Robinson In Ruins

Astonishing and beautiful, but watch Robinson in Space first, and London, if you can. A wonderful ans refreshing look at England by one of the country's finest film makers.

Another fascinating, beautiful, elucidating and thought-provoking film by Patrick Keiller. Vanessa Redgrave does an excellent job with the narration, but she doesn't quite succeed in achieving the droll tone of Paul Scofield in the two earlier films. I think I would have enjoyed the films more (if that is possible) by watching this one first, then 'London', 'then Robinson in Space'.

a strangely riveting film. i'll confess that i was frequently bored but eager to hear the next nugget of the voice over, the next fragment of a reality hidden from view. and the film footage was more like stills but with a bit of movement in them which was weirdly peaceful.

i liked it.

well worth watching but not if you're itching for strong narrative pro any action sequences

A return, after 14 years away, of one of the most idiosyncratic and thoughtful film makers Britain has ever produced.

Patrick Keiller's first two features introduced the unseen character of Robinson (also the name of a messianic anti-hero in a Chris Petit novel), a vaguely louche flaneur who traverses the lesser known areas of the country attempting to piece together a true picture of the deficiencies of modern Britain. Paul Scofield's knowing, ironic, ever so slightly camp narration brought Keiller's static, carefully composed images to life: the combination created an intriguing, penetrating and unique look at the state of the country in the mid to late nineties.

This time, newly released from prison, Robinson has been investigating Oxfordshire, filming its combination of secret military sites, historic locations, abandoned buildings, supermarkets, wheat fields, and a variety of flora and fauna. His footage, left in a caravan, has been found and pieced together by a research company that Robinson has been in touch with. The head of the company (Vanessa Redgrave) provides commentary on the footage, attempting to communicate what she thinks Robinson meant with his images. Her narration links recent military history, sixteenth century civil disobedience, the recent banking crisis, wheat yields and questions of ecology - to name just a few topics covered.

Stylistically, little has changed. Long long holds on flowers and fields as they move and sway in the breeze, on butterflies and combine harvesters and spiders as they all go about their business, while on the soundtrack, we either have silence or a rather doddery Redgrave giving us details of stock market collapses and the nefarious shenanigans of the American military. Somehow, the film seems to say, we all survive, despite our best efforts to initiate an apocalypse.

Reading some of the other reviews of the film on this site - 'Is this a joke?' 'Like watching paint dry' etc makes you wonder how renters make their choices - you might as well complain that Michael Bay films aren't complex studies of guilt and obsession amidst subsistence farmers in the Middle Ages. Having said that - 'Robinson in Ruins' is drier and feels like more of a lecture than its predecessors, and Redgrave, though a relevant choice for her politics, does not have the charm and character that Scofield brought to the 'role'.

Still it makes for a triptych of films as stimulating and oddly beautiful as any in British cinema.

Is this film a joke?. Seemed like a joke!, a very dull & uninteresting one at that.

This film really doesn't have the quirky or artistic edge some might want you to think it has.

The narrative also lacks any remarkable substance or meaning.

Have found much better material produced by Amateurs on user generated free video sites...

Seriously, Don't Bother!.