tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812363851884454379.post8393187637653524089..comments2023-12-22T02:32:38.702+00:00Comments on Archives and Auteurs: Edinburgh International Film Audiences Conference 2009Kathrynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05183395919767332073noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812363851884454379.post-37270224999451021322009-05-11T18:53:00.000+01:002009-05-11T18:53:00.000+01:00Thanks for commenting on my blog. I felt I should ...Thanks for commenting on my blog. I felt I should return the honour by posting my response here :)<br /><br />It's quite difficult watching Britannia Hospital as someone who didn't really live through the Thatcherite era. On one hand, you have a more objective perspective, but on the other, you naturally will have less of a personal understanding of the context to draw upon.<br /><br />Watching it now, the film comes across as so cynical that it's almost bitter in its resentment of Britain at that time. It's such a damning portrait of human nature that it's sometimes difficult to laugh. I did find some of it funny (especially that part where a woman - but obviously a man - gets hit in the face by a thrown cabbage); nonetheless, I came out of it quite dispirited.<br /><br />Also, it's interesting how there was a huge difficulty in pitching this film, as you can see why they had trouble with it. The sex and nudity here works far less well here than in Anderson's previous works, and it does come across as just getting a bit of titilation going for its own sake, rather than anything more meaningful. I'm not surprised it was interpreted as a bit 'Carry On', because it does appear that way sometimes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com