In a small cottage on the northern coast of Scotland, Megan Boyd twirled tiny bits of feather and fur, silver and gold into fishing flies that were at once works of art, magical - and absolutely lethal. Read more …
Wherever men and women cast their lines for the mighty Atlantic salmon, her name is whispered in mythic reverence, and stories about her surface and swirl like fairy tales.
It’s a pity there’s so little footage of Boyd, but Em Cooper’s animation bridges some of the gaps in this gentle, artful pleasure.
An inventively told story without a human heart.
A poetic, poignant tribute to the seductive mystique of a rarefied craft.
J. R. Hartley's new favourite documentary. Avoid if you're a salmon.
“Why does a salmon take a fly?” That’s the question asked by Eric Steel’s quietly beguiling documentary.
What seems at first an impossibly flimsy and meagre documentary subject slowly reveals itself as cine-miniaturism with charm.
Make sure this strange little film isn't one you let get away.
The effect is quietly mesmerizing – a documentary fishing expedition that gently and patiently reads its subject so as not to ruin the transcendent pleasure that comes from trying to get a line on such an odd fish.
As a documentary, Kiss the Water offers little of the lyricism that the title promises, mainly just offering picture postcard views and a succession of talking heads describing an arcane process which is never firmly visualized or explained.
Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee from Friday January 10, 2014, until Thursday January 16, 2014. More info: www.dca.org.uk
Eden Court Theatre, Inverness from Friday January 17, 2014, until Thursday January 23, 2014. More info: www.eden-court.co.uk
Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow from Tuesday January 28, 2014, until Thursday January 30, 2014. More info: http://www.glasgowfilm.org/theatre/