A vegan beef farmer… that’s
not something you hear every day.
Alex Lockwood’s BAFTA winning short film tells the story of one such man. Jay Wilde inherited Bradley Nook Farm when his father died in 2011, and it didn’t take long for him to feel as though he was ‘betraying’ the cows by sending them to the slaughter.
Wilde explains how it was ‘very
difficult to do your best to look after them and then send them to the
slaughterhouse for what must be a terrifying death.’ Ultimately, when Wilde
could no longer justify killing his animals, and his wife Katja could see how
this internal struggle was upsetting him, the pair decided to do something
about it.
The film tells the story of
the farm’s transition from beef to vegan produce, and the conflicts felt along
the way. The decision would prove not only expensive, but also controversial,
with many fellow farmers branding it the ‘funny farm’ after the story made
headlines. Lockwood documents this entire process, including what exactly Jay
and Katja did with all their cows.
Above all this, the film is
really a simple profile of two people who decided to do something incredibly
risky and in defiance of all that was expected of them, simply because they
felt it was the right thing to do. In many ways, it’s the perfect example of
the moral courage it takes to make such a life-changing decision.
The interviews with Jay in
particular are fascinating. He’s open and honest about everything he feels.
He’s visibly tormented, clearly a man wrestling with a great deal of emotional
anguish. On the one hand, he feels a duty to continue his father’s work, and to
not let his family or the farming community down. On the other, he believes
that what he’s doing is morally wrong. His determination to push on with his
decision despite all these concerns is to be admired.
The film is also wonderfully presented. Cinematographer Oliver Walton’s shot composition is surprisingly polished and cinematic, despite the crew’s apparent low budget. There’s an effective use of slo-mo that meshes well with the film’s tone, themes, and with Jay’s calm demeanour.
Despite its short run-time,
the film does feel a tad too long, coming across a little padded out in the
closing minutes. Also, it comes close to preachiness at times, as opposed to
the simple character study that it is clearly trying and, for the most part,
succeeding to be.
Lockwood has said that he was
drawn to the Jay Wilde because it was ‘a great story of human conflict and
compassion’. That’s exactly what his film is and, despite a couple of minor
gripes, it’s a wholly affecting piece that lingers in your memory and makes you
think, featuring a fascinating, admirable and brave individual at the heart of
it.
The entertainment world was recently united in grief
following the passing of Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee, who died aged 95 at the
start of November.
Stan’s death has undoubtedly thrown a sharp focus on a range of his work, with his influence of course being felt massively on Marvel’s impressive interconnected cinematic universe. The series of films has enjoyed a hugely successful year, with the jaw-dropping spectacle of Avengers: Infinity War and Black Panther in particular achieving significant commercial and critical acclaim. Lee of course appeared in both films, continuing his tradition of cameos in each of the blockbusters based on Marvel properties.
However, there is of course much more to Stan Lee than just
his work for Marvel and one of the more recent projects he has been involved in
is the TV show which carries his name – Stan Lee’s Lucky Man.
Making luck a superpower
Created by UK-based Carnival Films and Lee’s own company POW! Entertainment, the show follows the adventures of Detective Inspector Harry Clayton, played by Jekyll and Murphy’s Law star James Nesbitt. The police officer wakes up following an encounter with a mysterious woman wearing an ancient bracelet which grants him luck.
The idea for the show emerged when Lee was asked by a fan at an event which superpower he would personally like to have, with his reply being luck. The concept was then developed into a series for Sky One with the help of Neil Biswas, with the whole idea shining a spotlight on an area which has fascinated people for a number of years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVLxIm8oMl8
Science has attempted to determine whether the concept of being lucky – or luckier than most – really exists on numerous occasions, with one study in particular determining that a person’s luck can be improved through steps such as being positive and keeping an open mind. But what would happen if you were always lucky? As an article from Betway Casino outlines, experts have found that success breeds success and people who have won anything from a competition to a cash prize in the past become determined to replicate the positive effect that it has on the brain – with their brains helping them to get there.
