The Last Journey

 Heartwarming and enjoyable.  But also disturbing and worrying.

Filip Hammar is worried about his 80 year old father, Lars, who seems to have almost given up on life.  He is, his son says, rotting away in an old armchair.  So, with the agreement of his mother, he plans a road trip to France with his dad.  Lars, once a French language teacher, was always a Francophile, and many of Filip’s happiest memories with him are centre on holidays in a seaside town on the Riviera.  

So he buys a lovely old orange Renault 4, like the one dad used to drive, ropes in best friend Fredrik, and the 3 of them set off.  Plans are disrupted when Lars ends up in hospital just as they are about to leave Sweden, but eventually the trip continues.  Along the way, and at their destination, Filip arranges for his father to see old places, old friends, and some carefully staged incidents, all designed to bring back memories and rekindle Lars’ feeling for life.

There are some genuinely moving moments, where the old Lars almost resurfaces, and sadness at seeing Filip come to some acceptance that things can never be as they were.  There is a sweet scene near the end where some of the teacher’s ex-pupils pay tribute to their mentor.  Cue tears all round.

But.  This is filmed as a fly on the wall documentary, meaning there is some sort of film crew present for some intimate moments.  I read the Filip and (the very likeable and funny) Fredrik are a bit like Sweden’s Ant & Dec, famous presenters who always come as a pair.  Obviously wealthy, and obviously well connected with the TV world.  Which begs some questions…

What came first?  Filip’s desire to help his father, or the idea for the film?  Because the filming took place from an early stage of the process (I did not get the impression they could have gone back and asked Lars to act some of the early stages…).  There’s also a queasy sense that Filip, for all that his love for his parent shows as genuine, was at times bullying and manipulative.  It can come across as a rich man spending money to show off his love, whilst producing something box-office-worthy.  

Call me cynical, but for all it’s virtues, there are some worrying undercurrents to this film.

Joe Broughton's Conservatoire Folk Ensemble, Huntingdon Hall, Worcester

 The word Conservatoire tends to summon up images of restrained string quartets.  Which is long way from the enrgy, enthusiasm and mass joy that appeared on stage.

This ensemble, from the Birmingham Conservatoire, have been going for over a quarter of a century, with an ever changing line up, other than founder and leader, Joe Broughton.  Broughton is an exceptional fiddler, musiecina, teacher, who has also gained fame in other line ups, notably the Urban Folk Quartet.  He's joined by students from his courses, with well over thirty packed on to the stafge for this gig.

So many instruments it would be impossible to list them all, not least nbecause iot was often hard to see who was at the back.  We were well into the second half before I realised there was an electric guitar!  But there were five percussionists, large wind, brass and string sections, an accordion, and more.  Mostly they played as the full ensemble, but at times the stage thinned out and we had a couple of solo performances, a duet, and a quintet.  The mateial was eclectic - tradional tunes and song from England and Ieland, a sea shanty, spirituals, self penned numbers.  Some excellent vocalists.  And while the inspriation was folky, there were clwearly rock, jazz, blues influences thrown in.  

It looked shambolic at times.  It wasn't.  This was well rehearsed, yet with considerable fluidity to the arrangements, and audience participation was often encouraged, even demanded (!).  Above all it never ceased to be entertaining, and Broughton is a perfect front man.  He will never steal the limelight from his proteges, but brings wit and interest into his linking introductions.  The man is a top class musician, entertainer and, on this evidence, educator.

If you get the opportunity to see them then grab it.  Nobody leaves the room without a smile on their face.

The Ballad of Wallis Island

Charles (Tim Key) lives a lonely life on the remote and sparsely inhabited Wallis Island.  A double lottery winner, he is also an obsessive superfan of long defunct folk duo McGwyer Mortimer.  Two further facts about Charles - he’s extremely irritating, in a can’t-shut-up-or-stop-telling-shit-jokes kind of a way, and he’s really rather sad and lonely, for reasons that become apparent as the plot unfolds.  To mark a special occasion he’s invited both halves of the duo to the island to give a one-off concert, to a one person audience.

First to arrive is Herb McGwyer (Tom Basden), wet and grumpy, and surprised at what he finds.  But his biggest surprise is the arrival of ex musical partner, and lover, Nell Mortimer (Carey Mulligan), with American husband in tow.  Their being thrust together rekindles musical, and other, memories, but also reminds them of why they split.  Charles has started more than he realised, and his dream, and memories it conjures up for him, is not turning out to be what he expected.

The screenplay comes from Key and Basden, both former writers on the Alan Partridge shows, and that background shines through strongly.  If you loved Partridge you’ll probably enjoy this.  Charles is a sub-Partridgesque character, often with a similar inability to read the room, but he has redeeming qualities that make him much more than a figure of fun, and Key does a wonderful job of making him a figure of sympathy.  Basden is similarly able to give the grumpy Herb a human side, and these performances dominate.  In a good way.  Mulligan is excellent support, along with a couple of other minor characters, but it’s the Tim/Tom duo that give this film it’s charm, laughs and pathos.  And a dose of romance.

Basden also wrote and performed the songs, and shows himself competent in both roles.  And Key squeezes in a rarely seen romantic side to his acting.

