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Christopher Isherwood's "Prater Violet" - A Look Behind the Camera

Given the slim length of the novel, Christopher Isherwood’s “Prater Violet” manages to blend together wit and politics against the backdrop of the film industry. Isherwood transports us back to 1930s London where his fictionalised self-insert character becomes involved in the production of an upcoming film as Europe descends into conflict.

The text follows Isherwood’s character as he works alongside the Austrian director Friedrich Bergmann, a charming and slightly eccentric man who is deeply committed to his artistic vision while coping with the separation from his family. The depiction of the film industry as a dynamic atmosphere that constantly changes reflects the growing uncertainty of the world they inhabit.

The disconnect between Bergmann’s urgency and the routine commercialism of the film studio highlights how art functions as a form of retreat or how it can become a crutch in escapism. Their conversations often swing between dry humour and weighty emotion where both characters gain insight from each other's experience.

“Prater Violet” is a reminder that art is the first tool we have available to us in times of great difficulty. As Isherwood’s character observes the world around him, his questions about the purpose of art and where he situates himself feel are unflinchingly modern.

The text captures the tension of a historic period of time while commenting on the value of art during increasing instability and woe.

Click here and here for more film based literature suggestions!

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Alfred Hitchcock's "Rear Window" - Through the Spyglass

Released in 1954, Alfred Hitchcock’s film “Rear Window” is a mystery/thriller that follows L.B Jefferies, a photographer who spends his days observing his neighbours through the window while recovering from an injury. What makes the film unique is its ability to transform the confines of Jefferies' apartment into a hub of investigation once he suspects that a murder has taken place across the neighbourhood.

The theme of privacy and voyeurism become muddled as the plot thickens and evidence comes together to suggest that everything may not be as it seems. By using camera lenses and binoculars, the audience becomes complicit in Jefferies’ voyeurism as well as involved in his investigation - the help of additional characters builds a compelling storyline through their overlapping accounts of events.

What makes this movie so captivating is that the mystery hides in what Jefferies and the audience miss from the limits of the window frame and camera lenses. Switching between third and first person perspectives creates a visual dissonance between the limited view from the apartment against the full scope of reality.

The film’s pacing keeps the audience and characters alike on edge, despite Jefferies' distance from his neighbours he becomes ensnared by the unfolding plot. “Rear Window” is a mediation on paranoia and skepticism through which Hitchcock notes on the desire to witness and be perceived in turn.

Find a quiz here for Hitchcock fans.

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Spike Jonze's "Her" - Love in a New Age

Spike Jonze’s 2013 film, “Her” follows Theo, a lonely letter writer in a not-so-distant future Los Angeles, played by Joaquin Phoenix. After a long day at work, he finds unexpected happiness in talking to Samatha, an operating system that appears to be a sophisticated form of artificial intelligence voiced by Scarlett Johansson. The film explores their developing relationship with unexpected sincerity while also raising questions about consciousness and identity.

Despite technology making connection easier than ever, the quiet void of isolation that Theo experiences highlights the lingering desire for companionship. The emotional honestly of the film is one of its strengths, not shying away from the more uncomfortable and raw parts of a relationship like misunderstandings and conflict.

An interesting overlap between Theo and Samantha lies in simulation. As a letter writer, Theo’s work concerns emulating emotions for other people and experiencing connection vicariously through their relationships. Samantha could be seen as the opposite, despite her intelligence, she is incapable of organic emotion and can only perform the simulation of a human relationship for Theo's satifaction. This is supported by the observation that without the context of who his partner is, he appears alone within the frame.

In summary, “Her” remains a soft, introspective film that manages to be quite moving in its message about how humans adapt to loneliness.

Take a look a the trailer if you're interested!

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T.S Eliot's "The Wasteland" - An Ode to London

As a contemporary of Virginia Woolf, T.S Eliot’s work “The Wasteland” mimics her stream-of-consciousness style of writing to depict a surreal and bleak view of London. Published in the early 1920s, the modernist poem captures the spirit of a post-war city - fragmented and weary but not unrecognisable to the London of today.

Upon an initial reading, the poem is almost indecipherable, Eliot makes use of multiple languages and references texts across myth and literature. The title “The Wasteland” refers to the Eliot’s depiction of London as a desolate landscape, crammed with overlapping yet disconnected voices, filled with lively characters. Reading through the poem is a blurred experience that evokes the momentum of contemporary London, characters are caught in a fast-paced world and struggle to find connection or linear purpose.

The theme of water and transformation runs through Eliot’s work, making references to the Thames River and the Ganges River. Part four is named “Death by Water” and serves as a reminder of “memento mori”, or the inevitability of death. Through the poem, water acts a vessel for traversing through the city of London, a link to South Asian concepts of spirituality and a dual symbol of death and vitality.

Written just over a century ago, it still resonates with the struggles of modern life and leans into spirituality for relief.

