Scotland the Bravest mon ami, love your nation and what Thatcher did was honestly criminal. She not only gutted Scotland but the whole of the long-term future of Great Britain.
Never heard of most of your movies, but will take a good look at them, especially if there were plenty of shots of your lovely Highlands. I love writing stories of Scotland, and should love to learn what sort of movies she has made.
Moi, I am French, born in Canada and growing up with a little Irish & Scottish in the famille histoire, I however grew up reading Walter Scott, then later on Nigel Tranter so that they've left an indelible mark on me. All French have a natural love for the Scots, going back to the 100 Years Wars, when Scot & Franc stood side by side, so that I daresay that I love your people more than most due to my love of your literature and writers. If you've any others or any other filmes to recommend tell me, I should very much like to know, as I plan to write stories centred around Scotland and should like to learn more of her art-scenes and literature.
Love this article, sorry for sharing about myself, truly your people deserved better than what Thatcher did to you (hate her more than any other leader of Great Britain).
Yes, Thatcher is definitely not fondly remembered here in Scotland
Definitely check out the movies in the article as they’ll give you an idea of what Scotland is really like without falling into cliche.
With regards to other Scottish directors or movies, I would recommend Lynne Ramsay who directed Ratcatcher and Morvern Callar. Two tough movies but also very good
We have so many great writers but you might want to look at Alisdair Gray and William McIlvanney who were two absolute titans. And then there’s our national bard, Robert Burns for poetry
Yes, the Scots and the French have always had a close relationship and I always enjoy travelling over there. We have went on many family holidays to different regions with both my wife and son speaking fluent French so that helps a lot!
Such great recommendations. I have never seen “Restless Natives” but I can attest to the popularity of “Trainspotting” when it was released in the U.S. because I saw it twice in the theaters with my college friends. I was able to deduce by the clues in your essay that you and I are the same age. 😀
Thanks very much, Daniel. Yes, I am very much the outlier when it comes to Trainspotting. Particularly, as you can imagine, in Scotland. My friends even knew some of the extras that starred in it. I tried to go back and watch it when the sequel came out but still felt the same so obviously not for me!
Restless Natives is just a little joy of a film so hopefully you manage to catch it
And yes, when I was writing the article and realised the book came out 30 years ago it was one of those times when you go, “Wait, what?! I’m how old now?!” 😁
A treasure trove of recommendations, totally agree about Trainspotting. Ahh Big Country, Mark Knopfler, my kind of music. I first heard the soundtrack then saw the movie. Haven’t seen Restless Natives (yet). Great article, Daniel!
Such an interesting and in-depth essay, Dan. Thanks for laying out all the background to the films and their place in the context of the last forty or so years of Scotland, especially that of Thatcher's influence.
I was only 13 when Transpotting (the film) released and I'm not sure how many years later it was before I watched it. Bleak is a word I certainly associated with it. I remember it being a powerful film (I haven't sent it since, I don't think) but the context of it was likely lost on me at the time. It sounds like I absolutely should seek out Restless Natives.
Thanks very much Nathan. As a rule I try to avoid politics in my writing as most folk just want to read stories or articles without being banged over the head with that sledgehammer. However, it was impossible to look at these movies without having that context behind them so hopefully it helped paint the picture of where the characters and stories were coming from
Restless Natives is just a great little film so I hope you enjoy it. And, if I can introduce more people to these lesser known movies then these articles are doing their job! 😁
Going to be slightly harder next month as I’ll be talking about festive movies and I think everyone knows just about every Christmas film ever made, but hopefully there’ll be one or two that people aren’t familiar with.
I understand, and I tend to feel the same way, but you do it in an unbiased manner that is simply telling the facts and setting the political and cultural backdrop that is important to understand for these films. So, impeccably done.
To be honest, I'm not a huge Xmas movie fan, unless it's something like Die Hard 1 to give me those Christmas feels 😅 If you've got some weird, cult, niche horror Xmas films then I'm all ears!
Scotland the Bravest mon ami, love your nation and what Thatcher did was honestly criminal. She not only gutted Scotland but the whole of the long-term future of Great Britain.
