Tweed-Chap
A glorious hypnotic travelogue through the industrial landscapes of Britain. Beautifully shot with a static camera, and gently narrated by Paul Schofield; who would have thought that scenes of lorries driving into distribution centres could be so visually charming?The journey begins in Reading and ends in Newcastle upon Tyne with stops at travel lodges, shopping centres and factories mixed with the occasional cultural or historic location. It's also an excellent snapshot of the political climate of the time.We never get to see Robinson or the narrator on their journey, but by the end of the film we feel as though we've learnt a bit about them along with a side of Britain we usually try to ignore.
blackest_knight-1
I caught this film on french satellite TV after being woke rather too early. it was my intent to go back to bed but this film had me hooked and I just had to watch to the end. Robinson dan l'espace it said on the epg and so I searched for and found the DVD and the earlier film London as a box set.I can only tell you how this film held me gripped in fascination the film has a hypnotic quality that resonates. It is strange unlike anything I had ever seen before. I wanted to be able to stop the film and call my friends and share this experience with them. The Narrators comments revealed hidden secrets to a country I grew up in. Some places I had visited in the past as I travelled the country as a contractor most were a revelation.This is not my kind of film. It is something I would not choose to watch but I felt like I should be making notes, investigating further. I missed the beginning and desperately want to see the whole film. Most of my friends are not native to this island and this film is something I know we will watch together repeatedly. It is a film that inspires it's not a tourist board view of England It's like the most intense briefing you could have of a country. I would be fascinated to see similar films made within different countries.This film definitely has a wow factor that deserves a bigger audience. The only disappointment is that the DVD versions I have found do not have subtitles in any language which seems to be poor judgement on the part of the publishers.
gray4
This is a lovely film, narrated perfectly by Paul Scofield. Robinson and the narrator take seven tours of the English provinces, emulating Defoe's tours two centuries ago. You never see the travellers but they discover an awful lot about England that you probably never wanted to know - but are never boring. The superbly shot scenes of a changing industrial landscape are largely still - frozen in the 1990s and already remarkably dated, so that the film is already nostalgic, though only seven years old at the time of viewing. The commentary gives a detached perspective on England's industrial decline, as well as the occasional - and odd - glimpse into Robinson's private life and the mysterious company employing them to make these journeys on what might be a weird form of industrial espionage. The overall effect is to provide a strikingly different perspective on landscape, history and those who travel through them - a great success and all too short at 80 minutes.
Mansilla
Robinson in Space is a contemporary interpretation of the wanderings of Daniel Defoe around Britain. Robinson and his Companion travel around to places of industrial note, both past and present. In this sense it is travelogue, but it is so much more.The Commentary notes major developments in the country, and makes dry comment on the state of the nation and its Industry. This film visits both the empty Warehouses of Manchester and the New factories of the Midlands. It can almost be regarded as an essay on Britain in the mid 1990's.Many have described this film as egocentric and boring, and I can see why. It is shot almost entirely as stills, there is no acting, and there are no characters beyond the commentary. However to me this was a refreshing piece of film making. It was incredibly well observed, and comes pretty close to defining what it is to live in this country. I suspect, however, that for anyone who lives outside the UK this will just be boring, you have to be able to relate to the places on the screen.However, if this appeals even slightly take the opportunity to see this film, before its forgotten. I loved it, and I will never forget it.
AD