Positives and negatives
So, with that study in mind, is Stan Lee’s Lucky Man all
about a man who is living his best life and simply cannot stop winning at
everything? As you may expect, things are a little more complicated than that.
A key issue that Harry Clayton faces with the bracelet is
that any positive outcome has to be counterbalanced by something bad, which
understandably creates a host of issues for him as he tries to maintain his
working life and also care for his estranged family. As you might expect, such
issues lead the show to tackle a host of themes related to luck and chance, as
well as the classic superhero tropes of power – including the responsibility of
holding it and how it can also be corrupting too.
All of this takes place against the stunning backdrop of
London, with Harry working to solve a range of crimes while also tackling wider
plots and the massive implications that come with owning an ancient bracelet
with luck-giving powers. The show currently consists of 28 episodes across
three seasons in total, with the latest being shown between July and September
2018.
The show is broadcast on Sky One in the UK and while there is still no confirmation on whether a fourth series will be created, it was confirmed in September that it would be heading to the US with the AMC Networks-owned platform Shudder set to broadcast it. Before he passed away, Lee gave his backing to the move, stating that he was “thrilled” that US audiences would get the chance to watch the show.
A must for Stan Lee fans
It seems like very few concepts in the world have not been
turned into superpowers at one point or another, but the idea of luck is one
which undoubtedly holds a particular fascination. Boasting a strong concept and
an impressive lead actor, Stan Lee’s Lucky Man has performed well in the UK and
will now be hoping to do the same on the other side of the Atlantic.
Anyone who counts themselves as a fan of Stan Lee’s work
should undoubtedly give its mix of police procedural and supernatural elements
a chance. Seeking a new TV box set to get into? You might just be in luck.
Barnaby Blackburn’s BAFTA nominated short film follows Wale, a young man trying to move past his mistakes and make something of himself, only to have his every effort thwarted.
Wale is a perfect example of both the positives and negatives of the young offender programme. On the one hand, he really appears to have learned from the experience. He was convicted at a young age for handling stolen goods but spent him time training as a mechanic, and now seems genuinely determined to make something of himself and earn some honest money.
On the other hand, Wale hasn’t been remotely prepared for the real world. Despite his mature mind-set, he’s still a naive teenager. With his record, he’s not able to apply for jobs in the traditional sense, so he finds himself unsuccessfully handing out business cards to strangers who don’t even acknowledge him. His past also leaves him vulnerable to a stranger who sees a clear opportunity to take advantage of him.
Raphel Famotibe’s central performance is a notable highlight. At first, he appears somewhat wooden, but as he eases into the role and Wale has to deal with the many shocks that come his way, he really comes out of his shell as a performer with a clear range.
Jamie Sives has the opposite effect. His performance is extremely disconcerting to begin with, as we the audience are suspicious of his actions but blissfully unaware of quite how deep it goes. As the plot develops, his performance becomes somewhat melodramatic. He appears no more than a cliché villain with a master plan, and any potential depth to his character falls away very quickly.
The simple truth is that as Sives fades, Famotibe begins to shine, and it’s his performance that really impresses by the time the credits roll.
One of the strongest directorial decisions Blackburn makes in the film is his clever use of wide shots and close-ups as the story’s tension builds. Wale initially feels a clear sense of freedom, but the camera edges closer and closer to his face as he begins to feel increasingly trapped in an unavoidable situation.
The audience is made aware of the environment in which Wale lives from very early on. An opening montage demonstrates the struggle in the local area, while Wale’s past hovers around in the form of his old friends, ready to tempt him back into the fold at any given time.
Tension builds superbly throughout, anchored by a terrific score from Luis Almau, as we can sense there is clearly something very dodgy going on, yet when the moment arrives we are completely unprepared for it. Blackburn is always ready to surprise his viewers, but no moment feels misplaced or extreme.
‘Wale’ is a tense and unpredictable thriller with some particularly interesting themes at the heart of it. It’s well-directed and the story is told with a great deal of intelligence and wit. It’s not perfect, with a slow start and a strange performance from Sives, but on the whole it’s a mostly suspenseful watch that showcases both Blackburn and Famotibe as talents to watch.
