Oh, this really is one for the Archivists but also those who
delight in finding out the persistently odd parts of our capital; if you’ve
ever wondered what goes on under the old Kingsway Tram Tunnel, otherwise silent
doors off Holborn Viaduct or the nuclear bunker in Fitzrovia, well, it might be
what we see here. There’s an echo of James Mason uncovering similar gems in The
London Nobody Knows in 1967 but also an influence on Neil Gaiman’s 1996 TV
series Neverwhere, which imagined the goings on of London Below
including an actual Angel of Islington as played by Peter Capaldi (there’s
typecasting!).
Hidden City is magically real all the more so because
of it’s deep-cut locations, the familiar existing side by diagonal alley with
the weird, wonderful and mysterious.
All of this is revealed through the search for a particular
reel of film which will, possibly reveal a murder or deeper conspiracy, like
Antonioni’s David Hemmings meeting the female Doctor Who we were robbed of…
Cassie Stuart’s Sharon is that woman and, after losing her job because of
Charles Dance’s pompous writer on new media and technological teaching, James
Richards, being sent the wrong video for a class, introduces him to a mystery
only the two of them can solve.
He is The Assistant and she is the madly intuitive Doctor
or, if you prefer, she’s Dr Watson driven to pull Sherlock away from his self-indulgence
and violin, towards a mystery – an injustice – decades in the making. It
involves the kind of luck and co-incidence that would make the late Paul Auster
think twice but it all works within the logic of its own world and an all too
rational man who has lost his way and his curiosity. James has seen it all
before but when Sharon reveals that he hasn’t actually he can’t resist
following her as the pair chase across the London that not that many people
know, in search of films that may contain the truth even as they are at risk of
being discarded as is the case with Hop Gardens of Kent which they
rescue from the furnace to find it contains strange images of a woman apparently
being captured by secret policemen and escorted to an unnamed building deep in
the backstreets of the over-looked.
The eighties locations are of course fascinating for those
of us who remember when there were more disused and mysteriously empty spaces
around Holborn Viaduct, further down the submerged Fleet or over towards
Kingsway and the long-abandoned tramway under which the film has a hidden archive
run by the government (or deepish state) – which contains many things we
shouldn’t be seeing. The men who run the collection of secrets are playfully
obstructive and the film in question has been thrown out just the day before… leading
the companions to a waste-disposal site where there’s also a group of policemen
searching for something else in the rubbish.
Characters interact and work against each other all
within the playful logic of the film as we get closer to an all too mundane and
believable truth. It’s a fascinating ride and Charles Dance, who also features
in the whitest of y-fronts at one point which only he could carry off…, is commanding
and his aloof, analytical James is suitably intrigued by the earnest promptings
of Sharon. Cassie Stuart is very impressive too with a restless energy that
keeps the narrative sharp and uncertain – she’s very post-punk.
With Richard E Grant as Sharon’s former boss, who may be
implicated and Bill Paterson as Roger’s best friend Brewster – ditto – it’s a well-acted
and very meta experience with everything and everyone potentially in on deeper levels
of the secrecy. The solution is found with the passion and relentless intuition
of those who search the archived London for the truth. It would have made for a
great continuing series, Dance and Stuart’s characters could have been the
Mulder and Scully of the 80s. The truth is out there, hidden in that which is retained
but too often overlooked?
Special features
Illustrated booklet including Poliakoff's original
introduction to his screenplay, a new essay on the film by John Wyver, a new
interview with Stephen Poliakoff by Michael Brooke, new writing on Barging
Through London and Hop Gardens of Kent by Ellen Cheshire and an essay on Public
Information films and the National Archives by Sarah Castagnetti and Patrick
Russell - First pressing only
Presented in High Definition
Newly recorded audio commentary with writer and
director Stephen Poliakoff and film critic Michael Brooke
Treasures from the BFI National Archive (1903-1947,
58 mins): a selection of archive gems, exploring some of the themes featured in
Hidden City. The films: Cheese Mites (1903), Barging Through London (1924),
Hop Gardens of Kent (1933), The City (1939) and Shown by
Request (1947)
Inside the BFI National Archive (2023, 1 min): a
behind-the-scenes look at the work of the BFI National Archive
This celebration of the work of archivists and the
importance of old media in terms of understanding of the here and now –
shooting the past never stops – will delight all of those who enjoy Poliakoff’s
work and many more; the extras are indeed special and indeed part of the story
in a couple of cases.
You can buy Hidden City now direct from the
BFI’s online store or their Southbank shop… essential for your home archive!
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