video below explains just hoe much intricate technical teamwork went into producing what to the viewer seems a casual anecdotal tale.



The show has a very political undercurrent allied to the personal elements , Mark observation that the difference between Working Class and Middle Class is that the former want their Children to be "better" than they were whereas the latter want their Children to receive the "same" as they were beneficiaries to is a more profound observation than meets the surface , it means the former are more keen to the politics of equality for all than the latter who easily "accept" the coin of neo-liberalism and its "cuts" as being the only way forward , hence the stripping of the current so-called middle class from all the hard fought gains of the former being achieved with the minimal of resistance.

The review below from The Telegraph captures quite well the ambiance of the show.

“We’ve got to live with what we’ve got” muses Mark Thomas towards the end of his new solo show, which applies his irrepressible personality, story-telling and stand-up skills to the poignant subject of his 72-year-old dad Colin, a once hugely industrious South London builder, an indomitable family man and an unlikely working-class opera fanatic now fading away with a degenerative condition - progressive supranuclear palsy - in a bungalow in Bournemouth.

In switching away from the political activism of, say, his recent West Bank barrier walk to matters close to home and heart, Thomas hasn’t forsaken his talent for sardonic amusement. Relaying a potted history of their relationship, he shares the funny side of his childhood which, although it had dark days of anger and abuse, presented such priceless vignettes as Thomas senior sitting watching Steptoe and Son in his long-johns, trousers round his ankles, in order not to get his favourite chair dirty after a day’s hard toil.

The set is simple, sparse, bearing a few salient objects - packing boxes, a hand-built wooden toy arc, a small stool, a hand-trolley bearing his dad’s old music magazines - and dominated by a vast photo of the bearded patriarch in his pomp, surrounded by rose-patterned wall-paper. Just as the comedian engineered the coup of bringing Royal Opera House singers into his dad’s home to sing, among other things, the Figaro aria he loved, so Thomas flings open the doors and lets us peer inside his world.

At times, as he skips around the stage, he looks like a gleeful kid again - at others, a little boy lost. When you hear the frail voice, recorded that memorable day, which now issues from a man once as mighty-looking as Pavarotti, it’s hard to know where to look - and not to weep. Bravo indeed.

This interview gives more detail about the Show and what it means to Thomas , and the background story of how the idea came about.

THE MEN THEY COULDNT HANG at the BARROWLANDS

"Fuchs Goin'On" is how timmys here feel about a St.Pats day final and no Tic to pick up easy silverware , even the evening entertainment had a bitter taste , a Concert i attended at the barrowlands was a double bill with The Men They Couldnt Hang and SLF.However , i learned after buying ticket,SLF have spread such a vile lie about our Greatest Legend.Then added injury to insult with a cheap corporate-style apology.

This news left me with a bit of a moral dilemma , should i accept the insult and treat the SLF gig as some entertainment or does artistic integrity mean that bands and artists have to be held to some degree of standard , especially when they have made a career of being a point of transcending the petty and destruction partisanships which have held their community back for so many decades.

I took some soundings from fans of SLF before this news came to light to see how they dealt with the situation.These are some of the responses received.

"Pictured wearing a baseball cap with the big lie on it. Jake Burns didn't do the right thing and bin him. Haven't listened to them since."

 "Scumbag

At the time I believed that it was extremely important that the public in general should be made aware that such terrible crimes happened, so as never to happen again within such a huge organisation.
I now believe the original campaign is doing no one any favours, and should stop.
I no longer wear said baseball cap.

I sincerely apologise.
It was a mistake on my part.

Ian McCallum"

" yep, fucking scumbag. mccallum apologized saying he thought he was bringing the subject out into the open and regretted doing it.

i.e. I'm a fucking bigot who uses child abuse as banter. i only regret the fact it might hit us in the pocket.
and so it should, fuck him and jake burns for their shitey 'we apoligize, please still gonna spend your money on us' type apologies"

" i hate them with a passion and most i know who went to see them have stopped since this was made public"

" would love to see men They Couldn't hang also, but fuck the SLF"

 "Having worked with and drank with TMTCH I can assure you there is not a bigoted bone in their collective bodies. I wonder if they know about Mr McCallum and his opinions?"

        " Paid for now, go and see the support act then leave!"

Having already paid for the ticket i determined no way was i going to be able to enjoy watching SLF with a clear conscience.After much tortuous soul-searching , decided to see TMTCH and then leave.

