I recently watched a couple of British `80s political movies which I found quite enjoyable, worthy additions to anyone's film canon:
The Ploughman's Lunch
which was about the revision of Britain's history by mostly well to do brats (the characterisation of the protagonists isn't flattering) in MI5 and the advertising industry, who concocted the "ploughman's lunch" to get people to buy sandwiches at pubs. It's a film I'll have to see again though as there was a lot packed in which I think went over my head. Was there a metaphor in there as well for the seduction and betrayal of the British left by the right, or am I looking too deeply?
A Very British Coup
I was caught by the blurb on the back of the cover at the video shop - something like: "With the North Sea oil exhausted and nothing left to privatise..." which I thought was getting close to an accurate prediction. It's a what if story where a guy from Sheffield leads Labour to victory over Margaret Thatcher. It was great fun to watch, very much a political thriller with lots of great lines. Somehow I doubt that Harry Perkins would have anything to do with New Labour though..
Again a lot of time is spent dealing with MI5 and its pernicious effect on British public life - I have to say that I had never considered it that much until I'd seen these two films and I'm convinced - esp. after seeing a couple of episodes of Spooks, which tried to have it both ways: spying as an amoral nightmare, but still somehow patriotic..
Are there any other movies in this style? This should be a rich seam of material to be turned into film and it seems to be a particular obsession with British TV writers - well, at least if you consider the subtext of a lot of the Doctor Who stories and the whole story behind Blake's 7, or even Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister. But yeah I guess we're moving closer into the realm of TV and not film, but I can't see Australian or US producers doing much similar, although I can imagine Europeans creating similar works.
I just remembered: has anyone mentioned
Peter Watkins yet?
I've been meaning to track his work down but haven't had a chance yet. Was it here that I first read about him?