Skip to main content

Month: December 2013

Live: Crystal Fighters

23rd November

Academy 2

10/10

Crystal fighters have sold out Academy 2 for tonight’s gig, and if the dance music blaring out of the speakers before they have even come on stage signals anything, tonight is going to be electric.

The six band members enter the stage, immediately launch into ‘Solar System’ from their first album, Star of Love, and the crowd erupts. Crystal Fighters have a punchier live sound than on their records, with pulsating bass and synths, which makes the whole gig feels more like a rave than a concert. They move on to play two more older songs ‘Champion Sound’ and ‘I Do This Everyday’, featuring intense drumming on the txalaparta, a wooden xylophone-like percussion instrument played by two people standing face-to-face, and the song is a perfect demonstration of Crystal Fighters unique blend of folk blended with dance music. As the band hurl themselves into one song after another, this party is showing no signs of stopping. We are treated to seven new songs from the bands second album Cave Rave, and ‘You and I’ stands out as one of Crystal Fighter’s best songs yet.

‘Plage’, perhaps the bands most well known song, brings the biggest reaction of the whole set before the band head off stage. The crowd have a few minutes to catch their breath, before the band run back onto the stage and throw themselves into ‘I Love London’. Finishing song ‘Xtatic Truth’ is the perfect climax to the night, and sees everyone in Academy 2 go mental one last time. Crystal Fighters did not disappoint. They struck the perfect balance between playing more dance heavy material from Star of Love, and material from Cave Rave, which is clearly more mature. The whole show feels like you are invited to a Crystal Fighters party, and the atmosphere on the night doesn’t wane at any point.

Interview: iTCH

“Everyone else is taken- you can only ever be you, and once you figure out who you are- which takes a while- and you put that out and you bring something new to the game people take to you… I’ve never been here to just have my 15 minutes of fame; I’m here to leave a legacy”. To some it may come across as trite, but the conviction with which Johnny ‘iTCH’ Fox speaks dispels any preconception of bravado that would normally accompany such a statement.

His claim is as convincing as it is ambitious; given his penchant for unconventionality, it’s perhaps a shock to many that The King Blues wound up breaking into the mainstream, with their third album ‘Punk & Poetry’ cracking the Top 40 and their music being featured on televised adverts. Success for iTCH has come through individuality- his spoken word pieces, for example, are a breath of fresh air for a generation who have grown up without any mainstream examples of the format.

iTCH attributes his initial interest in the genre to seeing punk poet Attila the Stockbroker live; “I saw how vulnerable he made himself and it really touched me. The whole reason The King Blues started off acoustic was so that people could hear the words; it was really important to us that the lyrics came first. If you’ve got lyrics that are decent and you can spit them as a spoken word piece I think people will take to it.”

The former King Blues frontman might have swapped the folk-punk of old for a more urbane approach as of late, but his attitude towards the music he makes hasn’t shifted an inch. When asked about what punk rock signifies on an individual level, he responds that “to me punk rock has never been about 3 chords and shouting; it’s always been about an attitude and a way of life and how you see things. Being politically engaged to me is vital when it comes to punk, otherwise it’s just a throwaway word that means nothing.”

iTCH is certainly well versed in the political and activist side of punk. Fans of The King Blues will remember their acoustic march to the Houses of Parliament as a statement of intent from a band that genuinely had something important to say. According to iTCH, there’s definitely a gap in the market for artists that are willing to talk politics with their fans. His claim that “no-one has really come in and filled that spot [left by The King Blues] of being a politically outspoken band” simply reiterates the uniqueness of his trade.

For iTCH the desire to make a difference does not come solely from music. He describes The King Blues as having been “activists first, musicians second”, and although there may not be a King Blues mark II on his radar, he still holds faith in the youth of today.

“We’re told that this generation doesn’t care about anything, but this generation has thrown the largest anti-war marches we’ve ever seen. We’re told they just go on Twitter and take selfies but at the same time they’re organising the massive anonymous and occupy movements which are done over social networking. I’d hope that there are kids out there that are pissed off who are going to make music with something to say.”

Life for iTCH isn’t all about bandanas and marches, however. He describes his summer in The States as part of the legendary Warped Tour as “a real honour” which not even a broken leg could dampen. “I did the whole thing in a wheelchair which physically was a challenge… it was pretty tough, but as a tour it was amazing.”

The show tonight is itself part of a Warped Tour package whilst also constituting iTCH’s debut solo headline tour. The man himself doesn’t seem fazed by the drop down from the festival stage to sweatbox clubs and instead seems to relish the idea of a fresh start. “The last couple of years of the King Blues felt like we were going through the motions a bit. Now I’m back to really enjoying it again and I’m revelling in touring once more; I’m a bit older and I appreciate it more now.”

“When [The King Blues] started out there was always a threat of Nazi skinheads turning up or the police shutting it down; it was that kind of danger that I weirdly enjoyed. After that it just felt a bit safe.”

Circumstance has cut short the lifespan of many artists, but iTCH seems adamant that he’s in it for the long run. “I’ve based my entire career on not following trends and not following fashions and I’m here 11 years later. I think that’s because I’ve never gone with what everyone else was doing- once you do that and you try to catch up with what other people are doing it’s too late.” It’s not unreasonable to think that as long as he continues to plug away in his own way- as he did the first time around-history may well be on the verge of repeating itself.

Live: iTCH

20th November

Roadhouse

7/10

It’s a fairly miserable evening on the streets of Manchester, but thankfully there’s some warmth to be found inside the walls of the Roadhouse courtesy of ex-King Blues frontman iTCH. His seamless mix of rap beats and deft punk lyricism has brought a small yet passionate following out to play, and when he hits his flow their faith is rewarded in style.

For the uninitiated, iTCH’s newfound hip-hop sound might seem like a drastic departure from the folk-punk vibe of The King Blues, but there’s still plenty of righteous anger to be found amidst his new approach. ‘Spooky Kids’ is a hectic burst of reggae-infused dubstep which has heads banging and bodies skanking from the word go.

Elsewhere ‘Homeless Romantic’ fizzes with pop charm before letting loose a shimmering chorus that sees the crowd find their voice in fine style. iTCH is a feral blast of energy on stage, making his presence further felt by joining his audience on the floor for a song. There’s no sign of nerves from iTCH on his first UK headline tour as a solo act as he drops a spoken word piece in the middle of his set without so much as a stutter. It’s a strong show of confidence which goes down a storm with those assembled.

