Madame Deficit Considers Scottish Indepence

Bon jour...Mes amis écossais.... today you say whether you wish to be independent of the jolly old UK.
I do not blame you for considering it.
But it is really Westminster you do object to, non?
Believe me Celtic friends... or perhaps it is... Gaelic friends... many of us in the hedonistic south do also feel that Westminster is an isle unto itself. If you succeed in becoming independent....Can we be too? And just leave Westminster to get on with life by itself which is to say.... independently?
Alors....We shall see what you decide soon.

Just one moment, though. Perhaps if you say "Yes"... you would consider admitting an immigrant? I find that I have Scottish "baker" blood in two strands of my illustrious ancestry.
So.... I can bring plenty of cake.
Please?

Travels With My Film-Life: Glasgow And Beyond With Ken Loach's "The Angels' Share"

The Old Man and I do spend some time in Ken Loach's Scotland with a "heart-warmer" as people do so like to call these things.... "The Angels' Share"

Robbie is a street savvy Glasgow guy who's had more than a few brushes with the law. But now he's going to be a father and things have to change. How can you manage that when people have it in for you and you're down the bottom of the pile? Luck, brains, a helping hand and a gift he doesn't know he possesses - a gift for whisky knowledge.

What follows is a journey that is a crime caper taking Robbie and his friends from some of the meanest squalid bits of Glasgow to the distillery delights of the Highlands..... It's a Ken Loach fairy tale and therefore quite "grim" in parts.

A great film... be prepared for getting to grips with the Scots lingo...
Here's a trailer with the usual gruff American voice-over.....

Sunday Night Is "Les Revenants" Night...

The Old Man still not be too sure about "The Returned" on Channel 4... but I think the suspense and unease is building nicely.

Soundtrack by Scottish band Mogwai is available on download or CD etc.
...... for just when you think it's all over!
(Found this snippet and links on that new Lumi thing.)

R.I.P. lain Banks

Sad to hear of the early death of writer Iain Banks.

I discovered his science fiction in particular ... which he wrote under the name Iain M Banks. To be precise I discovered his Culture Series. Grand Space Opera. OK... not always even.... but in these books Banks shows his ironic humour. His is an imagination to savour.

A detail from the series ... the ships' names. The space ships are AI beings and as such they are often characters in their own right with names that reflect their personalities. How can you resist craft with names like "Poke It With A Stick", "Charming But Irrational", "What Are The Civilian Applications?" and "Yawning Angel".....?

For an exhausting and exhaustive list of craft names from the Culture series... click here.

Chomet's THE ILLUSIONIST (2010) official trailer

Animated Discussions: When Tati Is Animated As "The Illusionist"

So having come so late to the films of  Jacques Tati... it may not be surprising that I do enjoy Sylvain Chomet's hand-drawn animated feature film "The Illusionist" less than his earlier film "Belleville Rendez-vous" (aka "The Triplets of Bellville"). But I do watch a clip again and see that not only is it based on a script by Tati - it be true homage to Tati. The portrayal of Tati as The Illusionist is wonderful.

You can read a Daily Telegraph interview (complete with film clip) with Chomet here.

And you can read my summary of the earlier "Belleville Rendez-vous" here.

Here endeth my discussion of Tati...

Never Mind The Sheep - Back To Crime

OK. Brushing aside the brioche crumbs and sheep's wool...
I'm back to say that I do catch up with and greatly enjoy Tuesday's episode in BBC One's "Imagine" series: "Ian Rankin and the Case of the Disappearing Detective". Amongst other things it takes us through Rankin's writing process and his decision to bring Rebus back from retirement by following his writing of "Standing in Another Man's Grave"  from day one of draft one through to the book's completion.

I do very much enjoy watching this process and observe that an experienced and successful writer may still undergo that dreadful see-saw of doubt and satisfaction that accompanies creative activities. "Page 65" is apparently the tipping point. I just know the middle of making something is Doomsday.... but my efforts are largely confined to lino-cuts. Not quite such public acts of doubt then.

And of course while on the subject of crime thrillers - whatever Rankin may think about Scandinavian crime - a nation of fans is standing at the ready for the third and final series of "The Killing" due to take off with a double episode on our telly screens - BBC Four Saturday Nov 17th 21.00.