By Fergus Henderson. I’m Ok, the short animated film directed and animated by Elizabeth Hobbs, is a blistering, eye-shocking tour through the mind of its subject, Austrian Expressionist Oskar Kokoschka. Every single frame is a painting, inspired both in spirit and technique by Kokoschka’s work.
Taking the subject of Kokoschka’s service and injury during the first World War, as well as an intense romantic affair, Hobbs fashions a kind of never ending zoetrope of psychological connections, flowing through images of war and sex with the kind of associative intuition common in Expressionist art.
Hobbs adds her own touches, doing away with the more oppressive colour palette and figurative art of Kokoschka and finding a bright, sensuous simplicity with which she communicates the narrative. At times you could pause the film and imagine you were looking at a Matisse sketch.
//vimeo.com/270363290
I’m Ok moves through its subject’s memories at an incredible pace. The use of painting allows Hobbs to literally blend one image into the next, so that an erotic memory can quickly transform into a surreal allegory for death, can then become a religious vision of transcendence, which can then once more become an erotic memory. It is dizzying, and succeeds mainly in imagining and visualising a train of thought. As a piece of biography it remains mystifyingly oblique.
Ultimately anyone unfamiliar with Kokoschka will not leave much wiser on the subject, but as a brief leap into an artist’s mind and preoccupations (and a vigorous demonstration of Hobb’s own artistry) the film succeeds on its own, wildly vibrant terms.
Bachelor, 38 is similarly a life retold, the subject of Angela Clarke’s touching documentary an older gay man, Bryan Robert Bale, who relives his experiences of London in the 60s, and the meeting and losing of the love of his life, John Harrison.
It is a plainly made and unpretentious documentary that knows it does not need to do much in order to be compelling, given the inherent magnetism of Mr Bale, who shines throughout. He is eloquent, philosophical, and soulful in his recollections.
Clarke has condensed the interview with Bryan down, and shorn the film clean of everything but the most pivotal moments in the story. This is not to say that it is a tale of great drama, and Clarke understands that the small moments in a life are often the ones which resonate most deeply.
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3QUTgGOIZE
In one extraordinarily beautiful moment, Bryan recalls the first dinner he shared with his soon-to-be partner, in which he gives away his working class background by making a chip sandwich, John commenting that he has never seen one before. The smile in Bryan’s eye as he relives this memory is Proustian in its depth: you can see the boy that he was, the collision of worlds as embodied by a chip sandwich, the bizarre romantic frisson of the whole thing.
As Bryan concludes his story, he becomes overwhelmed, but embraces it. In his words, “this is the performance, not the dress rehearsal. Life is for living.” The beauty and intimacy of watching Bryan telling his story more than justifies Clarke’s unadorned approach, for if this is the result, life’s profound affirmation, then the film has done more than it needed to. More, even, than many films do at all.
Ian McFarland’s ‘The Godfathers of Hardcore’ follows the lives of the leading two members of the New York band ‘Agnostic Front‘, now in their 4th decade of existence as a group that the mainstream world has never heard of. This isn’t to say the title of the movie isn’t accurate, it is in fact genuinely apt, simply that hardcore as a punk sub-genre has remained underground since it’s inception, staying true to it’s roots as a self made ‘do it yourself’ movement. To those who have either been involved in the scene for years, or even just coming up into it now, Agnostic Front are commended as being at the forefront of a lifestyle that is still going strong, while remaining invisible to society at large.
The Godfathers in question are singer Roger Miret and guitarist Vinnie Stigma, now in their 50s and 60s respectively, the two long time members of a band that has consisted of over 20 people in its long history. Miret and Stigma’s passion for the scene show a band that haven’t just reformed for a few shows to cash in, but a group that never went away. The film shows their current day lives, while splicing in archive footage from local TV as well as video and photographs of the band to guide along viewers who are unaware of where they came from. While hardcore bands can be found all over the world today, a lot of this can be traced back to the violent streets of New York City in the 1980s, full of kids who were fully of anger and needing a way to express it.
