ROBINSON IN SPACE
A film review by Martin Rich
Copyright 1997 Martin Rich
'Robinson in Space' is an off-beat, literary, view of England - with a very brief excursion into France and Belgium - through the eyes of two men taking part in a curious, enigmatic, survey. It's hardly mainstream cinema, but is a very perceptive account of England's changing landscape, or what might be termed a post-industrial economy.
Its director Patrick Keiller established the style with the film 'London' three years ago. As with 'London' the two characters are the explorer, Robinson, and an un-named narrator, and as before we see neither of them and only hear the voice of the narrator, played by Paul Schofield. Robinson, formerly an art lecturer, is now teaching in Reading; we are never quite told the reasons but his first survey apparently made him enough enemies to drive him out of London.
Robinson is preoccupied by literary references - especially those to Daniel Defoe: presumably the name Robinson is derived from Robinson Crusoe. Early in the film, the references to writers comme thick and fast - along with a few other topics such as world-war 2 aicraft, and the substance Buckminster-Fullerine.
Robinson has a keen eye for the surreal, and for signs of a country no longer the industrial power that it once was. Early in the film we see customers waiting outside a record shop to meet Adam Ant. Later, the Queen is opening a new plant - built by the Korean company Samsung. Coal, once such an important natural resource, is now imported from South Africa.
True, there are times when the narrator appears too preoccupied with the facts and figures of Britain's industrial decline - and some more literary allusions would lighten the tone. But it's a thought-provoking and very individual film - essentially a documentary but one which gently draws us into its own view of life.
But maybe it's not as literary as it seems, and maybe the name isn't really taken from Daniel Defoe. Robinson and Keiller (the director's name) are both makes of marmalade. Surely this is no coincidence...
-- Martin Rich Phone(0171) 477 8627 Fax(0171) 477 8628 Lecturer in Information Management, City University Business School Frobisher Crescent, Barbican Centre, London EC2Y 8HB, UK M.G.Rich@city.ac.uk http://www.city.ac.uk/martin
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