Edith Walks

So, spacetime is a 4D solid, which gives some people the impression that the past is somehow closer, more here, than if they think of space as 3D and time as another independent dimension. This is pants. Think of a one dimensional line passing through the universe - and someone within that line says, there is a second dimension, creating a "plane", which is fair enough. But it is not fair enough to claim that all the infinite things in the 2nd dimension seem "closer" to the line just because you understand that it is there.

The past is not here, and neither is the future. They are as distant and untouchable as a 4th "spatial" dimension.

The problem for the artistic sensibility is that we all lives our lives in time, experiencing for ourselves "now" continuously throughout our lives. And, we know about history, and can predict the future. But this does not make 1066 close, any more than a point on the plane is close to the line.

OK, added to all the cod philosophy beloved by middle-aged men is a terrible film.

I truly wish I could like this piece better. As a postgrad medieval studies student, I was excited by the idea of a film engaging with the compelling myth of Edith and Harald - the intersection of a pivotal moment in English history, radically shifting cultural identity in the form of Norman/Anglo-Saxon tensions, and a very dramatic, human story. The idea of exploring these things through a medieval-style walking pilgrimage is apt, as is the guerrilla filming (no permits here, for sure!) and the self-consciously quirky decision to use Super 8 emulation on an iPhone, alongside 1960s archive footage from a 1960s primary school project (presumably because it was public domain), and a soundtrack largely provided by the participants themselves.

Unfortunately, what could have been an interesting concept devolves almost immediately into shoddy, flabby, self-indulgent waffle, with no real attempts made to frame the narrative, object, or history involved. The result is a shallow, frustrating look at a group of people who, in the main, don't really seem to know much about the subject matter - or at least can't agree on which version of it they're sticking to for the purposes of the documentary - but are certainly having a lovely time flinging neologisms at history and playing dress-up, to the accompaniment of a great deal of whispered poetry, torch songs, and moments that barely stop shy of interpretative dance.

Even a guest shot from Alan Moore, spouting congruent but mildly silly philosophy about space-time and the concept of Harald as an English Osiris, can't save this wholly missed opportunity to actively engage with any of the source material or the ideas raised.

The cinematography is middling, and the editing is maddening, with everything from songs to Moore's audio - and pretty much anything else salient anyone tried to say - recycled so often it far exceeds 'making a point' about the idea of history being finite and cyclical, and just feels like a desperate attempt to pad the run time and great the illusion of meaning.

Such a shame, because there were evidently some good ideas behind the project, and a few lovely visuals and concepts... but ultimately it all falls very flat indeed.