Being involved in hardcore has always been more than listening to the latest CDs, or wearing a t-shit of your favorite bands. The aforementioned DIY lifestyle is promoted widely by those in the scene, encouraging as much participation as possible from those who follow it. Can’t play guitar? Find a venue and book a show. Can’t design flyers? Find a place for the bands to crash. Write for fanzines. Take photos. Find something that the community is lacking, and fill that gap. This level of dedication is far greater than you might see going in, meaning the general demographic generally swings to younger people in their late teens and early 20s, who can keep up. The people who have time and energy to be involved with something that can eat up all your free time, as well as money. Most will start slipping out as they settle down with families and work ‘real jobs’, but an enthusiastic group will follow behind them. Like the rotating doors of high school, the scene never dies – the faces just change.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehlrzjbHq-I
Vinnie Stigma, however, definitely doesn’t show signs of slowing down. Full of vigor and sporting a personality that could be the most genuine New York City tour guide ever, Vinnie knows his station in life and is absolutely 100% content with it. Still living in the same building his whole family grew up in, he eats, breathes, and sleeps hardcore to this day. This is in contrast to Roger’s circumstances, having moved out to Arizona with his growing family and leading a more regular life. It’s apparent that the scene still has it’s grips on him, though. Despite a health scare he knows he isn’t out and is soon organizing live gigs as usual, with nobody really showing any signs of surprise. Compared to how his first daughter was brought up, Roger has found the balance needed to keep Agnostic Front an important, but not overwhelming, part of his life.
The one thing that exudes from the film is a general feeling of positivity. While more difficult subjects of growing up in a turbulent 1980s New York City and familial issues aren’t glossed over, they are used to frame how the music scene of the time took a group of young kids and forged them into something greater. While Roger and Vinnie are both on different paths outside of the band, they’re both shown as being in a good place surrounded by love. While Roger looks through his trunk of memorabilia and flyers from the 80s he’s hit with nostalgia rather than remorse, safe in the knowledge that both sides of his life are fulfilling. Vinnie on the other hand strives on knowing everyone in town, and being the center of attention. While some other stories might show this to be simply a facade, revealing a sadder portrait within, when it comes to Vinnie you’re completely sold on how much he enjoys life. It’s impossible to watch along without liking both of them.
Being a member of a prominent hardcore act in ‘Blood For Blood’ himself, Ian McFarland’s friendship with the band provides an intimate atmosphere throughout, treating the viewer like an insider to the proceedings through the lens. For those familiar with the band and their ilk, this is a world known and loved, while others are introduced to something that is totally new, but welcoming. While knowledge of the music and it’s growth is beneficial, it’s not essential as the movie carefully rides a line to ensure nobody is alienated. Interviews and establishing shots are filmed with care, while live footage is varied and exciting, ensuring an enjoyable visual experience that surpasses your generic band documentaries of the past.
Due to the close knit nature of the scene, the film is relatable to anyone who has been involved in underground music.
While most don’t get to play the open air festivals we see footage of, the dark and small clubs also shown will ring familiar to anyone who’s been to, or played, gigs. You might be at a show with a legendary act who’ve traveled halfway across the world to be in your club, but at that time and moment you might just be a foot or two away from each other. With no security or barrier you’re almost on stage with them, and in that moment a connection is formed between performer and audience that isn’t possible elsewhere. The close up experience of these performances is brought into the home effectively, providing a familiarity of venues we’ve never been in as an audience. For those of us less active these days, the film provides a sentimental look back and an understanding the changes Roger has had to make, while those still regularly heading to small venues each week know exactly what keeps Vinnie going.
‘The Godfathers of Hardcore’ is absent from rock star personas, betrayals, breakups, and twists. There’s no mansions, or swathes of handlers and executives rushing around. It’s a story of how two guys formed a band that many hold very dear, and despite their lives taking different turns it’s evident that the bond between the two of them will never be broken. It’s never a bad thing to have a happy ending.
