"Finisterre", described by its directors as a "psycho geographical
drama", takes us on an imaginary 24-hour journey through London. The
pop group St. Etienne and directors Kelly and Evans seem united in
their love for London. Add to this the thoughtful and ethereal voices
of carefully chosen commentators (such as Julian Opie) and the familiar
sound of narrator Michael Jayston and "Finisterre" surely becomes one
of the most successful creative collaborations in London cinema. But
this film is not just for Londoners; anyone who lives in an area of
change and redevelopment must surely empathize with the sequences of
re-building and demolition that punctuate the film, forming an
important record of one of the city's many transitional phases. But
further to this idea of place, the film also explores people,
encapsulated most memorably in a moving sequence where the bald-faced
and intimidating faces of estate buildings are inter-cut with the more
expressive and friendly faces of the people that live there, poignantly
expressing the complex relationship between London and Londoners. The
editing is superb and the St. Etienne soundtrack dictates the rhythm
and pace of the film. Directors Kelly and Evans must have spent months
filming as the continuity fits together like a perfect jigsaw leaving
you with the feeling that, rather than having watched an imaginary day
in the city, you have actually lived it. Buy this film.