The Nomad at Bestival

Kicking off on the Thursday night, The Nomad will hosted 4 nights of truly breathtaking double bills.

THURSDAY
YELLOW SUBMARINE (UK exclusive screening)
THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS: DON’T THINK (Introduced by Director Adam Smith)
DRIVE

And our friends are all aboard…

Most certainly the most iconic band of the sixties, if not of all time, this was a unique opportunity to see one of the defining music films of this century. Yellow Submarine kicked off the first of the twilight double bills at Bestival in all its vibrant animated multi-coloured glory…

Widely believed to be acted out in its entirety by The Beatles themselves, the film was mainly voiced by professional actors with the band adding their renowned voices to the last portion of the film. Revolving around the Beatles attempts to bring happiness and music back to the land that has been taken over by the Blue Meanies, Yellow Submarine seemed like a set piece in order to play out the Beatles tracks. However, despite its reputation as being a psychedelic drug-infused trip, the film won critical acclaim and was a box office hit. Who would have wanted to miss the opportunity of singing Yellow Submarine at the top of their lungs with hundreds of others at Bestival this year?

Following amazing sell-out performances globally, the swinging sixties were followed by thumping dance beats as the infamous Don’t Think was screened back to back with Yellow Submarine - with a very special buoyant surprise thrown in. When the Chemical Brothers’ Fuji concert received its cinema release, audiences famously crowd surfed and danced their way to cinemas being shut down by security. Now on blu-ray and DVD, this was an exceptional experience and one of the highlights of our programme.

We caved to popular demand and added Drive to the line-up on Thursday night too. One of the year’s hottest films, starring Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan and the sexiest soundtrack in a long while. Need we say more?

FRIDAY
PULP FICTION + RESERVOIR DOGS

Violence, redemption, lurid subject matter.

“I didn’t go to film school, I went to FILM.” Tarantino

And so he did. Tarantino is, by all intents and purposes, the original magpie of films. Something shiny passes him by, he takes it, jumbles it with other bits and pieces and makes it his own. And how spectacular is the end result…

Single-handedly breathing life back into the career of John Travolta and giving us a soundtrack that everyone knew an infamous dance to before they even saw the film, Tarantino accomplished what many could consider unobtainable, two classics in two years. Pulp Fiction was iconic, the plot can barely be put into words and yet, even with a script so dense, it all worked perfectly. Endlessly quotable, as our Bestival audience reminded us…

When Reservoir Dogs roared into Cannes, the film world was captivated by the new hot-shot director with the gift of the gab. Cutting up the storyline into an alternate time sequence, Dogs revolves around the planning and execution of a jewellery heist which goes terribly wrong. Here is where Tarantino first proved his mastery of the marriage of soundtrack and film; no one will ever forget Michael Madsen’s character talking into that ear…

SATURDAY
WATCHMEN + SIN CITY

Mother, forgive me.

‘Come gather children, wherever you roam…’

Dear Mr. Snyder, we have seen 300 and we really liked the gritty raw feel of it. We particularly liked how you handled the graphic novel’s move onto the big screen. Would you perhaps consider directing the most popular graphic novel ever released?

Zack Snyder was no doubt aware of the awesome responsibility placed on his shoulders: turning a graphic novel that is not only popular in animation, but is also considered one of the greatest novels of all time, was never going to please everyone. Far from it, Warner Brothers swore they would never again release an R rated graphic novel and critics criticized what they could. On the other hand, Snyder was as faithful as possible to the novel and the depiction of the superheroes, who watch over our planet, was wonderfully shot with one of the greatest intro scenes ever committed to film. After the furore, Watchmen has definitely become worthy of a revisit and if you managed to miss it, don’t be put off by the criticisms, this truly is a sight to behold. Oh. And there’s Jeffrey Dean Morgan…

But before that, there was Sin City… Turn the right corner in Sin City, and you can find anything… But more importantly, with Sin City they found something extraordinary. One of the very few films that can literally be watched without the sound on, Sin City brought the graphic novel into the public eye in a more dramatic way than ever before. Directed by Rodriguez who also worked with the novel’s creator Frank Miller, the film delved into the seedy world of prostitution, seedy late night bars, unsettled squabbles and dark revenge. Jessica Alba danced for her life, Mickey Rourke was back with a bang, Sin City is glorious: a rough diamond, a game changer.

SUNDAY
MULLHOLLAND DRIVE + BLUE VELVET

Rare double bill from David Lynch, high priest of midnight weirdness.

‘It makes me uncomfortable to talk about meanings and things. It’s better not to know so much about what things mean. Because the meaning, it’s a very personal thing, and the meaning for me is different than the meaning for somebody else.’ Lynch

Keep these wise words in mind, with these you will survive any David Lynch film. On the surface, Lynch can almost be seen as an attention-seeker; one of those arty people who produce art so that people can stand around a painted circle and attempt to determine the fate of the universe. But Lynch is so much more than that. Take any section of any of his films and you can literally determine it hundreds of different ways. It will work on its own, it will work in context. In fact, there are few like Lynch - a master of his work, a director who gives us questions but barely explores the answers…

Mulholland Drive is nearly impossible to explain; following a car crash a young woman loses her memory but attempts to trawl through Los Angeles in an attempt to recollect, aided by an aspiring actress. And we can only refuse to tell you more. Wonderfully acted by lovely Naomi Watts and stunning Laura Harring, there exist hundreds of interpretations of this screen gem. Suffice to say, the most common is that this is a series of dream sequences, something that Lynch has referred to on DVD commentaries. However, try not to question too much… Lynch also doesn’t believe stories should necessarily have a beginning, middle and end…

You never forget the first time you see Blue Velvet. You feel awkwardly uncomfortable, you are dazzled by Isabella Rossellini, spellbound by Dennis Hopper. An earlier work of Lynch’s and not quite as experimental as Eraserhead, Blue Velvet follows Jeffrey, a young man who is drawn into a world he never knew existed, when he takes it upon himself to investigate a crime. That opening scene! Never again will you hear Blue Velvet and not think of that opening scene…

Visit the Bestival site to find out more about the best festival ever!