Find more poetry using this quiz.

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Laura Grace's "Savage Messiah" - A Collage of Counter Culture

Laura Grace’s work “Savage Messiah” is a zine-turned-book that captures the complex reality of London through its collage of text, illustration, maps and photography. She captures issues central to living and working a big city that isn’t reflected by media portrayals of the city.

The piece combines multiple mediums that results in a raw and chaotic collage, reflective of the fluid and varied culture of London. It balances realism and surrealism to imbue character and vitality into its brutalist aesthetic - scrawling graffiti, concrete tower blocks and messy handwriting feature together to starkly defy the polished and commercial image of the capital.

The depiction of brutalism was also a testament to the communities housed within this concrete jungle of a city. Often home to working class families, Grace’s piece champions the kaleidoscopic culture of ordinary people rather than assume pity. She isn’t subtle in her portrayal of gentrification as a tool to erase culture and character. The use of maps and jarring advertising links to ideas of capital and productivity - a city constantly in motion.

Steeped in the political history of London, “Savage Messiah” is a strangely beautiful piece that doesn’t shy away from revealing that the core strength of the city is built on the memory of protest and people, not concrete.

Find more of Laura Grace's work here

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Asif Kapadia's "2073" - A Chilling Look into the Future

How do we hold power to account? What lies in store for humanity if we continue without change? These questions sit at the heart of Asif Kapadia’s “2073”.

As a sci-if film with dystopian elements, Kapadia uses clips of current growing socio-political and economic tensions across the world to highlight the importance of action in the face of oppressive authority. Set in 2073 where wealth disparity has grossly divided the population, the protagonist contemplates the inaction and complacency of those that came before her in shaping her reality.

The film glances back at the weaponisation of social media, lack of regulation concerning data collection and authoritarian control as factors that diminish the human capacity for resistance. The reality of “2073” serves as a criticism to illustrate the potentially disastrous future that lies ahead for current audiences if humanity fails to combat multiple oncoming crises.

This movie focuses on world issues in a way that makes it very clear that no one on our planet is exempt from the current state of modern governments, financial institutions, corporations, or climate issues.

As a young adult, this film was a wake-up call that revealed how contemporary issues in society are connected to wider systemic dysfunction. The ending is a solemn reminder that there is still time to make change before it’s too late.

Click here for a fun quiz on sci-fi movies!

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Grand Theft Hamlet - Satire or Something More?

Sharing its title with Shakespeare's play "Hamlet", “Grand Theft Hamlet” catapults theatre into a new direction using the video game “Grand Theft Auto” as a backdrop for its performance. Taking place during the COVID-19 pandemic, this documentary follows the actors Sam Crane and Mark Oosterveen as they navigate the surprises and setbacks of fusing theatre within the medium of a multiplayer game.

The final result is an interesting watch, combining the brutality of the play with the violent nature of “Grand Theft Auto” - the scale of this project works on a personal level but lacks professional finesse and execution. Much of the documentary spotlights each players experience of the pandemic, the vulnerability of which sits in contrast to the chaos surrounding their avatars.

Like Hamlet, who struggles to feel grounded in a world crumbling around him, the players in the documentary navigate the anarchy of the games setting. Lines of Shakespeare are interspersed between montages of violence and disorder and the actors grapple with the setbacks and challenges of staging their production, clearly adapting to their surroundings as they go along.

Rather than theatre-goers, this film comes across as intended for other artists, actors and creators in general, relating to the uncertainty of the pandemic and its impact on creative industries. The novelty of the documentary makes it a bizarre but memorable watch.

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Stanley Kubrick's "Barry Lyndon" - Art in Motion

Inspired by William Makepeace Thackeray’s text “The Luck of Barry Lyndon”, Stanley Kubrick’s film is a picturesque piece that follows the protagonist through the trials and tribulations of war, social mobility and survival in the 18th century.

Visually the film is unparalleled, using natural lighting and camera lenses developed by NASA, every frame becomes a century old oil painting like the works of William Hogarth, The patient pacing of the film allows us as the audience to really appreciate the idyllic pastoral landscapes and finely decorated estates.

Barry himself undergoes extreme swings between poverty, wealth, peace and martial conflict. The protagonist combines luck, deception and stubbornness in order to achieve his goals. Through the film, we witness his growing vanity and cruelty as he enters the world of European aristocracy - only to discover that the weight of wealth and excess can be as stifling, if not more, than the depths of destitution.

With great attention paid to the colour palette, costuming and composition, it is obvious how much care was put in to carefully match the aesthetics of the era. Kubrick’s approach gives this period piece an energy that stands alone in its craft.

Although the plot isn’t easy to latch onto, the film is worth watching if you’re looking for something moody and meditative that elegantly explores ironic tragedy.

For more historical fiction suggestions, click here.