anthropological urbanism

John Smith’s The Black Tower

Just been pointed in the direction of this brilliant film by Lillian Wilkie. In John Smith’s short 1987 film a man is seemingly haunted by the recurring appearance of an eerie brick tower. The structure appears to follow him around London and he never seems quite able to lay his eyes on it when he wants to.

The extract of the film which I’ve seen (anyone know where I can find the full thing?) is a brilliant attempt to put into perspective how we live in cities and how we come across familiar landmarks. Of how elements of the urban fabric catch our eye and seemingly “haunt” or memories and imaginations as we travel through the places in which we live. Smith manages not only to make a very watch-able film out of something which should be very dull but also sheds so much light on the mundanities of interacting with elements of cities through the careful narration.