There was a slight bonus as there was a third act in the form of Edward Tenpole Tudor doing a game, enthusiastic acoustic set.



The Men They Couldnt Hang were fit,fresh and sharp , looking every inch a band that is not resting on its laurels but  have found  a new second wind for a world ready to hear their message anew.

All the songs were catchy yet deeply meaningful , touching on subjects such as The fight against Fascism , The plight of the working man, running down of essential industries and needless victims of war.A sure sign we are in a age of regression and need more universal ideas and solutions.

Videos of live performances of this set are not of the premium quality , but some of the songs are worth detailing, the first is one about who it was left to ordinary people on the streets to defeat fascism on British Streets in the 30s when such a movement , if the Orwell Diaries of the period are to be believed, was enjoying an unsettling amount of respectability in the upper classes.

The Ghosts Of Cable Street. 



The Green Fields of France



Ironmasters

RASHOMON at the GFT

This classic landmark pioneering film has been copied in one manner or another for almost six decades since it came out in 1950.

The story device has been around for a long time in the world of books , one dating being from a Florentine work at the very end of the 17th century.Kurosawa brought this poetic way of telling the story of a single incident from the view and perceptions of a multitude of characters to the visual power of the cinematic setting so beautifully that it has been imitated many times but never surpassed in terms of depth and the power of getting the viewer to ask penetrating , searching questions about how true and rooted their perspective in internal and external realities.

Robert Altman explains with clarity and conciseness the value of the film to our understanding of the medium as an art and philosophical discussion in parallel in which the seemingly detatched observer becomes the central character who is given the responsibility of finding coherent answers.



There is a very cogent observation in this review from the Guardian  from a PhilipD worth quoting.

"This is a great summation. What so many people miss about Rashomon is how the characters are not trying to avoid responsibility - they are in fact trying to claim responsibility for the death of the Samurai (while avoiding responsibility for the rape). Kurosawa's insight that guilt makes people distort memory in a way more simply that straightforward denial has great psychological insight - this must be one reason why post war European audiences immediately grasped its important (unlike American critics, who thought it was a mystery to be solved)."

Philosophically the film touches upon the modern and post-modernist materialist driven concept that there is no such thing as Truth , only opinions.The problem with this understanding , which has a very darwinian-capitalist underpinning which would make reputed Left thinkers shudder if they thought about it deeply enough , is that it then leads to its corollary sister-philosophy of "art of persuasion" which entails assuming there is no truth but the presentation of the argument is the key , therefore making modern sophism the truest "art".This kind of reasoning can lead to us having the leaders of the calibre  of Tony Blair being in charge over us expousing what is ultimately a neo-liberal reality imposed by the ones with the private access to the means of production of a media "truth".

The important avenue of the time and thought in Japan in which Kurosawa made this film is examined in detail in this video by Alan Macfarlane.

STEVE REICH at the GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL

Steve has the vibe and confidence of a master who knows he has achieved the great heights of life , and the reassuring tranquility of a man who has not stepped on too many souls to get there.On the contrary he has inspired many to produce music we take as granted in the fields of mainstream classical and popular music.

"The New Yorker" hails Reich as "the most original musical thinker of our time" which is maybe a platitude beyond the call of duty , "The New York Times" decries him "among the greatest composers of the century" which may require a clarification of which century we are talking about , and "The Village Voice" is less showy in describing him as "Americas greatest living composer" which may not be too far of the mark of a man who has genuine stature.

The success of Steves musical approach is that it was inspired very early on by Jazz , then genuine West African ( Reich studied in Ghana for many years) Drum musical notation.His music keeps the beat but creates a slight differential in the synch of two identical patterns.This means the mind is perpetually looking for the landmark "one" beat , an effect that sends the mind on a audio and philosophical mission which has a multitude of resolutions that any adherent of Islam and Judaism would immediately understand.

Reich came from a generation that was dogmatically taught in strict twelve bar modules , to diverge , as Steve told the audience, was to be the butt of ridicule at best , and worse to be effectively denied any serious airing in the whole spectrum of musical production from stepping stone workshop sessions to bookings at circuit theatres throughout the North American classical music circuit.

No matter how discordant it may initially sound , the secret to his work is that it always retains enough harmony in its musical divergences to keep the audiences mind diverse yet rooted in the music.

This video of the South Bank Show gives a good introduction to the man , the music and his inspirations.




In the 90s Steve wrote The Cave , the story of Hebron according to the three Abrahamic Religions.

The video below gives the Arabic version of the story of Hagar: