O Dreamland

Lindsay Anderson's 11 minute documentary on Margate's amusement park captures the vast emptiness of postwar life in, yes, Britain, but also elsewhere throughout the Western world. The cheap venues for entertainment leave the park's patrons lifeless. Lots of gaudy, cheap spectacle proliferates but the visitors walk around like zombies. Even the mannequins at some exhibits possess more "life" than do real people.

Anderson's film is an indictment of modern culture. It's also an angry indictment of a supine population of English working people, willing to accept such a mediocre form of existence. But ultimately the movie generates a feeling of sadness for those same people. Their sense of community has been torn asunder and in its place the modern world only offers anonymity, glitz, lights, loud sounds, and badly made fast food.

As strong a statement today as when it was made in the early 1950s.

O Dreamland (1953)

*** (out of 4)

I've read several reviews of Lindsay Anderson's documentary that takes a look at the Margate's amusement park and it seems a lot of different people see a lot of different things in it. I've read reviews stating that the director was taking a cynical look at post-war entertainment where people were pretty much forced into cheap entertainment that made them morons. I've read reviews stating that this was just a travelogue to show people what great fun they could have at Margate's. I've even read a few who thought the film was just meant to show what type of fun you could have now that the war was over. There are so many different theories on the film that it's easy to say everyone is going to take away something different. For me I'd say the best thing going for the picture was its editing. I really liked the way the various images were put together and I thought there was a terrific flow to them. I really liked the way Anderson would just show people walking around in a haze and then give us a scene of something fun. Be it on of the shows going on or the various rides. I fall well below calling this a masterpiece but it's certainly an interesting little curio that film buffs should enjoy.

Enjoyable short feature, a wry look at the British seaside resort of Margate in the 1950's, when it was a shining beacon in the world of British theme parks. Director Anderson captures expressions and everyday incidents in loving detail, and while this isn't as memorable as, for instance, Jean Vigo's A PROPOS DE NICE, it's an interesting nostalgia piece for those who care about the country or the era.

I enjoyed this on two levels. First of all, it showed us the numbness of the Western people. Obviously, the camera captured people in an almost catatonic way. This is an "amusement" park. Hardly anyone seems to be amused. Even the normally titillating freak shows and man's inhumanity to man don't seem to grab anyone. If anything, they seem to embrace the malaise of the people. Also, I was a little boy when these shows were available. I did the rides. I played the games. I saw Hitler's dead body in a sideshow. O Dreamland is such a great title.