It’s not a show meant to please everybody- the lack of any material from his King Blues days is clearly a disappointment for several members of the audience- but tonight is ample evidence to suggest that iTCH has more than enough substance to succeed as a solo act.

His refusal to rest on former glories is refreshing in itself, but the results of his choice are even more endearing. iTCH has well and truly found his voice and it’s now only a matter of time before the masses sit up and take notice as they did with The King Blues.

Album: Eminem – The Marshall Mathers LP 2

Released 5th November

Shady Records/Interscope

7/10

In the world of rap music, few events are as hotly anticipated as the release of a new Eminem album; having sold close to a quarter of a billion records, he’s remained one of the world’s most influential pop culture icons ever since he inspired outrage and adoration alike with his breakthrough record The Slim Shady LP. Since then, his work has always seemed to follow a strong thematic thread, with 2002’s The Eminem Show being followed by Encore, as well as the extended narrative arc of Relapse and Recovery. Within this ongoing narrative, The Marshall Mathers LP 2 is his first direct sequel, reflecting on – and paying tribute to – what is perhaps his best loved set of songs. The decision to release a second instalment of the album that inspired a nation to “not give a fuck” was undoubtedly a risky one, and while it will never have the impact and appeal of the original, TMMLP2 is largely a worthy follow-up.

Opening with the ambitious seven minute murder story ‘Bad Guy’, a continuation of The Marshall Mathers LP’s landmark single ‘Stan’, the dark and at times uncomfortable tone of the original is re-established early on. ‘Brainless’ and ‘So Much Better’ continue to harken back to the vintage Eminem sound, the latter of which being the latest example of his infamous misogyny. However, overall, the album is surprisingly eclectic musically, thanks in part to the large rotation of producers, most notably Eminem himself and Rick Rubin. Singles ‘Survival’ and the Beastie Boys-inspired ‘Berzerk’ are refreshingly modern and upbeat, signalling that his celebrity-name-dropping-in-a-funny-accent tendency in his lead singles has mercifully come to an end. ‘So Far…’ and ‘Love Game’ are some of the most fun and light-hearted tracks he’s released in years, whilst ‘Legacy’ and ‘Headlights’ – a startling and affecting apology to his mother – are exactly the kind of frank emotional outburst that has won him the trust and respect of his listeners for the last two decades.

That being said, as with most of Eminem’s recent records, the definite highs are accompanied by some cringe-worthy lows. First and foremost is ‘Stronger Than I Was’, which straight off the bat is the worst thing to happen to music since the Crazy Frog; a soppy Bieber-esque piano ballad that sees Em’s nasal whine of a singing voice take centre stage for five wince inducing minutes, it’s both out of place and unnecessary. ‘Asshole’ – the other main culprit – sounds tired, with a flat, uninspired chorus, and filled with dated Insane Clown Posse and Gwen Stefani disses; a minor offense, but it’s hard to imagine the Eminem of old being so out of touch.

The Marshall Mathers LP 2 works as both an album in its own right and as a companion piece to the original; overall, it’s a welcome change of pace from the self-help preaching of Recovery and, despite its flaws and the inevitable comparisons that will be drawn, it’s at least good to hear Eminem start having fun again.

Album: Death Grips – Government Plates

Released November 13th, 2013

Third Worlds

7/10

13 months, 13 days and 13 hours after the controversial release of last years NO LOVE DEEP WEB, Death Grips dropped Government Plates onto the internet for free. This time however there was no prior warning that the album was in the works, no media fanfare surrounding battles with Sony and certainly no phallus adorning the cover. This time, much like with their debut mixtape Exmilitary, Death Grips are allowing their new album to speak for itself.

So what does the new album have to say for itself? Well honestly, nothing that its older siblings haven’t said before. If nothing else, Government Plates could be described as the quintessential Death Grips record. By decreasing the running time to 35 minutes they have seemingly curated the most distinctive aspects of their sound- complex, primal drums, dissonant yet catchy hooks and of course MC Ride’s inimitable flow- and created something like a Death Grips for Beginners. Tracks such as previous single ‘Birds’ or the opening track (with a name far too long to print) exemplify this culmination of their albums, and even demonstrate a newfound accessibility beyond their hooks, with MC Ride’s restrained, playful verses in ‘Birds’ marking a welcome change in tone.

Ultimately though, these factors act as both the album’s primary strengths and its biggest shortcomings. 35 minutes is a great album length, but it leaves no room for filler, and Government Plates certainly has its fair share throughout its second half. Moreover, whilst the choice to build on existing ideas is a welcome one, it has led to a decrease in new ones. For a band that have so far provided a challenge with each album, this one feels like a bit of a stagnation.

Much like Kanye’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Government Plates feels like a waypoint, a chance to reflect on all that has preceded it and push those sounds to their limit. Unlike Yeezy’s magnum opus however, this release doesn’t turn the past into something greater than the sum of its parts. However, Kanye subsequently seemed to take a leaf out of Death Grip’s with the dark, industrial sounds of Yeezus earlier this year. Who knows, perhaps Death Grips will return the favour.

Interview: These New Puritans

These New Puritans cannot be second ­guessed. Starting as a four­piece band, they drew influence from hip­hop and electronica. Now, with their latest album, Field of Reeds, they are classical sounding, with flowing melodies, and an added brass section. This unpredictability has made them one of the most revered young bands in Britain. They also have a reputation as enigmatic interviewee’s, but this was not the case when I spoke with lead singer and bassist, Jack Barnett,to discuss how he went about evolving his band, what he liked most about the new direction, and his quirky inspirations.

Despite the development of their sound, not much has changed for Barnett. For him, the new songs involved “a return to how I used to write when I was a kid… when I was 8 or 9 I’d come home from school and write songs on my guitar just for fun, purely for fun.”

Asked of how he decided on the new classical outlook to These New Puritans, Barnett was dead­pan. “I just sat and wrote stuff.  There were about 50 things that could have been on the album. Some of them were fragments, some were finished.”

But how did he decide on the variety of sounds he used? “It’s whatever the song demands. When I’m writing a song, it will just be made up of different instruments and sounds, that’s how the songs come to me. Obviously people focus on things like the hawk, but that’s just because the song demanded that, it’s a musical part. He then divulged, “the motivation with this record was just doing whatever was the most fun; being guided by your instincts kind of thing.” Due to the harmonic depth of the new album, this was hard to fathom, but Barnett explained, “you could play all these songs on piano, if you wanted to”.

