FEATURE LIST
almost to opcn your hcart and rcspond to thc story as it al‘lccts you in thc contcxt ot your own lit‘c. or politics or scxuality. In thc duictcst part ol thc lilm. thc passagc ol photographs showing Bruno and .‘ylarictta‘s loycmaking. thcrc‘sa scnsc iii which cycryonc is askcd to rcyicw thcir own loyc cxpcricncc .‘ 'l‘hat thc attdicncc tilm rclationship is similar to that ot' thc circlc ot
‘- listcncrs in thc airport loungc to thc
story thcy arc hcaring. onc not only ol rcccption hut also ol participation. hcars out Bcrgcr and \cat‘sccntral notion that culture or cultural actiyity is a communal construction.
the lattcr'ssixtccn ycarsot lccturing in art history at thc college in Dundcc has conyinccd him that ‘so much art hcing produccd is egotistical. 'I‘hc grcat thing is for artists to cxprcss thcmsclycs. to gct somc disturhcd pcculiar individuality into thcir work. So then you cnd up with a View ot‘ art that divides the yisionary creator t'rom his audicncc. or separates thc cinema autcur trom his y icwcrs. I hope that this t‘ilm quictly argttcs that art is
l
ahout thc communion ol' thc various partics inyolycd. that it‘s ahout communicating hctwccn pcoplc.‘ lndccd. Play My .S‘onii'tliiiiu drawing its idcntity lrom thc comhination ol thc Ncat. Bcrgcr and .‘ylohr contrihutions. and rctiuiring tor its linal lruition thc actiyc contrihution ol thc audicncc. is a lucid cmhodimcnt olthc kind ol' Marxian-oricntatcd cultural thcorics that hayc hccn significant in Bcrgcr's work as art critic and author (his Booker-winning 1972 noycl (i is rcgardcd as onc Ul thc most signiticant hooks of thc Scycntics).
For some \‘icwcrs hcrc in Scotland thc sight ol' Bcrgcr narrating in his slightly t'orcign—sounding Iinglish acccnt will undouhtcdly prompt thc qucstion Just /l()lt' Scottish is this film." \Vcll. 'l‘imothy \cat's past work as a documcntarist. including 1984’s Hui/(11g. a study ot' thc poetry and landscapc ot' Sorlcy Maclcan. and his 1%‘7 TNT of Liberty. which cxplorcd thc songs ot‘ Robert Burns (hoth pi‘ojccts supported hy thc Scottish Film Production Iriund). is conccrncd with thc rcprcscntatiott on lilm ot‘L‘cltic culturc.
‘You can gct a good picturc ol ancicnt \lcditcrrancan culturcs lrom thcir physical rcmains. hut it docsn‘t work that way with ( ‘clticculturcf hc c\pl;tltts. ‘hccausc it‘s morc ahout a litcsty lc. a human intcraction ol music. song and story. You might say that thc gi'catcst work olart that thc llighlandcrs produccd is tltctttsclycs. th. ol all thc arts. thc cincma is thc onc most suitcd to capturing an cntirc lil'cstylc. and so I rcaliscd that it would hayc t‘cal potcntial in rcprcscnting and spcaking lot this basis ol(‘clticculturc.‘ It may not look it at lirst. hut its cxamination ol storytclling and song makcs May We something a tundamcntally Scottish l‘ilm.
.‘ylorcoycr. it addrcsscs thc crucial issuc of thc sttt‘yiy al ot thc particular. rcgional. rural. oral-hascd culturc within thc contcxt ol' thc incrcasingly samcy multinational urhan culturc that‘s gcncratcd and sustaincd by our mass communications tcchnologics. ot' w hich thc cincma is olcoursc an clcmcnt. \cat‘s statcmcnt that tilm is thc pct‘lcct mcdium tor giying yoicc to (‘cltic
songsandstoricshastohchalanccd l (/t’tut/N
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The evocative work oi noted Swiss stills photographerJean Mohrisincorporated into the narrative texture of “Play Me Something'. His evocative views of Venice (tarright and below) bringingto tocusthe storytold bytrequent collaboratorJohn Berger. pictured left. hard at workwiththe tilm‘s bare-chested Scots directorTimothy Neat. The work otJean MohrandJohn Bergercan betound togetherin ‘A Fortunate Man'. published by Granta. £6.99in paperback.
hy thc lact that his work pat'ticipitcs inthccntcrtainmcntsindustricstliat arc rcsponsihlc lor l“c;llttlll§; in thc samc productiiin~lincol manul'acturcd songs i l '5 pop pap) andstoricstthcuniycisal l'\'so;ips) to thc wholc ol \\ cstctn l'utopc.
It‘s lrom this tiucstion that /’/ii\ We
Something dcri‘scs its l‘uropcan dimcnsion. .lohn lici'gct”s story within thc lilm takcs thc c\.iniplc ol thc mountain i‘cgton ol not lltc't'tt
Italy. hut thc sury iy al ol rcgional oral
culturcs in a post-oral communications world isas t‘clcyattt to (‘atalonia l hcncc thc lilm‘s w arm rcccption in lfiarcclona l as it is to thc Scottish Islands. l‘hus. tltc ostciisihly intcrnationalist lllltl that‘s actually a (chic piccc ttl \Mtt'ls'. ltttt'ttcsscs its
Scottishncss to L‘XLtlIIlllL‘ thc conccrns
that hcsct most ol lzuropc. lhcrc's a rich scam ltct'c lot thosc prcparcd to minc it.
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