Divided into nine overlapping musical chapters and mixing a vast array of archival material with original shot scenes from the United Kingdom ... The Nine Muses is a modern recasting of Homer’s epic as a ‘song cycle’ on journeys, on migration, on memory and the power of elegy.
Reviews
Empire Magazine
David Parkinson
“A stylish exercise in structuralism that succeeds in being cerebral, cinematic and accessible, this is an immersive experience that proclaims its literacy and technical mastery with laudable modesty.”
16/01/2012
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The Evening Standard
The Evening Standard
“Quoting The Odyssey, and also Dante, Shakespeare, Joyce and Beckett, the film makes the immigrant experience seem fresh again as part of something wider than just British political, social and cultural history.”
20/01/2012
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The Independent
Anthony Quinn
“It is worth watching alone for the faces of children and adults just arrived in the country, bemused yet hopeful – these are Akomfrah's fantastic discovery, and the centrepiece of his haunting meditation.”
20/01/2012
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The Observer
Philip French
“A handsome, restful, thought-provoking film.
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22/01/2012
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The Financial Times
Nigel Andrews
“Much of this is majestic. But a thought kept fidgeting in my head. Do we need quite so many dead white males singing the tragedies and trials of the black experience? ... White society is blamed for a lot in this film. But apparently it still has the last word on culture and history, white or black.”
19/01/2012
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The Guardian
Peter Bradshaw
“A thoughtful cine-essay.”
19/01/2012
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Time Out
Geoff Andrew
“Rather perfunctorily imposed, and the choice of some of the quotations is a little predictable, but there’s no denying the dazzling beauty of the piece nor its import as a salutary reminder of how things were for immigrants to Britain not so very long ago.”
17/01/2012
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The Times
Wendy Ide
“In turns hauntingly beautiful, maddeningly pretentious and curiously moving, this is film-making at the farthest reaches of the art house spectrum.”
20/01/2012
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Total Film
Tom Dawson
“A demanding, high-brow watch, yet ably conveys the rootlessness and dislocation of the immigrant experience.”
06/01/2012
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The Independent on Sunday
Jonathon Romney
“On one level, it's clear what The Nine Muses is about: migration as real historical experience and broader mythical idea. But exactly how the film expands on its theme is something for the viewer to unpick. It's hard to get to grips with Akomfrah's elusive, allusive film.
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22/01/2012
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The Sunday Times
Edward Porter
“Just a highbrow relaxation video.
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22/01/2012
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The Daily Telegraph
Tim Robey
“The problem — perhaps we should say the challenge — is how little the literary sources seem to emanate from these stranded nomads ... It’s as if Akomfrah is trying to make mythological connections and undo or deny them at the same time — an alienating and misguided strategy.”
20/01/2012
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