When it comes to deciding how to arrange his songs live, however, much more attention to detail is applied. “It will take me weeks adapting the songs to new instruments. Then me and Tom [Hein] will work on the electronic sounds involved. At the moment he’s using a load of stuff, including an Akai z8, an old hardware sampler. It’s obsolete technology but it suits us really well.”

So Jack has retained a made-­in­-the­-bedroom mentality to making music, but he has made this unnoticeable live. ­ “Right now we have a 7 piece band; trumpet, French horn, piano, Elisa [Rodrigues], Tom on electronics, and George [Barnett, Jack’s twin brother] on drums and vibraphone” he said. “Oh, and me. It’s good ­ not too big, not too small. It’s agile but we can still make a big sound. It’s perfect.” The added timbre hasn’t increased stress on Jack, thanks to the benefits of the new band members, especially esteemed Jazz singer Elisa Rodrigues, alongside him. “I enjoy singing live now too because now that Elisa is doing 50% I can focus on my 50% and not try and do everything. I just do what I do. It’s great singing with someone else, suddenly everything slots into place. You get to specialise a bit.” The increased complexity of their sound has, in fact, made Jack’s job easier, more refined. It is possible to get the impression of These New Puritans as something of a one­ man­ band, with all ideas flowing from Jack, but he was quick to point the value of the rest of his collective, “some top musicians, …I really love this band at the moment”.

I then told Barnett that I thought Field of Reeds deserved a Mercury Award nomination, which it didn’t get. “Thanks. I’m fine with it; you win some you lose some. It’s not something that if I was just a music consumer, rather than a musician, I would pay a huge amount of attention to.” Jack was also magnanimous when I asked him his views on the state of British music, he explained “it’s not something I think about too much; I’m part of the tradesman’s class, I’m basically the worker, not the theoretician. I just write songs, try to make them sound good and hope people get something from them.” It is this edge that sets These New Puritans aside, as a band that have a clear direction, who were never going to get second­-album­-syndrome, because, despite maturing their sound and enjoying success, Barnett hasn’t forgotten why he started making music in the first place.

Towards the end of the interview, we got talking about some of his contemporary, and classic, favourites: ‘East India Youth, he’s good, he supported us on a few shows of our UK tour. Good melodies and stuff.’, and, surprisingly, “Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band. I grew up learning those songs.’ And what was the most distinctive moment of his musical upbringing? ‘A re­run of Sparks playing ‘This Town Ain’t Big Enough For The Both Of Us’ on Top of the Pops. Ron Mael is a comedy genius.” ­ These New Puritan’s unpredictability is left intact.

Interview: Eddi Reader

With her beautiful and distinctive voice and enduring songs such as ‘Perfect’, ‘Patience of Angels’ and ‘Bell, Book and Candle,’ Eddi Reader has been an integral part of the British music scene for thirty years. Glasgow-born Eddi has proved incredibly versatile, performing solo and in various groups, live and in studio, and singing pop, folk and jazz.

I speak to Eddi just before her gig at RNCM Manchester, the first of a month-long tour of the UK which she is “looking forward to”. She likes Manchester and has visited many times. Eddi is best known to many as the lead singer of acoustic pop group Fairground Attraction. Having spent several years in apprenticeship, busking and doing live work, “in 85, 86 I was looking for a band to get a deal.” So Fairground Attraction was born and spawned a number one album, The First of a Million Kisses, and the iconic song she describes as “my hit”: ‘Perfect’, which reached number one in the UK, Australia and South Africa.

Sadly, the band only lasted several years, breaking up in 1990. Eddi describes it as, “Just one of those things – didn’t last too long, but we got an album’s worth of material or an album and a half’s worth,” – the latter referring to Ay Fond Kiss, an album recorded alongside their first and released after the band broke up. She values her time performing with Fairground Attraction as it meant she was “left with an audience” for her own material.

She released her first solo album, Mirmama, in 1992, and in 1994, her second solo album Eddi Reader reached number four in the UK. She received a BRIT for Best British Female in 1995. She has since released seven more studio albums and her next, Vagabond, will be released in February 2014.

I have found Eddi’s music dances between folk and pop, with a clear Celtic influence. When I ask what inspires her, she says much of her inspiration comes from the singing and dancing of “drunk people at New Year’s Parties” she attended when she was young. I ask if she feels music runs in her family and she thinks it certainly does, telling how she found out that her great grandfather sang Robert Burns songs as well as music from England, Ireland, Hungary and Russia.

Eddi herself recorded an album of Burns’ poems put to music. Not liking the school system in London, and not wanting her sons to be educated there, she moved back to Scotland in the early 2000s. “Home is home. I felt very distant in London.” It was around this time that she recorded Sings the Songs of Robert Burns, in celebration of Scotland’s Bard, which received much praise.

When it comes to collaborations, Eddi has worked with musicians such as Annie Lennox and Alison Moyet, and has had a long song writing relationship with Boo Herwerdine, who will play guitar with her on tour, who she sees as “a great guy and a great songwriter” and “a solid rock” for her musically. When asked who would be her dream collaborator, living or dead, she gives late American band leader Nelson Riddle, as she thinks they could achieve some interesting things together.

Eddi has no doubt achieved great things – three BRIT Awards, an MBE, and a number one single and album with Fairground Attraction. She cites her proudest achievements as managing to get through her sons’ teenage years and getting honorary degrees from four different universities.

I ask about her favourite song to perform, and she replies that it varies – at the moment she enjoys ‘Dragonflies’, ‘Mona Lisa’, ‘In Ma Ain Country’, and ‘Vagabond’, the latter is the title track of her next album.

My final question – why does she think human beings invented music? It isn’t essential to our survival, so why have we kept it all these centuries? Her response is very touching. “I don’t think we invented it; it just happens, like breathing. It’s the one instrument we all carry around: we slap our knees, we snap our fingers. We didn’t invent music – we may have invented how to make money from music, but music was given to us.”

It has been a true honour to interview such an incredible artist, and I wish her all the best for the rest of her tour, and for what promises to be a very bright future.

Review: Parkland

Parkland is a film that tells an all too familiar story. The assassination of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy,  has been mythologised and tediously picked over numerous times on the big and small screens. However one thing each and every rendition thus far has had in common, is that they all sing from the identical hymn sheet as those that preceded them.

When you look at the greatest success stories in the film industry over recent years, those that have taken all of the plaudits are the ones that feel fresh, provocative or even those that seek to challenge complex and difficult subjects (think Slumdog Millionaire or The Hurt Locker). And it is this high bar that ensures the safe road Parkland has elected to take will prove to be nothing less than a recipe for failure.

