Directed by Margaret Brown, whom directed The Great Silence about the Deepwater Horizon and the falllout of that disaster. Here Brown shows another tragic disaster this time focusing on the long known history of a sunken slave ship off the coast of Mobile, Alabama called the Clotilda.
The film is about the attempts to find the remains of a slave ship, supposedly set on fire by slave masters as the transportation of slaves from one country to another had been abolished in 1805 but slavery was still occurring within the United States up to the Civil War
Brown directs with such assuredness and command of the material and resources at her disposal helped by folklorist Kern Jackson, Professor at the University of South Alabama.
The film delicately weaves the narrative about how important it is for the direct descendants of the people who were brought to the Americas from Africa, eventually settling in Africatown, to know the truth about their story, which has been passed down from generation to generation as a story of resilience and survival, providing hope to the generations that follow. This is indicative of the African-American experience claiming their story and their freedom may have come at a price, but their history remains theirs alone.
Featuring readings from Zora Neale Hurston's Barracoon: The Story of the Last Black Cargo, a memoir from a survivor of the ship, read by people who ferment within the narrative. Brown makes sure that the message of legacy and folklore is passed down from person to person, this coupled with VHS recordings of survivors harkens back to a by-gone era.
Yet there is hope amidst the systemic racism pervaded upon the survivors by the Timothy Meaher family and their surviving family from attempting to wrong foot historians and divers from the true location of the wreckage, to the allowing of huge industrial plants to be built in and around Africatown making the residents unfortunately victims of pollution and environmental danger by way of lead and mills being ever present since their creation, not to mention the destruction to the surrounding water of the gulf region.
From these troubles and the stigmatism of reparations by way a means of accountability to some souls, the message of rising up and reclaiming the narrative is indicative by the end; the ability to curate the story in a new found Heritage house bodes well for the future.
A dark chapter in the slave history of America is finally rising up from the depths, providing hope to those legacies now and for those descendants now. This powerful tale of storytelling has made this film a frontrunner for the Best Documentary Feature at next years Academy Awards, and it is hard to argue.
New album release by Swedish songstress Alice Boman The Space Between, out via Play It Again Sam on October 21st
Boman burst onto the scene in late 2019 with her debut album Dream On, which was greeted with ecstatic reviews and positive feedback the album was a sumptuous mix of hypnotic dream pop songs.
A lot has happened since that album was released, a global pandemic has led to introspection for many people especially creative artists.
This new work is indicative of those months many people who spent that time in solitude and the fear of loneliness that gripped many leading to a real appreciation of mental wellbeing for all people.
This introversion is not a change of style for Boman more an embracing of that which she is good at; her smooth lyrics envelope around the warm melodies she has created here with producer Patrik Berger (Robyn, Lana del Ray). There is a deliberate tone set within The Space Between with ruminations on intimacy and angst, as Boman states, 'Writing is still a way for me to understand myself. As an overthinker, there's this constant motion in my head, so it helps to sit down and write about it to actually understand what I feel or think. Or just to find stillness'
From the outset with opener, 'Honey' there is an earnestness and wistfulness throughout with haunting melody but there is a richness running throughout none more so than on single 'Feels Like A Dream' which features Perfume Genius a song where the marriage of two vocals is reminiscent of Kate Bush at the height of her powers. Unsurprisingly, this was a collaboration brought about by an instagram DM and recorded over the distance, to put how the world has changed into context.
There is a steeliness to Boman's vocals, displaying a softness but a determined nature to be heard by her lyrics, the words which are deeply personal as she comes to grips with settling into a relationship.
This mixture of fear but tenderness is a constant theme that runs throughout an album that is both comforting and spiritual, a treat for those returning to Boman and those who are finding her for the first time.
The Space Between is out now from Play it Again Sam on all platforms
Watching Andor the brand new Star Wars series streaming exclusively on Disney+ one is struck by the balance between two worlds inhabited by Andor, that of nature and outer space.
The brilliant new series created by Tony Gilroy that tells the origin story of the hero, Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) of Rogue One and how he became the spark to light the fire amidst the rebellion versus the Galactic Empire.
The first series is following a story arc structure of twelve episodes split into three part arcs. The first three part arc ended with Cassian being taken from his homeland, Kenari, by Maarva Andor (Shaw) where he eventually learns languages, interaction and beliefs of his own away from the indigineous life he was living previously.
The second arc ends with Cassian succeeding in his first rebel mission on behalf of Luthen (Stellen Skarsgaard) as they kidnap a galactic payroll to bankroll the rebels. This again involved Cassian flying in a ship at the conclusion heading to the sky which is never attainable.
This threw me back to the conclusion of the much loved Rogue One, the first film following the purchase of Lucasfilm by Disney, that told the story of how the rebels obtained the plans to destroy the first Death Star in the 1977 film A New Hope.
At that film's conclusion, Andor and Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) are on the beach of Scarif, they have succeeded and the plans are away in the hands of Princess Leia providing hope to the rebellion. While that portion of the mission is completed, Andor and Jyn are about to be destroyed by the Death Star itself. They stand together embracing each other, knowing that despite their impending doom they are confident that what they have done will change the course of the galaxy.
