Return to Waterloo

Ray Davies' Return To Waterloo should stand up in British culture at least as high as The Who's Tommy and even Pink Floyd's The Wall.

The saying " the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation" Has always been specifically applied to the British middle classes, and never more so that to Ken Colley's rendition of the Traveller, continuing his daily pilgrimage to Waterloo, to his Estate Agent's Job in the centre of London, despite his possible mental breakdown , or the more disturbing realisation that he may ( or may not ) be the sought after Surrey Rapist.

Like any Rock Opera, what makes this production is the quality of the songs, from the kids at the platform mickying "ladder of success," to the hauntingly beautiful ( and tearfullly sad ) "Have you seen this face" Davies manages to keep many possibilities and happenstances open, until you are unsure if what you are seeing from the Traveller is a collection of morning train daydreams, the visions of a fast decaying mind, or guilt aligning itself to reality and cognisance and the necessary reparations.

Pete

A splendid musical drama which reflects on the fantasies and frustrations of suburban commuter Ken Colley. It's certainly a film which has to be watched several times but you don't have to be a Kinks fan to appreciate it, because the music narrates the story. We are left to wonder whether Ken Colley as the commuter is undergoing a nervous breakdown or whether he is immersed in fantasy. We get a picture of a man who's daughter has run away from home. He is cheating on his wife and someone who has lost his job but is pretending to still have one by sitting in Hyde Park all day and coming home at the regular time. Childhood dreams and aspirations of success when younger have not materialised and our commuter realises he is a faceless non entity who has reached the pinnacle of his career and escapes into fantasy to alleviate the mundaneness of existence.

This film very haunting, especially the songs, (which are not available on any Kinks album. The actors are brilliant, especially Tim Roth as the young punk, he takes on a very powerful role in the film. The script is good as well, it is sometimes scary, sometimes funny. Overall I think this film is fantastic.

The ambiguity of everything in this film is its hook and its fascination.

The Traveller *may* be a serial rapist. He *may* be an incestuous child abuser. He *may* be unemployed but pretending to still have a job. And so on.

And Ray isn't telling; we have to decide for ourselves.

Ray Davies is, after all, the man who wrote "Lola" -- the song whose whole meaning turns on the listener's interpretation of one of the most ambiguous sentences ever written in the English language.

Many of the songs from the film -- in different arrangements -- are to be found on the Kinks' "Word of Mouth" album. There is also a "Return" soundtrack album -- good luck finding a copy.