Through a glass darkly

I haven’t seen “They shall not grow old”, although I have just had a look at some trailers on YouTube. It is amazing and strangely present. I’ve grown used to the blurred pixelated videos of the 70s and 80s, and juddering 16mm B&W documentary footage of earlier years. Rather like vinyl records, I’m attracted to the materiality of celluloid film as if the noise somehow creates a necessary distance.

We can only view the past through a glass darkly. Digital remastering, colour and dubbed sound suddenly makes it all feel immediate. I find it fascinating, if a little disturbing, but I’m really interested in seeing the film. My grandfather was in the Somme and met my grandmother in a field hospital after he had been wounded. My father grew up with the consequences of shell shock, probably becoming a young carer. Reparation. Siegfried Sassoon – The Memories of … ; Ford Madox Ford – Parades End, the Good Soldier; Robert Graves – Goodbye to all that. Haunting silhouettes.

I was hopeless at history at school, probably because I was quite immature and had difficulty learning arbitrary facts. I’m endlessly fascinated by it now. A couple of years ago I read book called Age of Discovery which compared the rapid changing world of today with the original Renaissance of 1450-1550. Incredible parallels. Exciting times and a massive step forward with the printing press.