Yet it is this closeness to nature, the rich green of Scarif to be the last resting place of Andor is fitting as he was born on a leafy planet such as Kenari - in essence it is a return to Paradise for him.
So for me, Andor in the new series is being portrayed a salt of the earth soul as very much, high on morals but looking out for himself firstly, tired of the empire he thinks a difference can be made and is eager to do so at any cost. He does not discriminate when using his blaster, we knew as much at the commencement of Rogue One when he very much went Of Mice and Men on an informant of his. Already he has killed three people in cold blood in six episodes when he feels threatened by someone's rationale.
Yet for me, it is no coincidence that Andor is comfortable in any climate or is so fond of nature he is most at peace when in nature, it also got me thinking about Ralph Waldo Emerson's poem 'Nature' where he lays about the essence of transcendentalism and gaining a divinity through nature, you can only understand reality through studying nature.
Andor is a proponent of this due to his being born within nature and being nutured by nature somewhat - how to live and survive - before he is taken from his planet by a starship and absconded halfway across the galaxy via hyperspace. That episode at the end of Ep 3 'The Reckoning' shows us Andor like we have all before staring into the vastness of space, a new sort of nature for Andor to explore and attempt to touch the untouchable but forego the relationship he has built up previously with the wood and trees. He would now live in a world of greys and darks, built up environments of cement and concrete, with buildings as tall as redwoods and animals are scared of people and do not live in harmony.
And so begins Andor's journey
But every night come out these envoys of beauty, and light the universe with their admonishing smile. In the woods, is perpetual youth
And so begins Andor's journey into this beauty, one that he must have thought unattainable. The stars smile upon him and they promise him much, but it is down to him/man to obtain his reward. Emerson goes on to mention that the stars are unattainable, yet with technology at his disposal, they become reachable. Nature evokes poetry, simplicity and childlike wonder - the advent of technology to Andor is a shock to the system as Fiona Shaw's character first meets Andor smashing up consoles of a crashed spaceship, his fear of the new immediately strips away his innocence to create this now young adult full of anger and rage at this new way of life.
In the woods, is perpetual youth
This could have been written for Cassian. Born within nature, and part of it. Emerson writes, in the woods we return to reason and faith. And at the start of the series, Cassian is looking for his sister a meaning or relic of his past life, and in the series so far he is surrounded by builidngs but nature is not far away. The Scottish Highlands substitute for Aldhani, and you can feel the howling gust of winds in this Star Wars galaxy - yet Andor looks at home and comfortable; as Emerson writes, he finds something dear and connates with the wilderness far more than in streets and villages.
The need to reach the horizon is as beautiful as his own nature, and for Andor that is an attempt to return back to his wilderness and a place of belonging. This is indicative of his rebellious character, someone who is unsure when his reckoning shall occur, but nevertheless always looking over his back, gun at hand.
The remaining six episodes of Andor promise a lot and I for one cannot wait to see his relationship with nature bloom further.
Fifth album from London singer-songwriter out now from PIAS Recordings
Recorded in a renovated monumental church near Amsterdam, with a 20-piece string orchestra, Jeremiah has imparted a heavy European influence into his new work.
The new album was written during a break of a European tour in France, the sort of time devoted to long walks in the fire. Upon first listen of the album, this listener realised how good of a vinyl listening experience the LP would provide.
The opening title track features imagery of road racing and reminiscing with a vibe of positivity bursting from the seams. The orchestral element of the arrangement helps elevate the composition, and this will become a recurring theme throughout the album - soulful vocal delivery married with sweeping strings.
Sounding like Michael Kiwunaka or Gregory Porter supplanted from the 1970s, the album has many highs and comes across as a warm blanket of comfort like a flavoured latte from your favourite coffee shop in the run up to Christmas.
Jeremiah is a very visual storyteller, he admits being introduced to German painter Neo Rauch - and this approach of 'art influencing art' for him. Using imagery to his advantage in the tales he tells putting you in the position of the protagonist, JJ must enjoy people watching as he sips on that coffee after a midday stroll through his local village.
A self-confessed detached character, JJ is not immune to love and tells those stories in his songs. This detachment is paramount on a song like 'Cut A Black Diamond' a song where he wrestles with his emotions, the backing vocals being the devil on his shoulder.
'Restless Heart' is a tale of triumph, a train that will reach the end despite the hill he must climb. This album begs for re-listens and appreciation on many a scale.
Quiet, unassuming and humble, Jonathan Jeremiah is an artist I was unfamiliar with but one eager to explore more of in the future.
Martin Short is back on television screens featuring in the new Disney+ streaming series 'Only Murders in the Building' alongside long-time comedic partner, Steve Martin. It got me to thinking though how Short like Martin has been a mainstay on American screens for nearly forty years from his break in Second City and then Saturday Night Live to his filmic role opposite Martin and Chevy Chase in the brilliant Three Amigos.
