No distance left to run

The opening scene of this documentary on 'Brit pop' legends Blur was terrible.

The scenes that followed were captivating.

When I think 'Blur' the first image that springs to mind is not that of a rotating disco ball. It's floppy fringes, gold hooped earrings, geeky glasses, Fred Perry polo's, British summers and the 1990s. Hence my horror at the opening shot of a disco ball...what does disco have to do with Blur? By the end shot the director and producer had got their act together and the slowed down silhouette of Albarn singing to the masses in Hyde Park last year was moving to say the least.

The difference between this music documentary film and others is that this was about Blur, the lovable group of Essex boys with a passion for British music (later to be broadened to include American influences, think Beetlebum). The thing that made this documentary so captivating was the bands internal relationship, like four brothers on a money making, alcohol and narcotic fuelled rollercaoster with massive high and breath taking lows.

Watching Albarn and James was like watching the popular kids at school with their effortless style, oozing cool. James casually sucking on a cigarette throughout and Albarn swigging from a bottle of vintage red. Watching Coxon on the other hand, was like watching one of the 'weird' kids at primary school, sat in the corner on a beanbag scribbling disturbing pictures with his crayolas. His soft voice depicted a sense of vulnerability which was not really seen in the other band members. It made me want to take him home and tell him everything was going to be alright.

Other than the interviews, the most beautifully captured part of the documentary were the live concerts. On the big screen of the Rio Cinema, Dalston, each member was brought to life in splendid colour and detail. The crowds stretched for miles, all shrieking and in absolute awe. It was enough to send shivers down the spine. For any Blur fan, it was breath takingly beautiful.

Garden State

Garden State (2004) Zach Braff

Garden State is an obscure love story set over the period of only three days, meaning more to both Andrew (Zach Braff) and Sam (Natalie Portman) than anything else before in their whole entire, uneventful lives. Andrew “Large” Largeman, an aspiring actor living in LA, returns to his hometown of New Jersey for the funeral of his mother, later to have a confrontation with his father/shrink. When “Largeman” gets back to New Jersey his old, stoner friends think he is something of a Hollywood star even though his day job is working in a Thai restaurant. Only a day into his time back home, a visit to the doctors puts Andrew in touch with quirky girl Sam and their awkward relationship begins. As the film progresses, so does their friendship in a heart warming, i-wish-i-had-a-boyf-like-that way. Perhaps the beauty of this film is that it doesn’t really have a main plot, any structured beginning, middle or end, but overall is a remarkably well crafted piece. Braff’s directing should definitely be commended here. As should the outstanding soundtrack, boasting artists such as The Shins and Coldplay. The strength of individual characters makes this film so likeable in the way that each eccentric could be a member of your own friendship group. When trying to think of films which are similar in this genre, it is hard to think of one which matches up to this cult classic. Braff’s unique style of writing- dry and straight up- can only be compared to other shows such as Scrubs which match the unusually dry American humour. Anyone who hasn’t seen this film should definitely do so. The beautifully odd but simple script with soundtrack to match, teamed with an all star, but not over rated cast, makes Garden State a film which will be highly ranked forever in the indie film stakes.

Ghost World

Ghost World (2001) Terry Zwigoff

Ghost World is a film which was born out of the comic strip of the same name. The protagonist in this film is a strange gothic/ punk type girl called Enid Coleslaw (Thora Birch) who at the beginning of the film only appears to have one friend, Rebecca (Scarlet Johansson). The film follows their strange friendship, with the addition of odd characters along the way. The overall look of the film can be compared to other films such as Napoleon Dynamite due to its use of awkward silence and eccentric characterisation. Enid and Rebecca have been best friends since school and plan to move in together. However, these plans fall through when a prank phone call to a guy out of lonely hearts column turns into an unlikely and slightly creepy friendship between himself, Seymour, and Enid. Rebecca, played by the not so glamorous Scarlet Johansson, gives a flat and cynical undertone to the film. The use of repetition, such as the man always sitting at the bus stop on the route which has been cancelled, holds the plot together and becomes important at the end of the film and to Enid ‘finding herself’, which she also does through her reliance on the character Seymour and the school art classes she takes. Ghost World is a film about growing up and growing apart, finding yourself through others and gaining responsibility after education. This film differs from the likes of Napoleon Dynamite in the way that it does not serve for easy viewing. The stalker -like element to Enid’s character makes some parts of the film uncomfortable to watch, as she seeks to control Seymour’s life starting with his relationship with genuine lonely heart, Dana. The film uses racism as a side plot and I’m not quite sure how this fits in apart from the way it provides another grasp on Seymour’s plain and lowly life by Enid – leading to him being fired from work. Overall the film is weird and wonderful, and will appeal to those interested in comic books and the independent film genre in general. Rather than the usual alternative musical soundtrack which is typical of independent films, Ghost World has a blues/jazz soundtrack which is unusual but ties in with the plot. Random characters such as the drunken guy who is always in the shop where Enid’s ‘crush’ Josh works, adds also to the strange tone which the film sets. Ghost World is left open at the end, which is again typical of the genre but it works well. The strong characterisation is the key to the success of this film, in a town where not a lot really seems to happen but eccentricity definitely does not go a miss.