With this in mind, you might have thought in the era of Occupy, Wiki-Leaks and the NSA scandal, director Peter Landesman will have aimed to put a less sanitised spin on those infamous events in Dallas – both for the sake of his fledgling career as a Director (this being only his second film in the hot seat), but also for the sanity of film fans everywhere, who are unfortunately set to contend with another re-hash of the mother of infamous story.

This being said, the conformity of the story told is not this films’ biggest problem. Its greatest pitfall is its refusal to add any meaningful depth to the main-characters, and hence you find yourself in a constant struggle to emotionally invest in their subsequent turmoil. On watching Parkland’s opening scenes there is a sense some of the characters could have an intriguing personal story to tell, but as the film progresses you soon come to realise these characters will not be developed in any notable way . The early-film intrigue set-up by Zac Efron’s take on womaniser Dr Charles Carrico, or Paul Giamatti’s very human performance as Abraham Zapruder, are cruelly taken away by a Director afraid to divert attention away from a very safely fielded take on Kennedys death. This film seeks to hold its middle finger up to its brave peers, and then cover this finger with bright flashing lights and fireworks for good measure.

Perhaps the lack of character depth is best understood, not necessarily through bad directing or bad casting, but through the relatively short length of the film. In ninety three minutes not one scene in this assassination movie leaves you emotionally shaken, even the shooting of Kennedy falls flat with the attempt to mesh original Zapruder camera footage with the view of Gimatti’s Zapruder standing by with his camera, only succeeding in defiantly destroying any tension or drama the original film reel can claim to boast. Kennedy dies on the operating table, and a hospital room covered in the dead President’s blood is probably the most provocative scene in Parkland – but this rare flicker of emotion is created by effective set rigging, not effective character development. Actually, by this point you even struggle to care about the fact Carrico is standing in the middle of all of this blood.

Having said all of this, a few moments in the film do manage to achieve their desired effect. Billy Bob Thornton cuts a genuinely convincing figure as the secret services’ Forrest Sorrels, all be it in a part that won’t be winning him an Oscar any time soon. And the surprisingly touching dynamic between Robert Oswald and his brother and culprit Lee Harvey Oswald does deliver a somewhat substantive relationship. But none of this is enough to offset their really (really) annoying mother, that even at the expense of historical accuracy is probably best left out of any future script. Overall Parkland plays it too safe, and as a result feels disappointingly flat – its resonant of the colour beige or a plate of bread and butter – it won’t do you any harm, but it certainly won’t immeasurably improve your day.

 

 

Animation Comes of Age: How grown ups can laugh with the kids too

As most self-respecting twenty-something year olds these days, I’m not afraid to admit I love animated films; my older brother, now closing in on his thirties happily mentions Shrek as his favourite film, and my dad, closer to sixty than fifty, tells me that Despicable Me is the best film in our (vast) collection.

At first you might go ahead and categorise us all as man-children who, in an attempt to retain a grasp of fleeting youth, have clutched a cartoon close to our hearts and superficially maintained that they’re amazing. Despite the way you decide to categorise us, there’s no denying that animated films have recently become more exciting, more daring and certainly more intelligent.

I remember classic Disney films, in the Pantheon of animated greats, such as Peter Pan, the Jungle Book, the Rescuers, Hercules, Beauty and the Beast, and who could forget Hamlet adapted for kids in The Lion King. All of these films, many of which were adapted from old folk tales, had inscribed within them a moral sensibility, one which often steered away from more daring content and were aimed at a specific child demographic. However, recent animated films have begun to grow into wonderfully intelligent works which appeal to both children and adults on many different levels.

I can think of a plethora of films which maintain some of the cheesy old school slapstick with intelligent one liners, Monsters Inc. for example. After discovering that laughter is more powerful than scream, Mike Wazowski, Sully’s wisecracking sidekick, is sent into children’s rooms to make them laugh:

Mike: So, you’re in kindergarten right? I loved kindergarten, best three years of my life! [waits for laughter] …Of my life!

At this point the kid doesn’t laugh so Mike eats the microphone he’s talking into, lets out a huge belch and fills his quota of laughter for the day.

When I first watched these films in my much younger days, I never really noticed funny little jokes like these, and it begs the question: How has animation evolved?

Remembering the classics, it feels as though animation and its humour have grown up a bit, well a lot. Animated films have become a lot more implicit in their explicit nature, no longer shying away from some of the more crass comedy that appeals to the conventional man-boy or woman-girl.

In Pixar’s Cars, the heroine, a little Porsche called Sally, has a “tramp stamp” pinstripe tattoo under her spoiler; Despicable Me’s Gru makes mention of the “any resemblance to persons living or dead is coincidental…” speech, as well as labelling the Lehman Brothers as the “Bank of Evil”, an economic joke I’m pretty sure no-one under the age of sixteen is really going to understand.

Shrek is pretty much a pioneer in taking the piss out of the old Disney classics, with a princess who’s secretly an ogre; Prince Charming is really a stupid narcissistic mummy’s boy, Sleeping Beauty is a narcoleptic and the Big Bad Wolf is an open transvestite. Despite all the farts, burps, gross ogre food and Shrek getting hit in the nuts from time to time, there are literally hundreds of cheeky adult jokes woven into the fabric of the film series which elevates it beyond some if its goody-two-shoes ancestors.

These intelligent cartoons are also beginning to incorporate more adult themes, like the death of the hero in Megamind, Will Ferrell’s answer to Steve Carell’s Gru in Despicable Me, two of many animations which are making use of the anti-hero. Toy Story 3 which was reported to have made grown men cry in cinemas. Fat can be fought as taught by Po in Kung Fu Panda, and it doesn’t matter what species or race you are, you can still make a pack, or so say Manny, Sid and Diego in Ice Age.

Looking at these wonderful pioneers of animated comedy and their growth into conventional, multi-layered films, rivalling much of the film industry’s live action productions, it’s impossible to deny that they aren’t just for kids anymore.

Top 5: One Take Scenes

5. Atonement

Ever wanted to know what it would be like to have been at the Dunkirk Evacuations? In this scene, Joe Wright gives you the closest thing you’ll get to actually being there. As Robbie Turner arrives at the evacuation site, he is presented with what some may call hell on earth. Nothing is left to the imagination.