Never heard of most of your movies, but will take a good look at them, especially if there were plenty of shots of your lovely Highlands. I love writing stories of Scotland, and should love to learn what sort of movies she has made.
Moi, I am French, born in Canada and growing up with a little Irish & Scottish in the famille histoire, I however grew up reading Walter Scott, then later on Nigel Tranter so that they've left an indelible mark on me. All French have a natural love for the Scots, going back to the 100 Years Wars, when Scot & Franc stood side by side, so that I daresay that I love your people more than most due to my love of your literature and writers. If you've any others or any other filmes to recommend tell me, I should very much like to know, as I plan to write stories centred around Scotland and should like to learn more of her art-scenes and literature.
Love this article, sorry for sharing about myself, truly your people deserved better than what Thatcher did to you (hate her more than any other leader of Great Britain).
Thanks very much for your kind comments.
Yes, Thatcher is definitely not fondly remembered here in Scotland
Definitely check out the movies in the article as they’ll give you an idea of what Scotland is really like without falling into cliche.
With regards to other Scottish directors or movies, I would recommend Lynne Ramsay who directed Ratcatcher and Morvern Callar. Two tough movies but also very good
We have so many great writers but you might want to look at Alisdair Gray and William McIlvanney who were two absolute titans. And then there’s our national bard, Robert Burns for poetry
Yes, the Scots and the French have always had a close relationship and I always enjoy travelling over there. We have went on many family holidays to different regions with both my wife and son speaking fluent French so that helps a lot!
Thanks again for reading 👍🏼
Alright, I'll check them all out and copy your recommendations onto my computer.
But as to your wife son sound awesome X). Long live the Auld Alliance I say.
As to the reading of your article it was a plaisir.
Such great recommendations. I have never seen “Restless Natives” but I can attest to the popularity of “Trainspotting” when it was released in the U.S. because I saw it twice in the theaters with my college friends. I was able to deduce by the clues in your essay that you and I are the same age. 😀
Thanks very much, Daniel. Yes, I am very much the outlier when it comes to Trainspotting. Particularly, as you can imagine, in Scotland. My friends even knew some of the extras that starred in it. I tried to go back and watch it when the sequel came out but still felt the same so obviously not for me!
Restless Natives is just a little joy of a film so hopefully you manage to catch it
And yes, when I was writing the article and realised the book came out 30 years ago it was one of those times when you go, “Wait, what?! I’m how old now?!” 😁
A treasure trove of recommendations, totally agree about Trainspotting. Ahh Big Country, Mark Knopfler, my kind of music. I first heard the soundtrack then saw the movie. Haven’t seen Restless Natives (yet). Great article, Daniel!
Thanks Alexander. Mark Knopfler gets a shout out in this weeks article as well. Which isn’t about movies for a change 😳
Such an interesting and in-depth essay, Dan. Thanks for laying out all the background to the films and their place in the context of the last forty or so years of Scotland, especially that of Thatcher's influence.
I was only 13 when Transpotting (the film) released and I'm not sure how many years later it was before I watched it. Bleak is a word I certainly associated with it. I remember it being a powerful film (I haven't sent it since, I don't think) but the context of it was likely lost on me at the time. It sounds like I absolutely should seek out Restless Natives.
Thanks very much Nathan. As a rule I try to avoid politics in my writing as most folk just want to read stories or articles without being banged over the head with that sledgehammer. However, it was impossible to look at these movies without having that context behind them so hopefully it helped paint the picture of where the characters and stories were coming from
Restless Natives is just a great little film so I hope you enjoy it. And, if I can introduce more people to these lesser known movies then these articles are doing their job! 😁
Going to be slightly harder next month as I’ll be talking about festive movies and I think everyone knows just about every Christmas film ever made, but hopefully there’ll be one or two that people aren’t familiar with.
Thanks again for reading. Really appreciate it 👍🏼
I understand, and I tend to feel the same way, but you do it in an unbiased manner that is simply telling the facts and setting the political and cultural backdrop that is important to understand for these films. So, impeccably done.
To be honest, I'm not a huge Xmas movie fan, unless it's something like Die Hard 1 to give me those Christmas feels 😅 If you've got some weird, cult, niche horror Xmas films then I'm all ears!