As an enthusiastic St Etienne fan for both their music and their various associated film projects (concept films, documentary soundtracks, song videos etc) which are almost always worth watching and exquisitely produced, I was anticipating great things here.
But this one is pants. The album is pleasant but bland - they've done much better - and the film makes a token effort at being a road movie around scenic and industrial bits of Britain, so some nice shots and good cinematography. A few quirky bits, with an off-beat humour - for instance there's a beautifully composed bubble-blowing sequence
However the director seems to have a fascination for topless young male models, inserting several long slow-mo sequences of athletic bare-chested youths looking moody and lingeringly exhibiting their torsos for no real reason and without any connection to the music. So unless you share the director's fixation, it all becomes fairly boring and otherwise empty. Not worth seeking out..
My copy - from the limited edition CD/DVD package - did not play properly, and online forum comments elsewhere suggest this is a common experience.
But this one is pants. The album is pleasant but bland - they've done much better - and the film makes a token effort at being a road movie around scenic and industrial bits of Britain, so some nice shots and good cinematography. A few quirky bits, with an off-beat humour - for instance there's a beautifully composed bubble-blowing sequence
However the director seems to have a fascination for topless young male models, inserting several long slow-mo sequences of athletic bare-chested youths looking moody and lingeringly exhibiting their torsos for no real reason and without any connection to the music. So unless you share the director's fixation, it all becomes fairly boring and otherwise empty. Not worth seeking out..
My copy - from the limited edition CD/DVD package - did not play properly, and online forum comments elsewhere suggest this is a common experience.