4. Children of Men

Alfonso Cuarón (who may or may not be appearing later on this list) used several impressive long takes in this chilling, post-apocalyptic movie, but the one that everyone remembers is the now famous car scene. A normal drive along a country road turns quickly into a nightmarish chase sequence. It’s a scene that is not so much viewed as lived.

3. Touch of Evil

Tick tock tick tock. We follow a time bomb from the moment it is planted to its explosion three minutes and twenty seconds later. Only Orson Welles could have pulled this one off so effectively.  

2. Goodfellas

Mobster Henry Hill leads Karen through the nightclub where his fellow criminals are, and in this three minute tracking shot, she falls for both Hill and the gangster lifestyle. And who wouldn’t after seeing this scene? Good job, Mr Scorsese.

1. Gravity

The opening take of Alfonso Cuarón’s latest is a whopping seventeen minutes long – that’s right, seventeen minutes. And this isn’t just seventeen minutes of a still camera recording two people talking in a room. It’s seventeen minutes of following space shuttles in orbit, George Clooney flying with a jetpack and satellite debris smashing everything in its path. It’s not until Sandra Bullock goes spinning off into the void that the camera first cuts.

Contrary Corner: Waxing on The Wackness

If your film didn’t have Batman, then 2008 was a hard year to get noticed. Blanket press appraisal of The Dark Knight overshadowed much of the year’s cinematic output, and this coming of age drama was one of the Joker’s many victims left hanging in the nosebleed section. Puzzled expressions continue to greet the unfamiliar indie in my favourite films. It’s become like my delinquent child who secretly hides a heart of gold, and reacting as if it’s the last straw at a stressful parent’s evening, I find myself fiercely defending this roguish little misfit’s questionable outside appearance. I get it. Funny title, few critic lists, and it doesn’t help my case that the main character is an alarmingly thinner version of the loudmouth cherub from Drake and Josh. Swift smartphone searches that reveal its considerable distance from the Shawshank summit of IMDB further hurt claims for its greatness, but The Wackness struck something special when I first saw it in a dingy South-London Odeon, my friend and I composing half of the total audience.

Amidst the sticky summer streets of 90’s NYC, pre 9/11 and post Wu-Tang Clan, roams a lonely weed dealer named Luke Shapiro (Josh Peck). Shapiro has recently graduated High School, and is quietly going about his risky occupation for the endless weeks until College, when he begins to deal to an eccentric psychiatrist in exchange for therapy sessions. Enter Dr Squires (Sir Ben Kingsley), a welcome ear to Shapiro’s problems yet ill equipped to be imparting advice, as he is secretly self-medicating to handle a flourishing mid-life-crisis. However, the pair’s dilemmas provide the impetus for an unlikely friendship, where they begin to bond over a mutual dissatisfaction with life. This is particularly with regards to their troubled and often mirrored dealings with the opposite sex, as their burgeoning friendship coincides with Squire’s loveless marriage and Shapiro’s dicey infatuation with Stephanie, Squire’s stepdaughter.

In the present age of rigid consensus over what’s considered acceptably brilliant, this film was something rare; something fortuitously unearthed instead of aggressively enforced. It was a snapshot of adolescence far removed from any of British TV’s offerings at the time: the cartoon hedonism of Skins or the unabashed goofiness of The Inbetweeners. Though it follows well-trodden ground in dealing with the familiar themes of heartache and increasing responsibility, Peck and Kingsley’s effortless chemistry lifts this film above the more predictable crowd. Their musings on life are so thickly etched into my memory that revisiting their scenes feels like I’m in the company of old friends, and the film’s lesson of dramatic action when life grows stale has continued to ring true in the years since I left that deserted Odeon. In the gloomiest of British winters, this story of love, blunts and the benefits of bad choices remains strangely comforting.

Preview: Anchorman: The Legend Continues

Will Ferrell has been talking up a sequel to the brilliant Anchorman for a few years now and it is finally here. Sequels, and especially comedy sequels, are often disappointing in comparison to the originals, as they can be shifted out too quickly. This does not seem to be the case with Anchorman: The Legend Continues as it is clearly a project close to Ferrell’s and the director’s (Adam McKay) hearts. Its predecessor is one of the most quoted films around, so there is a lot to live up to.

In Anchorman we left the news team winning back over San Diego and ending the 70’s on top. In the gap between the first film and the new film the gang have split up and have hit rock bottom, without a hope to bring them out. This is until a 24-hour news channel is being put together in New York, and our heroes are recruited back into the game. The aim: stay classy and do not self-destruct. Easier said than done.

The whole team is back with Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell), weather man Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), man on the street Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd) and sports guy Champ Kind (David Koechner). Burgundy’s now wife Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) also returns and is stirring up more screen time trouble for Ron. Everyone seems to have slipped back into their roles with ease and there are some hints to the first film within the trailers. Director Adam McKay has promised another musical number (Afternoon Delight in the first) and even more screen time for Brick, with a love interest mooted.

Will Ferrell will revel once again under a breathable script by Adam McKay that will allow the performers to improvise. The comedy of Anchorman is at its natural best when the actors have moments to riff and test each other to see how far they can take an idea. There were so many golden outtakes from the first film they made a spin off Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie. There are rumors flying round that the film will be cameo-galore and hopefully this won’t try to imbed itself into the film too much. The odd “look who it is” is fun, but hopefully it will be necessary and not just gaining some egotistical screen time.

For fans of the first film this has been long awaited and no doubt Anchorman: The Legend Continues will be quoted in every public place possible after its release.

Hits cinemas 20th December and is kind of a big deal.

The Embassy of Cambodia by Zadie Smith – review

First appearing in The New Yorker earlier this year, The Embassy of Cambodia is another unique, thought-provoking tale of life in multicultural north-west London from Zadie Smith.

In a few deft brush strokes, Smith brings the life of West African domestic servant Fatou into focus. An employee of the Derawals, prosperous mini-market owners, Fatou often wonders if she is a slave. But, despite her elusive wages and seized passport, she decides that she is not – she has an Oyster Card after all. Refusing to be a victim, Fatou takes pleasure in the small things in life: her weekly swims, her discussions over coffee and cake at a Tunisian café with her friend Andrew, for whom her feelings are ambiguous.

On Monday mornings, Fatou sneaks away from the house to swim at the local health centre, using guest passes she found in the drawer of a faux-Louis XVI console. Her walk takes her past the Embassy of Cambodia, where a seemingly perpetual game of badminton is taking place. Mysterious figures pass through its gates, and a shuttlecock flies above its high walls, passed back and forth between two invisible players, the “pock, smash” of the shuttlecock suggesting an endless cycle of conquest and submission.

