Rightly or wrongly cited as 'the greatest TV show ever made about dance culture' this made for television documentary made a huge impact in the UK when it was first shown. Certainly it did capture an accurate snapshot of a moment in the history of the music scene - a moment when a small, typically British, hedonistic sub-culture - namely acid house - began to cross over on its way to becoming a remarkably enduring and potent force.
'A Short Film About Chilling' was filmed in Ibiza in 1990 just before that island exploded into the worldwide consciousness as the spiritual home of club culture. It followed a group of DJ's, bands and clubbers intent on 'losing it' in the island's legendary nightclubs which are described by one wag in the film as being like "Disneyland for the club-goer". Since then the island has gone on to become a rights of passage summer destination for a generation of young people from around the world and the film was, for a time, repeated on a seemingly regular cycle on British TV as well as often being programmed in cultural retrospectives and name-checked in all the right books on British youth culture .
Stylistically the film (which was apparently photographed by the cameraman who went on to shoot 'Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels') accurately reflects the timeless vibe of the island at that time. It seems a bit creaky in places by today's standards but this film is refreshingly free of any angle or, worse still, the obligatory patronising narration which seems to accompany youth tv nowadays. This film was definitely something of a yardstick by which other youth television was and should be gauged.
It is amazing how out of date house music can sound but what is entertaining is spotting the faces of future super-models, star DJ's, designers and popstars among the motley crowds featured raving or chilling at the now legendary Café del Mar.
Definitely recommended.
