London: The Modern Babylon

This is a wonderful, kaleidoscopic and quirky portrait of the city of which one can never tire. The past 100 years are presented in roughly chronological order, but with ample allusions that tie contemporary events to those of the past. The message is clear: London is not its monuments, its parks or even its history, but rather its people. And what a diverse, determined and fascinating people they are. Temple does a masterful job in putting the widest possible range of London on display: from the race riots that have permeated the city's modern history to the jazz and gay clubs of Soho, from the dockyard workers to the City bankers, from Brixton to Mayfair. In the two hours that sweep by so quickly, you feel like you have yourself lived through a century of what, you become convinced, is the world's most remarkable and resilient metropolis. The editing of the film, both visually and musically, is brilliant, with connections and juxtapositions made boldly and, just as often, subtly. The technique of using London's extensive closed circuit camera system as a unifying device is both effective and subversive: you frequently feel like you are a voyeur, intruding on some of the most personal moments while being propelled unrelentingly forward. I saw several films at TIFF this year, many with a lot more buzz, but in the end this is the one that will stay with me the longest and the one that I really look forward to seeing again.

The director said he had 6000hrs of footage to watch and as I watched the film at TIFF I felt that he was bogged down. Ironically footage was repeated! If you have that much, why would you show it more than once. Early footage fascinating. Film lost me post WW2 to 1980s then picked up again. Got confusing at times and jumped around. Expected focus on 1960s, such an amazing time for pop culture in London but instead the film focused on political side. No mention of the Beatles, realize they are from Liverpool but having British family I know they had a huge impact on those in London. Old woman stole the show! I wish she had narrated the film and taken us through the 100yrs.

Who better to make a chronicled history of modern London, as a Londoner himself and maker of some fine music-related films, such as Glastonbury and Oil City Confidential. Not as flashy as might have been and certainly far from being a regimented classroom of events in an ordered manner, his style is always interesting, witty and diverse. Nearly always using footage from the past century, his aim is to show the wealth of culture, music, money, the docks, immigrants and of course, the people that live alongside each other and make the whole city what it is and what it has become. Michael Gambon narrates throughout and there's a lovely, friendly 106 year old lady who was nine at the outbreak of WW1. She eloquently engages us with a personal history lesson that is both ordinary - and extraordinary. All the landmarks in my rather more limited living memory that affected London and often the whole country were all there, plus a lot more I didn't know of, or had forgotten. Never shying away from the uglier elements, from the riots of last summer, the IRA & 7-7-2005 bombings to abject poverty Temple contrasts these with Royal Weddings and the brighter side, such as the bright lights of the West End and culturally flavoursome areas like Soho. Anecdotes from musicians and poets, politicians and workers, many black, Chinese and Asian add to the recipe. London 2012 Olympics are mentioned at the end, though, this film is stated as being made in 2012, we only hear of the announcement of London winning the bid. I think that this will appeal to Londoners equally to us others, who occasionally visit and usually see an intentional shop window of a London designed to whitewash us rather. The changing face of London's landmarks is always fascinating, as vintage footage as well as feature films such as The Blue Lamp and The Long Good Friday. Running at just over 2 hours, a lot goes on with many images and interesting subjects to digest. It's impossible to recall them all, now, just minutes after seeing it on BBC2, where it premiered. It's also impossible to think how the film could be made better, until someone actually does, we won't know! With occasional strong language and nudity, which gives it its '15' rating, the whole film is a good balance between edgy pop video and straight- laced old-style BBC. Few will find offence and most will be sufficiently entertained. Popular music from obvious sources such as The Clash and the Sex Pistols are an expected and suitably used throughout. The main thrust has to be the element in its title, that London now, is the new Babylon. With some 300 languages spoken now, a population where 40% were born overseas has culminated in a treasure chest but of course, has created its own problems. But, the general conclusion seems to be that from all that London has gone through, from the Blitz to the riots, it survives and somehow gets stronger.