LONDON

In London, the celebrated filmmaker and writer Patrick Keiller offers a journey through the London of 1992, as undertaken by an unnamed narrator and his companion, Robinson. The unseen pair complete a series of excursions around the city, in an attempt to investigate what Robinson calls “the problem of London”; in so doing, the vast palimpsest of the city is revealed. Based on Keiller’s acclaimed 1994 film of the same name, London is a unique take on the essay-film format in the style of Chris Marker, with scathing reflections on the recent past, enlivened by offbeat humor and wide-ranging literary anecdotes. The amazing locations reveal the familiar London of the near past: Concorde almost touches suburban houses as it takes off; Union Jacks fly from Wembley Stadium; and pigeons flock around tourists in Trafalgar Square. These images, in combination with the script, allow us to see beyond the London presented on the page.