Bait

"shit pub anyways. don't even play winner stays on no more." a scratched up DIY oddity about the gentrification of a cornish fishing village shot on 16mm with a handcranked vintage camera, like if ben rivers made a melodrama in the visual language of griffith and eisenstein but with a droll, rude humor that could only come from working class britain. it's really fun (unlike emmerdale lol) and makes experimental filmmaking seem as salt-of-the-earth as rigging a boat for the day's catch.

An unwelcome tourist culture comes and disrupts the simple ways of people used to a certain way of life; provokes themes such as: clinging to old ways, purity in tradition, and corruption brought by change. It could be pure creative choice to present Bait in a format over half a century old, but it feels to be intentionally harkening back to an older, simpler era in parallel to the events on screen. A sense of nostalgia to go along with the disgruntled longing for "the good old days".

Brilliant, fascinating use of a seemingly non-existent budget to create a film that looks both ancient and right now at the same time. It's rare to see a modern BW film that actually manages to make the screen look almost 3D with texture. The story and characters are a lot flatter than the images, sadly.

Outstanding film about tensions in a Cornish fishing village between locals and second-homers. Formally experimental - it looks like 'Man of Aran', but set in a world of mobile phones, holiday lets, and drunken stag parties - yet extremely watchable, with tension and pathos, skilfully navigating the politics of the setting.

Jenkin demarcates this story of gentrification and class warfare with a (fascinatingly) anachronistic aesthetic that makes its social commentary reverberate across decades. A potent reminder of why 16mm continues to reap its rewards.

The cinematic equivalent of pouring hot chocolate glaze all over your bland cake so as to cover up your complete lack of cooking skills. At least it's a great example of how style - in this case, a grainy 16mm look and some impressionistic montages - won't save your film if the story, characters and direction leave much to be desired.

Can someone explain to me why I should like or care about this foreign art film lost to time? Sure, it's stylish and disorienting with its extreme closeups, but I also find myself not caring or rooting for anyone on screen. There is not enough here to justify a full length feature or even a remote recommendation. Disappointed.

Great visual style

Very stylish, completely in its own style. The vintage equipment works well, and fits better than expected. The story of a very modern conflict is done well, and constantly undercut with the knowledge that this is going somewhere bad.

The plot is fairly simple and to me fizzled out. What elevated it was the cinematography and style. It feels like it was made 50 years ago and now, which really helps the theme of past times lost. Give this man a bit more budget and a better script.

First off, the techniques and technology used here are fascinating, and give a really memorable aesthetic to the piece. The story itself may be somewhat simple, but I felt it was dealt with in a really interesting, sympathetic way. Almost theatrical in construction. Very interesting.

An utterly fascinating experience, feeling like a relic from the 60s (with character's technology the only clue we are in "modern" times) has a narrative that admittedly mightn't hold attention but for Jenkin's studiously old-fashioned film-making smarts (even the screenplay and performance styles feel dug out from the 60s). So abrasively ugly at times that it is difficult to lose yourself fully to it, but still a creditable effort, anchored by Rowe's stunning portrait of volcanic hostility.

This film, although I like the look of 16 mm film , is severely lacking in ideas. Class differences, working man Vs capital , city Vs countryside. It's like looking at an episode of "Emmerdale" stretched to feature film length shot on 16 mm film footage grain and all. Nice trick but doesn't support the whole length of the film.

Original, memorable, understated and thought provoking.