OBSERVER: The Choral
The opening selection of this year’s British Film Festival is The Choral written by Alan Bennett and directed by Nicholas Hytner. Set in 1916 as the impact of World War I starts to erode English communities, a local Yorkshire choral society appoints maestro Dr Guthrie (Ralph Fiennes), who has reluctantly returned from Germany, to conduct their upcoming concert. Elgar’s oratorio, The Dream of Gerontius is the default work given German composers are now taboo.
Bennett has accentuated the comic in this work with reference to the naivety of the time; the rising influence of the Salvation Army, the hidden world of homosexuality, the rivalry between the Church of England and the Catholics, and the need to continue traditions like the choral society despite foreign works now being suspect.
What is missing is the central dramatic core around which all this would revolve. It’s almost as if we have a glimpse of the social landscape of the day without settling on any one person’s dramatic transformation. The oratorio in question is also not widely known, providing limited emotional atmosphere as one might expect from a soundtrack given it only features toward the end of the film.
The importance of the evening, however, cannot be ignored. The Choral is but one of the many feature works representative of the British oeuvre. Other titles highlight the depth and breadth of what the UK has to offer; Hamnet looks into Shakespeare’s domestic life. Borrowed Time touches on Lennon’s last 10 years. Emma Thompson features in Dead of Winter. We even glimpse at the life of John Cleese in a documentary of his latest performance tour. There are retrospectives of great films of the past and a look at Hitchcock’s legacy. The British film industry is vital and engaging and the festival has something for everyone. You have until December 7 to avail yourself of all that is on offer.
palacecinemas.com.au
Reviewed by David McLean