Like Fatou, the people of Willesden – unnamed, lonely individuals in a globalised neighbourhood – are puzzled by the embassy: “Who would expect the Embassy of Cambodia? Nobody. Nobody could have expected it, or be expecting it. It’s a surprise, to us all […] we, the people of Willesden.” This ‘we’, this collective voice of Willesden, is like an eerie Greek chorus, keeping a watchful eye over the proceedings.

Despite numbering only 69 pages, Smith’s deceptively simple book raises some important issues. Smith is incredibly perceptive, with her finger pressed firmly on the pulse of our brave new globalised world. And, in the collective voice of the people of Willesden, she poses a question that we have all asked ourselves, in one form or another: “The fact is, if we followed the history of every little country in the world – in its dramatic as well as its quiet times – we would have no space left in which to live our own lives or apply ourselves to our necessary tasks, never mind indulge in occasional pleasures, like swimming. Surely there is something to be said for drawing a circle around our attention and remaining within that circle. But how large should this circle be?”

Review: Saving Mr Banks

 So the Tom Hanks season of goodwill continues. He’s already saved his crew from some frankly unfriendly pirates in the excellent, Captain Phillips, and did a pretty good job of Saving Private Ryan a few years back, but does he save Mr Banks from the clutches of his protective creator, P.L Travers (Emma Thompson)? Well as it turns out it’s Travers herself, or rather Emma Thompson, who ends up Saving Mr Banks and stealing the show.

   Saving Mr Banks is the story of Walt Disney’s (Hanks) valiant attempt to get P.L Travers to agree to give him the film rights to her beloved, Mary Poppins, a book, it is revealed inspired by her own sad childhood relationship with her loving but failing father (Colin Farrell). As a result of the amount of screen time dedicated to depicting Travers’ childhood growing up in Australia, it’s little surprise that the character of Disney becomes an almost secondary one. But that doesn’t stop Hanks from ensuring that he makes the most of his limited screen time, and imbuing Disney with a charm, a child-like enthusiasm and all the other qualities you’d hope the real life Walt possessed.

    After all if a film about Walt Disney is made by the Walt Disney Company, it should come as little surprise that this treatment of the man is very much the ‘authorised’ version. So no allusions to his well documented anti-semitism or any other of the more unsavoury aspects of his life.

   But those omissions not withstanding, and a slightly ploddy first half hour, Saving Mr Banks really hits it’s stride when the real conflict between Travers, deeply protective towards her characters, and the earnest attempts of the film’s songwriters (Jason Schwartzman and B. J. Novak) to please her, come to fruition. The scenes where Thompson gets to really show off Travers’ prickly nature are the most enjoyable and at times laugh out loud funny, and coupled with the quieter scenes with her driver, Ralph (Paul Giamatti), you feel at times that Saving Mr Banks may have struck an excellent balance.

   However, a slightly contrived conflict between Disney and Travers in the final act, just as she begins to finally start enjoying herself, is a frustrating reminder that the filmmakers have taken a healthy dose of dramatic license in order to facilitate a surprise visit by Disney to Travers’ London home, where he convinces her to finally sign over the rights and she happily sobs through the film’s premiere. In reality she famously loathed the film. An unfortunate fact which could undermine the entire premise, but the strength of Thompson’s and Hank’s performances means it is a mere distraction from an otherwise enjoyable tale.

★★★

Domestic Festival

Cooper House does not look like a building that’d house contemporary live art performance pieces and an audio-visual installation. In fact, it took me about four trips around the outside before I realised that this 70s tower block was very definitely the home of Manchester based organisation ‘Word of Warning’s’ new mini-festival, Domestic. Kitchens, bathrooms and balconies were the stages of Domestic, scattered in flats dotted all over the huge Cooper House, coexisting alongside the building’s permanent residents and it was this confrontation with reality that made it such an interesting weekend. For me, Domestic began with a 55 minute long performance by Belgian artist Leentje Van de Cruys entitled ‘Kitsch N Sync’ which explored the significance of the kitchen as a domestic space. As me, and eleven other nervous looking audience members shuffled into the dingy flat on the building’s top floor, I realised that these performances were going to be something special. Dressed in stilettos and a gold-sequined dress, Van de Cruys comically stumbled and tripped her way over the potatoes lining the kitchen’s floor whilst reflecting on her role as a wife and a lover. It felt like her eyes never left yours as we stared earnestly up at her while she moved around the room, pulling potatoes from her heels and revealing mysterious blue lights within cupboards. The most striking moment in the piece came when Van de Cruys physically imitated the cycle of a washing machine, shaking and convulsing whilst holding a packet of washing powder. She revealed her breasts and suddenly became a fragile, vulnerable embodiment of the monotonous, beige life she portrayed. With two short pieces booked on Saturday, I set out for Cooper House expecting a similar experience to ‘Kitsch N Sync’ that had still maintained some theatrical conventions. However, my preconceptions were soon to be proved wrong. The first piece was Jo Bannon’s ‘Exposure’, a one-on-one encounter, described as ‘an investigation into how we look’. I was nervous as I entered the dimly lit living room where one of the festival’s helping hands took my coat and bag before showing me to a door in the corner of the room. The nine minute encounter behind this door was hugely powerful and inspired a mood of self-reflection which may not have been entirely helpful leading into the next free ‘encounter’ of the day – Julia Wilson’s ‘Shower Scenes’. With only a short break between the two, I barely had any time to recover from ‘Exposure’ before I found myself undressing in the living room of another flat! Don’t worry, prior to this I had been shown in to the flat by the artist and instructed to undress – I hadn’t gone completely insane. These instructions were issued by a mysterious pre-recorded electronic voice over an intercom system and before I knew it, I found myself having a full-on, real shower while the voice instructed me which shampoos and shower gels to use! However, the tone of the voice began to change and I soon realised quite how dark the bathroom really was. Abstract and threatening projections began to appear on the shower curtain, quickly manipulating the atmosphere from one of comfort to one of unease and tension, as images of pools of blood and terrifying silhouettes seemed to dominate my vision. Almost as quickly as it had begun, the projections ended and I found myself, fully clothed, back in the living room. The usher that had shown me to and from all of the other performances was nowhere to be found when I left the flat and it gave me a chance to reflect on a performance that truly engaged with the idea of the voyeur and surely, when living in culture where we can see and hear most of the world from the comfort of our home, this is a topic that needs addressing. I left Cooper House in the early evening, satisfied that I had ‘witnessed’ two incredibly different but both equally gut-wrenching ‘encounters’. I approached Sunday’s performances with a slight apprehension after Saturday’s experiences. I began by seeing J. Fergus Evans’ ‘My Heart Is Hitchhiking Down Peachtree Street’, the longest performance of Domestic so far at an hour and ten minutes in length and, in many ways, the most like a piece of theatre so far. We were ushered into the sweltering (we were soon to discover that this was a deliberate heating choice in order to imitate summer in the State of Georgia) Cooper House apartment where Fergus proceeded to outline what life is like in Georgia, focusing in particular on his experiences as a young homosexual man and using animation, storytelling and spoken word to create a well-rounded experience. I enjoyed touches such as the passing round of Bourbon and peaches but on the whole, I found the piece slightly jarring as I was unsure to what degree Fergus himself was ‘acting’ as he often suddenly moved from seemingly natural, unrehearsed conversation to completely scripted spoken word piece with no transition or word of warning. The next, and final, piece of the Domestic festival was similar to ‘My Heart Is Hitchhiking Down Peachtree Street’ but, in my opinion, far more engaging. The artist’s, Greg Woohead, made minimal but imaginative use of the video camera and had a comic performance style. This provided an uplifting end to a weekend of many ups-downs, ins and outs. I came away from the festival hugely satisfied and with the feeling that I had truly witnessed some really intimate, personal and thought-provoking encounters. Look out for Word of Warning’s final performance of the season with Stacy Makishi’s one-night only performance at Z-Arts on Friday, definitely will be worth a watch!