That film like the one I am writing about was released in 1987, and it earmarked Short as a comedic force to be reckoned with. Whereas, Martin was as cool as the other side of the pillow and Chase wanted to be the smartest and sexiest person in the room; Short was a different breed of comedian - a mimic and vaudevillian who could contort his face into any gurn, and deftly make you laugh without saying a word much like the legendary Buster Keaton or Charlie Chaplin.
Innerspace is one of those wonderful American original films that they just do not make anymore. Directed by Joe Dante, that conduit for science-fiction cinema in America who takes those small nuggets of ideas and creates majesty out of them, helped by the producer that is Steven Spielberg. Based upon the 1966 film Fantastic Voyage, the film tells the story of Tuck Pendleton (Dennis Quaid) a Navy pilot who volunteers for a crazy experiment following a break-up with girlfriend Lydia (Meg Ryan) to be shrunk to the size of a microbe whilst in a small vessel and then injected into a rabbit, all in the name of science. However, upon the day of the experiment and after being shrunk, Tuck's laboratory gets raided by a villainous firm who want to kidnap the miniaturisation technology for themselves. Supervisor Ozzie Wexler knowing their intentions flees the scene with Tuck holed within a syringe, upon being chased Oz injects Tuck into the unknowingly Jack Putter (Short), a lowly supermarket clerk who is a hypochondriac and about to start a vacation.
Tuck soon realises that Jack is not the rabbit he hoped for, and upon learning that the limited oxygen supply is diminishing so begins a race against time for Jack to save Tuck whilst rekindling the relationship between Tuck and Lydia.
The film could have been the run of a mill science fiction throwaway fodder, yet throughout the 1980s especially during the summer blockbuster season you had films that took on a life of their own as they became cult classics or well regarded films from Batteries Not Included to Cocoon to Flight of the Navigator.
Those films had the benefit of a great ensemble cast, those familiar faces that bring comfort and solace to you none more so than those faces in Cocoon a mixture of Hollywood veterans - Hume Cronyn, Don Ameche- and up and comers, Steve Guttenberg and Brian Dennehy.
Innerspace featured three bright young stars - the matinee idol Dennis Quaid who like Kurt Russell has worked consistently and solidly for 40 years but at this stage of his career had not yet had the lead role to show his charisma and the role of Tuck Pendleton was a risk, he was for the majority of the film restricted to a box and had to carry that role mostly on his own when conversing with Short's Jack. Martin Short was from Saturday Night Live, a goofball but able to garner human emotions with his vulnerability and appeal. They were matched with America's sweetheart, Meg Ryan, this coming a year after her appearance in Top Gun and a year before her lightning in a bottle performance as the eponymous Sally in When Harry Met Sally. The director Dante, himself not long from the success of Gremlins had three stars at the start of their ascendancy and this very much helps the film.
For all of the stardom and good looks of Quaid and Ryan though, the star of the film is Short. His career-best performance is so impressive as his character goes on an arc from hypochondriac and meek mannered Jack to courageous Jack by the film's conclusion.
At the beginning of the film, Jack is in a psychoanalysis session where he tells a dream of having a gun pointed at him by an unhappy customer, he wakes up and soons causes chaos in the doctor's office due to his nervous neuroses. Following the literal injection of Tuck into him, Jack begins this reawakening of something inside of him and Tuck becomes a guardian angel or seemingly the strength within Jack he did not know he had, at Tuck's insistence he downs some vodka, dances uncontrollably and even punches out a villain. Jack hunts down the people who want to steal the technology, he tracks down Lydia, kisses Lydia and ultimately saves the day with a combination of bravado and new found resilience.
Once Tuck is returned to normal size in the nick of time, Lydia (who is pregnant) and Tuck marry with Jack as best man. The villains attempt to follow the newlyweds, yet Jack recognised an accomplice of theirs, 'The Cowboy' posing as a limousine driver. Jack commandeers a vehicle himself and chases after them to save the day again.
Short steals the film with his contorting face, quick one-liners and his believability as a man gaining new powers. On his small shoulders does the film rest, with Tuck essentially sidelined for much of the film contained within his capsule, Jack must be the thrust of the narrative engaging with antagonists and helming the plot to his advantage.
He is an unlikely hero which is in direct contrast to the bombastic 80s action films featuring the muscle bound behemoths of Sylvester Stallone's Rambo or Schwarzenegger's range. However, that is what makes the film so gratifying and pleasing to return to, Jack Putter is a man who finds the strength within to make the change for the better using the device of listening to that voice inside yourself, of course it took having it injected directly into him.
It is a shame that producers continued to cast Short as second fiddle in more films from the unheralded Three Fugitives (opposite Nick Nolte) to the Three Amigos, he was never given the chance to lead a film himself until Clifford in the 1990s when again he is supported by Charles Grodin.
In a decade full of memorable performances - Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, Bruce Willis as John McClane, Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly - which remain cemented in your consciousness, it is important to throw light on those that have been somewhat forgotten or lost in the weeds.
Short (like Steve Martin) is having a twilight period of his career, some may think he is reborn. The truth is Martin Short has never gone anywhere, his greatness has always been apparent.
