Beats

I freely admit that I was happy to be swept away by this little celebration of freedom and liberty. It leaves a somewhat bitter aftertaste, but it also has gradual, hypnotic techno music, perfectly immersive visuals, and, last but not least, great acting performances by the two main representatives of the youthful rebellion. (85%) (27.12.2021)

Great concept, but average execution. How many films delve into the rave scene of the 90s on the British Isles? Not many. Human Traffic comes to mind, but that's about it. The potential was definitely there. The director chose to shoot in black and white, which could have worked. However, the characters are utterly stereotypical—one is a timid guy just happy to be there, the other is a hardcore rebel. They’re like caricatures without any real personality. The rave scene itself is more of a backdrop in the first half, only taking center stage later on. The rave scenes are fantastic, but the rest of the movie drags. I wanted to give it four stars for the idea, but ultimately settled on three. The concept was great, but the execution could have been much better. (25.01.2024)

The 1990s have finally become nostalgic retro, and given that one of their hallmarks was the rapid branching out of cultural scenes, we're sure to see more than a few more cinematic flashbacks in the near future. After Lords of Chaos, dedicated to the Norwegian black metal scene, Hill's Mid90s, which in turn reminisced about the American skate subculture, or the mainstream-oriented Straight Outta Compton, the BBC has farted out a reminder of the British techno/dub/rave scene, which was besieged by a law that made it virtually impossible to exist and thus plunged it into an actual illegal underground. Given the brief, then, I was expecting an inaccessible and austere anti-system ride where the protagonists would demand no sympathy and the overdriven beats and contrasting cuts would make my head explode. In short, something like Climax, Nachtmahr, or Mektoub. Instead, Beats serves up a Scottish version of Steindler's Coal Tower that constantly reminds us how it is unable to wordlessly convey the feeling of being part of the wild years of the resistance under the loudspeaker by needing someone to constantly talk about it out loud. And of course that's why there has to be a terribly negative character to explain the whole idea of these events through. In short, some very badly made techno education system with the ambition to explain this scene to your parents, maybe grandparents. I still feel embarrassed at the dramatic arc with Spanner's violent brother and Cristian Ortega is clearly doing the worst acting of the year. (10.09.2019)