 

Literary daytrip: John Rylands Library

Not to be confused with Main Library on Oxford Road, that omen of essay deadlines, poverty inducing fines for late high demand books and passive aggressive queuing for computers which are being used exclusively for Facebook, John Rylands Library on Deansgate is a different affair entirely.

Located next to the sleek and modern Spinningfields, the imposing red brick Gothic building immediately transports you back to a more simple time, far from Snapchat and twerking, where the written word was highly respected. The cathedral-like interior of the library is all huge slabs of carved stone and stained glass windows, perfect for those never got over not receiving their Hogwarts letter.

John Rylands is a working library, although I’m not sure what the average student would do with the gorgeous leather bound volumes. However, there are rooms which can be used for study, and if a room could help you get a first, surely it would be this one, with its vaulted ceilings and hushed, reverent atmosphere.

The library also houses temporary exhibitions. These are small but of a mind-boggling range. The current main exhibition explores the work of 14th century Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio through different times, places and interpretations over the last 700 years. His book The Decameron was once banned for its ‘sexual depravity’, but during the 1930s was feted for its celebration of the erotic.

There is also a collection of British and French Romantic drawings and paintings from the 1700s and 1800s, many of which are reproductions from paintings currently hanging in the Louvre. The illustrations are divideed into themes such as ‘Sinister Figures Peeping In’ (decidedly creepy) and ‘Damsels in Distress’ and represent ‘a collaboration of painting and poetry’.

These exhibitions are joined by some wonderfully creepy curiosities known as ‘Morbid Miscellany’, which includes an actual pair of human eyes and a display about Polari, a gay slang language.

All in all the John Rylands Library is wonderful literary place to visit in the heart of the city, if not for the often changing and varied collections then for the fabulous building itself.

John Rylands Library, 150 Deansgate

Blind Date: Emily and Jonny

Emily – Third year, History of Art

First impressions?

He seemed and was a thoroughly nice guy!

What did you have to eat and drink?

Burgers and beer (keeping it classy).

Any awkward moments?

I was seriously nervous at the beginning, so that was incredibly awkward for me. After that, though, none at all. We’re both super chatty and confident so it was easy. We were there for 3 hours, which speaks for itself.

Is Jonny your usual type?

I don’t have one, so no. But he is the epitome of a nice Jewish boy!

Did you have much in common?

We both enjoy a laugh. Apart from that not that much but that makes for more interesting conversation.

Any secrets revealed?

Um… He likes Westlife! I don’t think it’s a secret, but it should be!

How did you say goodbye?

After tequila shots (not my idea) we had a friendly peck on the cheek.

Would you see Jonny again?

I will now I’ve found out how much free food the Jewish Society give out!

Marks out of ten?

Found my soul mate, wedding bells are clanging already 10. Mazel Tov!

 

Jonny – Third year, Economics

First impressions?

She seemed like a nice, pretty girl. Though, she was around 15 minutes late so I did have a fear of being the first guy ever to be stood up on Blind Date.

What did you have to eat and drink?

I had a spicy bean burger, chunky chips, some lager and a tequila shot at the end. Cheers Fallow!

Any awkward moments?

No – we were chatting for 2 and half hours straight! And she also seemed as if she could take a joke or two, so no awkward moments thankfully. Maybe the beginning was a little awkward, as she said she was pretty nervous and was mentioning warnings such as “falling asleep” or “passing out” during the date, so I thought this was going to be a slightly tough night initially.

Is Emily your usual type?

Fun and talkative is what I like, and she ticked those boxes.

Did you have much in common?

Other than being from London and loving dogs, not really. But that gives you more to talk about and more to learn.

Any secrets revealed?

I really can’t tell you now… Some things she told me are just not suitable for a student paper. Crazy stuff.

How did you say goodbye?

Got the digits, got the kiss on the cheek. Success.

Would you see Emily again?

Yeah, she’s cool to hang with.

Marks out of ten?

9, for the flowing conversation and great dinner. I’d say that’s a fair score!

Emily and Jonny went on their date at Fallow Café, 2A Landcross Road, Fallowfield, which has free music gigs and a quiz on Mondays.

10 foodie Christmas gifts

Housemates, coursemates, teammates and not to mention family means lots of presents! Why not be savvy and do a secret Santa agreeing an amount to spend put all your names in a hat and pull out the person you buy for- they might not be your favourite person in the world but hey look at the money saving! These are 10 original foodie treats for under £10 to impress and surprise your secret santa!

