Gallivant (Andrew Kötting, 1996)

Andrew Kötting | 1996 | UK | 104’ | EN subtitles

To gallivant means to travel, roam, or move about for pleasure. Under this guise, filmmaker Andrew Kötting drives 10,000 kilometres around the coastline of Britain, accompanied by his 7-year-old daughter Eden who has Joubert’s syndrome, and his 85-year-old grandmother Gladys. Throughout their odyssey the trio brush with eccentric characters and customs, reflecting the fictions and frictions of the British Isles.

There is a motif of electricity pylons, abuzz with voices. Amid the cacophony of thick regional accents, radio-wave interference, diary entries and archival samples, Eden and Gladys forge new ways of communicating with hand signs and gestures. There is a feeling that time is speeding up. Gladys nears the end of her life, whilst Eden is just beginning her fragile existence. Andrew injects boyish humour to soften spirits.

Shot on Super 8 and 16mm film, in a mixture of pumped-up colours and abrasive black-and-white, Gallivant is DIY home-slash-road movie with charm and poignancy.