Robinson in Space

Given his apparent sense of isolation, the titular protagonist in architect-turned-filmmaker Patrick Keiller's Robinson in Space might be a latter-day descendant of Daniel Defoe's castaway, but rather than finding himself on a desert island, this Robinson is somewhere in late '90s England with the unlikely commission of making a movie about the "problem" facing the country. We never see or hear from Robinson himself, instead we listen to the constant commentary of an unnamed narrator (voiced by the great Paul Scofield) who is supposedly following Robinson around on his journeys past the various landmarks, supermarkets, factories, ports, stately manors, and odd roads. Maybe it's not supposed to make much sense (or perhaps its appeal would be better appreciated by British audiences), but Robinson in Space feels more like a leg-pull of a joke rather than a commentary on contemporary Britain (it is not, by any stretch, a travelogue, since the film constantly harps on the "problem" even as the visuals portray a rather fine country). The notion that cities are harsh, suburbs are unappealing, and the countryside is wonderful is not unexplored territory, and even a magnificent speaker such as Scofield cannot maintain the viewer's interest if he is given nothing to talk about but the obvious and the quotidian. Not recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)