A typical Sunday morning in a small town brings the usual amateurs out to play in the Sunday League matches with the usual clutter of spectators and volunteer officials. On this occasion the linesman is particularly busy as he weaves his way endlessly up and down the line, changing the direction of play and avoiding spectators, players and managers who get in his way.
This short film was screened by BBC4 recently as part of a season about dance. In fitting into this season it deserves credit for showing dance in a contemporary setting and using it in a way that avoids snobbery and pretension in the way that the more "select" arts can often carry themselves. However while I give it credit for daring to be different, I'm afraid the film itself is not that good. It is only ten minutes long but yet it drags in the middle anyway thanks to the fact that the action is quite samey. At the end we get ourselves a punch line which is quite amusing but it is a tiny part of a lot of movement.
It is not rubbish of course because it does have merit but too much of the movement is quite ordinary and the touches used to make it more definable as "dance" are not that interesting either. It is a shame because with more creation and flair it could have been fun and engaging but really it is only a smidgen of both. The linesman himself moves well but the material lets him down. Maybe another idea for a project would be the players themselves? Not only would the numbers provide scope for interaction and plot, but one watch of any Premiership match these days will show moves through the air of more creation and conviction than were in this film. A nice idea but it doesn't pull it off convincingly.
This short film was screened by BBC4 recently as part of a season about dance. In fitting into this season it deserves credit for showing dance in a contemporary setting and using it in a way that avoids snobbery and pretension in the way that the more "select" arts can often carry themselves. However while I give it credit for daring to be different, I'm afraid the film itself is not that good. It is only ten minutes long but yet it drags in the middle anyway thanks to the fact that the action is quite samey. At the end we get ourselves a punch line which is quite amusing but it is a tiny part of a lot of movement.
It is not rubbish of course because it does have merit but too much of the movement is quite ordinary and the touches used to make it more definable as "dance" are not that interesting either. It is a shame because with more creation and flair it could have been fun and engaging but really it is only a smidgen of both. The linesman himself moves well but the material lets him down. Maybe another idea for a project would be the players themselves? Not only would the numbers provide scope for interaction and plot, but one watch of any Premiership match these days will show moves through the air of more creation and conviction than were in this film. A nice idea but it doesn't pull it off convincingly.