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A Day in the Life – Four Portraits of Post-War Britain (2010)
Movie review
From Time Out London
A onetime assistant to Humphrey Jennings, John Krish made a series of short films for organisations such as the NSPCC and British Transport Films between the 1940s and 1980s – public information films, if you will, although the four in this programme, ranging in length from ten to 25 minutes, show more artistry and warmth than the label suggests. The strongest are ‘Our School’ (1962), made for the NUT as a sketch of life in a secondary modern school in Hertfordshire and featuring a great scene in which kids discuss accents and slang, and ‘I Think They Call Him John’ (1964), made for the Craignish Trust and a portrait of an elderly widower, shot entirely in his flat and demonstrating a lovely, quiet empathy. Fascinating as local history is ‘The Elephant Will Never Forget’ (1953), which recalls the final days of the tram in south London, while ‘They Took Us to the Sea’ (1961) is an over-extended, yet tender, account of a NSPCC trip to Weston-super-Mare for poor kids from Birmingham. ‘I’d never seen the sea before,’ says one child. ‘It’s got a funny smell to it.’Author: Dave Calhoun
Time Out London Issue 2099: 17 – 11 November, 2011
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