113. Almost ready to go
Iām currently in Scotland, where Iām walking the final section of the West Highland Way. Next week Iāll be writing a travelogue, but this time Iām sharing my anticipation with you. With a walking film and a film about Scotland (which turned out to be less about Scotland than I thought).
I.
Thereās still plenty of room for new additions in the hiking film genre. Because, really, what do we actually have? There are a few lists online featuring the same titles over and over, such as Wild, Tracks, The Way Back and Stand by Me. But the selection isnāt exactly vast. Coincidentally, The Salt Path, a new hiking film starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs, has recently been released. Itās based on the book of the same name.
In principle, two things are important for a good hiking film. 1: A beautiful setting. 2: A few people walking through it. They struggle with the gruelling journey, but the views make it all worthwhile. And, of course, the journey symbolises the personal growth the main characters undergo.
In The Salt Path, the beautiful setting certainly doesnāt disappoint. The couple Raynor (Anderson) and Moth Winn (Isaacs) are walking the South West Coast Path, which, at over a thousand kilometres, is Englandās longest walking route. It takes them past stunning cliffs and through rolling countryside. The reason for the walk is less cheerful: the Winns have lost everything due to a financial disaster. And to make matters worse, Moth is struggling with all sorts of physical ailments caused by a rare and life-threatening illness.
If youāve always had it good and suddenly find yourself living on rations in a tent, that canāt be easy mentally. In The Salt Path, the couple in their fifties try to make the best of it. For a brief moment, they are angry. At the world, at each other. Then it passes and they carry on. Slowly but surely, they realise what is truly important in life. You can pretty much see it all coming.
The Winns meet a few unusual characters, which lands them in strange situations. The weather is sometimes against them, sometimes with them. But above all, they keep walking. Heading towards a destination so far away for a couple of inexperienced walkers that it simply has to be about the journey. That walk isnāt made to look much better than it is; at times, the film is a bit too saccharine and melodramatic for my taste. It did make me fancy a walk, so it achieved its aim.
- - -II.
I once bought Highlander on DVD and never got round to watching it. It was about time, because by the time this post goes online, Iāll be trudging through the Highlands myself. Highlander from 1986 is about Connor MacLeod, a 16th-century Scottish warrior who, during a fight with his murderous opponent Kurgan, discovers that he is immortal.
It turns out Kurgan canāt be killed either, and what follows is a centuries-long battle that is still being fought in 1986. With swords. Because the only way an immortal can die is by having his head cut off. The filmās plot is a bit hazy, mind you, so itās all a bit unclear at the start. But the action is brilliant, as are the sets and the way Highlander is filmed. I read afterwards that Chad Stahelski is working on a reboot of the series, and he seems like the right director for the job. Whilst watching Highlander, I found myself thinking regularly of his John Wick films.
For a film called Highlander, the story is actually set more in New York than in Scotland. But the Highlands arenāt entirely ignored. In flashbacks, you find yourself in the green hills, where the emotional heart of the film lies. For it was there that MacLeod once met his beloved Heather. She grew old with him, whilst he remained young by her side. The curse of immortality is that you lose everyone, whilst you are left behind. Try forming an emotional relationship after that.
Highlander is a bizarre film in its own right, with an equally bizarre (but delightful) performance by Sean Connery as the flamboyant Juan SĆ”nchez-Villalobos RamĆrez. According to the director, Connery was, incidentally, nearly beheaded by his co-star Clancy Brown (Kurgan). And then thereās the Queen soundtrack ā and a few famous lines from their songs spoken by the characters. Add all that up and it makes perfect sense that a cult classic emerged.
- - -PS.
For the second week in a row, a Creep cover on this blog. Billie Eilish performed at the Ziggo Dome and played the Radiohead track.
- - -A new Spike Lee film is on the way. The director is teaming up with Denzel Washington again for a contemporary remake of Akira Kurosawaās High and Low, set in New York. The title is, in true Spike Lee style: Highest 2 Lowest.
- - -These are the kinds of things I wonder about. How do you make a crossword puzzle? Not: how do you fill it in, but: how do you actually make it. You can see it in the video below, an oldie from Wired.
- - -New albums from Arcade Fire and Mark Pritchard & Thom Yorke. (Do look them up yourself, as Substack doesnāt support links.) Iāve already been listening to the Pritchard & Yorke album in a Scottish valley at sunset, and I was already thoroughly satisfied.
Youāve just read weekly blog ā113, written between 5 and 11 May 2025. Subscribe to my free newsletter to receive this blog in your inbox every Sunday.