 

  1. Yoga-themed cookie cutters
    For the gym-bunny of your friends these cute cookie cutters come in poses from tree to warrier to downward facing dog perfect for baking after a workout.
    (£5.30 yummiyogi.com)
  2. Alternative Mince Pies
    Ditch the mince pies and have chocolate instead! Hotel Chocolat have decided to opt for layers of salted caramel and praline instead of mince meat- nothing wrong with being different! (6.50 Hotel Chocolat)
  3. Twinings Festive Infusion
    Camomile blended with rooibos and pears this limited edition loose tea is a sure way to keep you feeling warm in Winter. (6.50 for a tin)
  4. World’s Hottest Chilli Powders in a Matchbox
    Your housemate thinks they can handle the heat? Let them show off their chilli proficiency with this mini set of 5 chilli powders. The set also comes with 4 chilli fact cards- water not included but probably necessary. (£5 notonthehighstreet.com)
  5. Make-Your-Own-Sausage Kit
    Yes, you read that right… Containing seasoning, 4m sausage casing, instructions and a piping bag all they need to do is buy 1.5g of minced meat and 20 sausages can be created. Not for the squeamish. (£8.99 lakeland.com)
  6. Pack of 5 Message Beanstalk Seeds
    Plant your beans like an ordinary plant and watch them grow with messages etched on the side of them a novelty gift with the element of surprise. (£3 notonthehighstreet.com)
  7. Fudge Kitchen Fudge Sauce Duo
    Chocolate Fudge and Classic Toffee sauces ideal for topping over ice-cream, pancakes or stirring in hot chocolate. (£8.00 fudgekitchen.co.uk)
  8. Butler’s Grove Gift Bag with Santa’s Special Chutney and Rudolph Relish
    One is a mixed fruit and sherry recipe whilst the other is a spicy, crunchy carrot-style relish for the condiment fan in your life. (£7.15 amazon.co.uk)
  9. I Could Eat a Horse Spaghetti Measurer
    It’s always difficult to know how much you need isn’t it? This handy measuring tool helps decide what portion size you would like man, woman, child if you’re only feeling peckish and horse if you’re ravenous as this portion is for four! (£9, notonthehighstreet.com)
  10.  An Orange and alcohol
    You had to give them something; you know they’ll enjoy the alcohol and the orange might counterbalance this slightly.

Christmas Party Drinks

It’s nearly time to open the first chocolate in your advent calendar! It’s not just me who still gets one, right? And that means the sometimes dauntingly boozy festive season is upon us, but what the fuss can you rustle up in terms of Christmas party drinks, both boozy and non-boozy?  Beer and wine is all fine, but Christmas is the perfect opportunity to experiment with some different concoctions that warm the cockles when it’s wet, dark, and wet again.

Firstly, eggnog.  It’s taken me many of my years to erase the image of scrambled egg that comes in to my head whenever somebody says eggnog, and replace it with ideas of American families in Christmas jumpers having a shitty Christmas a la National Lampoon.  And what exactly is ‘nog’*?  Is it just a made up word to make a lousy non-rhyme with egg?  The important thing is that eggnog is basically custard with booze, and you can make it by doing this:

Put the following in a saucepan:

2 pints of milk, or a little less and make the rest up with cream, go on.

6 eggs

50g of caster sugar

Vanilla (essence, or pod if feeling fancy)

Heat all those bad boys up.  Then, pour in to drinking vessels.  Little Irish coffee mugs would be cute decorated with cocoa around the rim (dip rim in egg white and dip in cocoa) like a Pinterest dream, but mugs of the stuff will do.  Then add brandy if you would like booze.  You can experiment with different kinds of drink like cherry brandy, or maybe even fancy cordials if you want an alcohol free option.  Go wild, and don’t forget the Christmas jumper!

If the idea of that sweet eggy creamy stuff makes you want to hurl, have a bash at using refreshing Campari in your cocktails.  The 70s label is alone enough to make it feel like Christmas as there’s always a bottle at the back of the drinks cupboard that gets ransacked around the festive season.  The Telegraph suggests you drink Campari with Cava, but of course they do.  The less solvent amongst us can whip up an easy cocktail that is equal parts Campari, vermouth, Prosecco and some orange peel.  It feels a bit special, as it sparkles, and what better time to have some sparkling wine than party time.  You can also serve the above with it with lovely gin instead of Prosecco.

Finally, a hot drink which is more refreshing than the ‘nog: mulled gingery cider.  You can replace the alcohol with non-alcoholic counterparts for alcohol free deliciousness.  It’s also nice to have this in a big vat and serve in cute little tankards.  I love tiny tankards.

2 litres of cider (please don’t use Frosty Jacks, use apple juice for non-alcoholic version)

500ml alcoholic (or not) ginger beer

A couple of oranges, peeled and segmented, with the peel cut in to chunks

6 cinnamon sticks

6 star anise (Use less if you’re not keen of course, but a little does add a nice dimension)

12 cloves

A thumb’s worth of grated fresh ginger

Boil it all up in a pan.  The longer you boil, the less the alcohol content.

You can replace the booze component with wine and gin or wine and sloe gin.

I hope the above has given a few ideas for alternative party drinks that can’t help but make you feel Christmassy and cosy.

*So apparently, the nog is either from noggin, which meant a small wooden mug used to serve drink, or from egg ‘n’ grog, merged in to eggnog.  Mystery solved.

Classics digested: The Old Man and the Sea

WHO is the author?

A war veteran, Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) was one of the finest writers of the 20th century. As a reporter, he was the most prominent advocate of the Iceberg Theory, and he maintained his minimalistic approach in his fiction. He believed strongly that the value of a story resides in the beauty of its depth rather than the luster of its surface. The Old Man and the Sea was published in 1952 and was Hemingway’s most celebrated work, with a Pulitzer Prize (1953) and a Nobel Prize (1954) attesting to that fact. It was also the last novel published before his suicide in 1961.

WHAT is it about?

Santiago is an old fisherman who has gone 84 days without catching a fish. His luck is considered so abysmal that even his young protégé, Manolin, is forbidden by his parents to continue seeing the old man. On the 85th day, Santiago decides to go even further out at sea, determined to break his unlucky streak. Soon enough, a fish takes to his bait. Santiago immediately realises that he is dealing with no small or ordinary fish. It is a majestic marlin. The Old Man and the Sea is the story of the days Santiago spends at sea trying to catch this worthy adversary and the events that unfold thereafter.

WHY should you read it?

A tale of passion, perseverance and faith, The Old Man and the Sea is a gem of American literature. Aside from the fact that it is a well crafted and beautifully written book, Hemingway’s novel will give you hope on the somber days. There will be a time, a darker time, where nothing will seem to be going your way. In this realm of despair you will close your eyes and think of a simpler time, a time where an old man on his boat carried you through the ignominy of previous setbacks to the lights of glory.

Classic quote

“ ‘But man is not made for defeat,’ he said. ‘A man can be destroyed but not defeated.’ ”