Blue, white and red
In his prize-winning Three Colours trilogy, symbolically based on the colours and ideals of the French flag, Krzysztof Kieslowski proves his talent for close observation of human character, and reveals a bizarre fascination with stooping old women at bottle banks. Blue presents Juliette Binoche as Julie, the recently bereaved wife of a famous composer, forced to forge a new life of exquisitely painful freedom amongst the memories of her husband's music. Julie's carefully-constructed life is conveyed through minutely-detailed images, such as the way she dips a sugar cube in coffee or runs her fist along a stone wall, Kieslowski creating a delicate balance of raw grief and stylish determination. Each shot is drenched in the title colour, giving a rich atmosphere which echoes Julie's cool absorption and brittle independence....
Music: Music
The editor of this esteemed publication did not look at all impressed when I volunteered to review the new Belle & Sebastian album, and in a way I can see her point. The problem with B&S is that if you don't like what they do, you're screwed; almost all their work falls into the bracket of stereotyped indier-than-thou tweeness. Signs of fatigue were beginning to appear on their last album, Fold Your Arms Child, You Walk Like A Peasant, where, as every song echoed something they'd done before, it seemed that they were slowly running out of ideas. Storytelling, though, is conceptually different from previous offerings, in that it's based on their work on the soundtrack to Todd Solondz's new film, er, Storytelling. So you'd think it'd be different, right?...
Music: Live
Without your correspondent's status as Nightshift contributor clouding her judgement at all, it must be stated from the off that editor Ronan Munro, like those who help to stage this spectacular event every year, is an absolute god. The highlight of the year (along with Truck festival) on the local scene, the Oxford Punt showcases 16 of Oxford's best bands in nine venues over one night, allowing a veritable smorgasbord of talent to emerge....
Music: Classical
Evgeny Kissin is undoubtedly the greatest pianistic talent of his generation, and arguably many others besides. His latest release not only confirms this but also demonstrates that he has made a smooth transition from the wunderkind who consistently astonished audience and media alike to a mature musician who, whilst still only 30, stands at the forefront of a new generation of pianists....