Fighting for identity
respect. The term post-colonialism cannot quite stretch to accommodate the issues of imperialism that countries like Scotland (and Ireland) have experienced and yet both films are very much about subcultures trying to fight, sometimes literally, against dominant ones. “Outlaw King” and its tale of war is very much a story of a war against an imperial power. In the film’s final battle, Robert urges his men to “use the land to [your] advantage.” Imperialism has always been about the land, and Mackenzie’s camera is fascinated by landscape. The land is a warm embrace, or a soothing balm, or a private hideout. It’s that same closeness to the land that defines the Irish Traveller and sees Frances going on a road trip with her father and brother. The land becomes your identity.
“Outlaw King” and “Float Like A Butterfly” are doing different things. One is a muddy war epic and the other is a prickly coming of age story but it is significant that they both end with bitter, bloody fights, as both protagonists face off against ostentatious English boys who are trying to escape the shadows of their fathers. The idea of history and identity looms large everywhere. Even though both films are looking backward they feel vivid and essential in the face of current discussions of Britishness and Englishness. Brexit and its effects loom over everything in the UK and its tentacles move beyond the United Kingdom and Europe and reach other parts of world that were formerly part of the British empire. In this way, the quest for identity feels universal.
“Outlaw King” and its discursiveness feels necessary and apt. Chris Pine’s silent Robert and Taylor-Johnson’s manic Douglas show two sides of trauma. Although it was felled by a festival reception, I hope there’s a warmer and better future for the film as folks seek it out on Netflix.
I don’t know when the very good, and very rewarding, “Float Like A Butterfly” will make its way to Guyana. It picked up the FIPRESCI (The International Federation of Film Critics) award at TIFF, so it’s likely we can expect it to turn up for DVD or streaming in the new year.
Both films ask tough questions about identity and the vestiges of responsibility forced onto a subculture by a dominant one, and the questions feel relevant beyond Scotland and Ireland. The struggle for national identity for countries that have experienced trauma, and for persons who have experienced trauma, does not ever end in satisfying way. So the ending of both films feel elliptical. The battle has ended but the stories remain unresolved. The quest for home and identity is continuous.