Finisterre (2003)

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

The cameras are not state of the art and there are few tracking shots - not surprising with it having been made on such a tight budget - but they still could have made better use of the resources available. The impact of some sequences is weakened by excessive cutting. Potentially majestic images, such as construction cranes against the sky, are often only in shot for about two seconds before we cut to something else, which seems entirely the wrong approach aesthetically if you trying to make a dreamy, contemplative film rather than an extended pop video. Despite these flaws, good use is made of St Etienne's songs, and the imagery accompanying them is agreeable enough, although rarely breathtaking. If you expect a documentary to impart information or give you a radical perspective on familiar subject matter then this is definitely not for you. But if you've simply had an awful day at work and you need something to relax with, providing minimal intellectual and emotional stimulation, then Finisterre could hardly be more perfect. Bland, but soothing, it's best thought of as digital lavender oil, or perhaps the film equivalent of listening to the shipping forecast.

This film is a series of snapshot of London viewed through the eyes of a British band, Saint Etienne.I am a Saint Etienne fan. I remember "Finisterre" being released on DVD back in 2003, and it was on the shelves for 17 pounds. I thought the price was steep so I did not buy it. After seven years, I finally got to watch the film. And, wow, I am so disappointed by it."Finisterre" is a collection of shots filmed in London. It can hardly be called a film. There is no plot. I find it so boring to sit through minutes of graffiti, bicycles and uninspiring council blocks of London. It does nothing to promote London, actually people might get put off by it. I don't understand, why would Saint Etienne present London's unglamourous side when they are obsessed with it? "Finisterre" seems to be a self indulgent project. I guess the meanings behind the shots can only be comprehended by the filmmakers and the band. I am so glad I did not buy it when it first came out.

As others have noted, it's the narration that bogs this down. I know Saint Etienne make nods to the 1960s, but it's that fruity male voice that seems to belong to the kind of Government-funded supporting feature you sat through in the cinema as a kid while you waited for the Bond film to start. Your main course before you're allowed dessert. Question is, were the makers doing in this deliberately? Is it meant to be ironic? Many of the shots in this piece are timeless; Primrose Hill, the canal in Camden, which do add to the feeling that this could have been done in the 1960s. Again, maybe this is deliberate but it does seem a bit pointless; it's hardly a time capsule. Some of the visuals are lovely, the sort you see in the C4 show Skins, but without any drama, you may as well be clicking through photos on your laptop machine, nice as they are. Backed by the band's rather tinny, bloodless music, they succeed for the first half in making London about as exciting as Saint Etienne's hometown, Croydon.It does pick up a bit from Primrose Hill onwards but this is overall a strangely distant, antiseptic treatment of the capital. Recalling it the next day is more enjoyable than sitting through it at the time.

As a fan of St Etienne, I was looking forward to seeing this but I'll admit to being a little disappointed, there wasn't really enough of their music to make it essential for me. The portentous voice over was a little too "Little Britain", and although the film started well, the eulogising over London started to become irritating towards the end. Phrases like "Anyone with any ambition at some point moves to London" won't go down too well outside the M25. Still, what there is of the St Etienne soundtrack is predictably good, and there are enough interesting shots of London to make Finisterre worth viewing. I'd recommend it to anyone who's a fan of the band, or who's interested in seeing the less touristy side of London.