Robinson in space

A companion piece to Keiller’s ‘London’ (1994), this film essay also revolves around the unseen fictional characters of Robinson and his nameless companion (a former lover and the film’s narrator). It begins with the narrator’s train journey from London to Reading where Robinson has asked him to join a project he has been commissioned to research on ‘the problem of England’. The space of the title is the sprawl of England that Robinson and his companion traverse on a series of journeys. They visit industrial estates, ports and heritage sites examining English culture, its absences and decline, and the industrial economy. At the core of the film is the monologue where Robinson’s digressions and insights are juxtaposed over quotidian images of contemporary Britain. His explorations lead him to the realisation that the appearance of poverty and dilapidation that characterises the UK is not the result of economic decline but of the exercise of political power and deregulation that has unravelled the social fabric of the country. The narration deftly combines historical, literary, cultural, societal and political commentary with wry, whimsical asides that hint at Robinson’s sexual predilections. Narrated by Paul Scofield.