BLEACHEDC

From a squat in Leeds, to finding the eyes of the world upon them...but what does one do when all that's over, and the dust settles?

What did it mean, if anything? Did they sell out? Can anyone involved still make a difference? Can one find integrity and peace as an old radical in this foul age?

This honest, fun, and ultimately moving documentary asks these questions and more, mostly of singer Dunstan Bruce, but the rest of the band also get their say.

Along the way others such as Crass's Penny Rimbaud and director Ken Loach also voice their opinions. The newest generation of angry young punks also turn up to take the torch.

For anyone interested in punk, the 90's, activism, or just simply getting older with some pride and a sense of relevance, this documentary is for you. It was certainly for me - good stuff!

Time to break out those old vinyls!

I saw this last night as part of the 'Severed Limbs' film festival, at which our own short film was also playing.

Aracne is a mood piece that is all imagery, music, and artistic expression. The narrative, such as it is, depicts a woman/creature preparing two corpses in the manner of a spider.

This sparse, four minute film really connected with me - it's how I like my art: a dark edge, but nothing too obvious, with elements of elegiac beauty, and a theme that is consistent throughout, but open to interpretation.

The music here deserves special mention, as it fits with and enhances the imagery perfectly. I can't imagine the imagery without the music, and vice versa.

I'd love to see the director's other short film, having watched this one.

I was hooked and intrigued by Devs from a point early on, and found myself mentally nourished and emotionally satisfied in a way I haven't experienced for some time, come the end of the series. Now, series' are not my format; it's just not often that I get on with them. That this blew me away as much as any recent well crafted film has done says much. Hence my utter surprise at some of the awful reviews here. Clearly this is one that splits audiences, and perhaps I should have expected that: Devs is an intelligent, existential sci-fi that extrapolates on some of the more bizarre avenues of current science. Some of it is hard to get one's head around, and is also counter intuitive when set against our own interactions with the world. That being said, all the answers you are looking for are answered within the narrative. If you can comprehend those counter intuitive scientific concepts, there's nothing much here that shouldn't make sense. On a technical level the cinematography is adept and rather beautiful. The score is a veritable soundscape of unconventional surprises, and the acting is mostly solid. On the latter, much has been made of the lead's talents, or lack thereof, but personally I found her appropriately quirky and odd, as indeed might be suited to the role. As to accusations of Devs being pretentious in style, well, anything dealing with the utter strangeness of the aforementioned concepts requires an equally strange style, in my opinion. In short, I cannot recommend this show highly enough. A triumph.