MICK MCSHANE is roused by a band whose socialism laces every line of every song with commitment and raw passion
Latest editorial
Fancy a TV binge?
Among upcoming TV series available globally, DENNIS BROE picks out the good, the bad and the interesting
(L) Disko 76, Liberation on the dance floor; (R) Ben Gazzara’s mob boss pontificating in Il Camorrista
New releases from Mountain, Soul Asylum and Michael McDermott
ALEX HALL is disgusted by the misuse of ‘emotional narratives’ to justify uninformed geo-political prejudice
SUE TURNER welcomes a thoughtful, engaging book that lays bare the economic realities of global waste management
JOHN GREEN welcomes an insider account of the achievements and failures of the transition to democracy in Portugal
SIMON PARSONS applauds an imaginative and absorbing updating of Strindberg’s classic
PETER MASON is enthralled by an assembly of objects, ancient and modern, that have lain in the mud of London’s river
The Good:
Machine (ARTE/Amazon Prime)
This series, written by Thomas Bidegain (A Prophet), currently available to be streamed for free on the Arte website, crosses the always vibrant French social realist tradition with kung fu sequences.
A young woman, escaped most likely from the French military, hiding out in a small town and counselled by a Marxist worker of colour, combats factory goons intent on breaking a strike in support of keeping the factory in France instead of the buyer’s intention of moving it to Poland to save money.
The male-female camaraderie and the concealed power of the female combatant echoes the Gina Davis/Samuel L Jackson film The Long Kiss Goodnight and makes for a compelling ride.
More from this author
While the group known as the Colourists certainly reinvigorated Scottish painting, a new show is a welcome chance to reassess them, writes ANGUS REID
ANGUS REID recommends an exquisite drama about the disturbing impact of the one child policy in contemporary China
The phrase “cruel to be kind” comes from Hamlet, but Shakespeare’s Prince didn’t go in for kidnap, explosive punches, and cigarette deprivation. Tam is different.
ANGUS REID deconstructs a popular contemporary novel aimed at a ‘queer’ young adult readership