While it does have things to say about revisiting memories, relationships and grief, this is a film to enjoy for the performances and the snappy script.  Whilst it’s no classic, it is very enjoyable.  More so if you’re a fan of awkward.

The Rheingans Sisters, Traverse

 Rowan and Anna (real life sisters) are an alt-folk duo from Sheffield.  While the former still lives in much the same part of Yorkshire, Anna is a long term resident of south west France, and brings a lot of that region's influences into their work.  Both play a variety of instruments and provide both lead and harmony vocals.  And made good use of a pedal board to build up depth in their sounds.

They played music from their latest album, some self penned, some giving their take on music from a variety of folk sources.  A Swedish tune, a French song, and English ballad.  The theme, if there is really one, they gave as 'optimistic apocalypse' (!).  Their talk between numbers was often entertaining and informative, with some funny stories to tell.  

The music is fascinating.  Rarely exciting, but always interesting, unpredictable, intriguing, charming.  There's a lot to like, if not get passionate about.  With the exception of their closing number featuring a driving stomp rhythm and energetic dancing, over the layered track they'd created.  That was real fun.

I didn't leave feeling I had to get hold of the album, but knowing that if they put in another appearance in Edinburgh I'd be eager to see them once again.

Spell Songs, Usher Hall

The Lost Words and The Lost Spells are the two books, combining the poetry of Robert MacFarlane and the artwork of Jackie Morris, which form the inspiration for the Spell Songs project.  Bringing together a variety of top class folk musicians (mostly Scottish) to transform the words with music, and adding in Morris' beautiful illustrations as an integral element of the show.  The end result is a concert/multimedia entertainment with some unique qualities.

Eight artists grace the stage.  Karine Polwart and Kris Drever on guitar, Jim Molyneux on keyboard and percussion, Julie Fowlis with her whistles, Seckou Keita with his kora, Beth Porter playing cello and fiddle, and Rachel Newton on harp.  Every one of the septet a lead vocalist in their own right, with singing duties spread across the set.  And the eighth member of the group?  None other than Morris herself, on a raised dias at the back, painting live  with the songs.  Often this flowing creativity would be filmed and projected on to the screen above the stage, bringing to life, in a very real sense, the subjects of the lyrics.  

This is a show dedicated to nature, with various plants and animals showcased (and two of Morris' stunning illustrations of otters on large banners either side of the stage).  But it's also a celebration of beauty, of life, and with some political comment - because it is politicians who refuse to act in saving the natural world now under threat from climate change.  

It's beautiful.  Almost soporific at times - not in the sense of being boring, but of being so relaxing that the mind wants to float away, the audiovisual equivalent of a nice warm bath.

The music brings the beauty of nature to life, as you would expect from such high quality performers, and it would be unfair to pick out any single performance from what was very much an ensemble work.  Great solos and harmonies, imaginiative arrangements, and always somethign to watch on screen.  It's the kind of show where there's so much going on that you know you must have missed out at times, and want to see it all again.  Wonderful.

Looking For Me Friend : The Music of Victoria Wood

Fronted by experienced cabaret act Paulus, and supported on piano and the odd quip by Michael Roulston, the show features, as promised by the title, a wide range of the late Ms Wood's songs, both famous and more obscure.  Because, as Paulus tells us from the start, it takes two men to do the job of one woman.  There's nothing wrong with the voice or the playing, and they clearly enjoy and revere the material.

Woven around the numbers is Paulus' tale of growing up with Wood as an important influence in his life, and then career, even though they never met.  He clearly sees himself as something of a superfan, with considerable knowledge of the national treasure.  So it's a very personal show, and Roulston an enjoyable dry collaborator. There's no denying that it is often entertaining.

But the show stumbles on two counts, one of which I doubt anyone could overcome.  Paulus is very self consciously camp, and the arch home counties persona doesn't always sit well with Victoria's bluff north of England sense of humour.  And even grates at times, feeling OTT in realtion to the memories of the woman herself.  Which also applies to my second quibble.  The lyrics and melodies stand by themselves, but watching this show reminds any Wood fan of just how much came from her own delivery, and how hard it is to replicate.  There was always a sense of something being lost, missing.

Entertaining, but disappointing.

Ivor (A Play, a Pie and a Pint), Traverse

Scarlet (Alice Glass) is a climate activist.  So when her mother Sarah (Laura Harvey) wants to get her a big surprise for her 21st she knows it has to be related to her daughter’s passion.  And Ivor is very big, and very very surprising.  But also an indication that spending a lot of money on a gift  doesn’t guarantee that you’ve fully understood what the recipient is really all about.  Scarlet isn’t about to give up on her plans to tend to Ivor, she and partner Judith (Betty Valencia) have a planet to save.

Mothers and daughters, the generation gap, and the lack of real understanding surrounding climate change are all tackled in this ambitious metaphor.  I won’t give away the nature of the mysterious Ivor, but he is much more problem than solution, a reflection of the misunderstanding of climate issues.  Surreal, often darkly funny, the script doesn’t fully hit the mark, but does provide some food for thought, partly spoiled by an unnecessarily confusing ending.  The acting is decent enough,with some excellent timing. Harvey does the controlling parent well, Valencia perhaps the best in conveying her frustration and desperation with a world that is going down the tubes.

Not the best PPP, but still interesting.