Masterful Movie

Absolutely the worst movie.

A Masterpiece!

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Terence Davies used to be an actor and narrates this film as well as directing it. The film is a mixture of archive footage set with music, songs, poetry, speeches and narration, some of it set with a bombastic tone by Davies.The start is interesting as it reflects his childhood Liverpool, the post war years which also mirrors its industrial decline. You feel the power of the Catholic church and as Davies gets older his burgeoning feelings of homosexuality causes conflict with his religious belief and guilt for having feelings that would not only bring spiritual damnation but which was also illegal at a time he was growing up.Over time mores and laws change and his love of song and pop music gives way to a keen interest in classical music. As with these films where they use archive clips, your interest is not always sustained and the narrative focus is lost. Thankfully Davies does not emit faux nostalgia for The Beatles whose presence in clips is thankfully short but there is little about the rise of Liverpool football club from the 1960s which leads me to presume he does not like football or supports Everton!As an irregular visitor to Liverpool since the early 1970s when I was a kid, this is a city whose changes I have seen with my own eyes whether its been bad or good. As he reaches that time period I began to feel the Liverpool I remember and especially its agitation politics diverts from his vision of the city.Davies has no time for the Royal Family and the Pope but he is also starts distancing from his home city but what did he think about the mess of the 1980s and the rise of the Militant Tendency? Its something I wished that was dwelt on more but of course by that time he switched from acting and became a director and his life went on a different turn.

This film is a subjective essay, and if you like the Church, the Pope, and the Queen and enjoy a stereotypical view of a green and pleasant post-war Britain, then it probably isn't for you. The realities of slum terraces and the tenement blocks that replaced them are here refreshingly and honestly celebrated by someone with the wit and wisdom to look beneath the usual, superficial glazing of nostalgia that makes some people think that we're living in a Britain now that is broken in comparison to the good old days. The truth is exposed time and time again through these images, and the accompanying words and music. It covers the period from the time when polishing the doorstep was a back-breaking social necessity, up to the 1980's by which time the poor in Britain's cities were expunged of any remaining dregs of social interaction and when the new tenements - built to replace the slums - were already falling into slums themselves. In focusing on one city, and one set of memories, the film successfully captures an essence of place that goes beyond Liverpool. Its subheading is "a love song and a eulogy", but this simply conveys the way in which this film evokes emotion. In truth, this 'visual symphony of rhythmic images' is nothing less than a stunning work of art.

I'm usually a patient viewer who has no problem with films in which nothing much happen. In this case, however, I was expecting a more traditional memoir in which the director tells a personal story. What I got was a series of images and music (classical and vintage popular songs) interspersed with a sparse narration of quotes, anecdotes, and philosophical ramblings.It's supposed to be a lyrical visual poem evoking the director's repressed homosexual youth in an industrial hell. To me, however, it was just a bunch of random images screaming "Look here. This is Art! ART!" I guess that one man's masterpiece is another man's boring, self-indulgent, pretentious twaddle.

Terence Davies's documentary "Of Time and the City" should be considered as more of a cinematic poem. This can be a very irritating thing, and Davies does not make it all the way through the film without falling into self-indulgence. However, he does construct a quite beautiful piece of cinema.This is flawless in areas. Davies's selection of music and images is impeccable, and his voice is a delight to listen to. As a result, a number of sequences are joyous to experience. The slice of the Korean War combined with "He ain't heavy, he's my brother" by The Hollies is my particular favourite. Davies is also, at times, devilishly funny. His description of the coronation of Elizabeth II as the beginning of the "Betty Windsor Show" raised a good laugh from the audience in my screening, and there are many other lines like it.Davies is at times profound. His own personal writing about his awakening sexuality and the Roman Catholic Church is very interesting and honest. However, as he repeats the formula of poetic monologue leading on to music sequence time after time, he becomes less interesting and more self-indulgent.Although this is a short film (clocking in at about an hour and a quarter), boredom could prove to be a problem. Nevertheless, this is an impressive and beautiful film. It isn't perfect, nor is it a masterpiece, but it is head and shoulders above many other films and an enjoyable experience.