Roger Garcia

Framed as a political thriller, this is a fine contemplation on what happened to youthful exuberance for revolution by the time the youths reach middle age. It appears to be the only feature film by Andi Engel (1942-2006), founder of the independent art house Artificial Eye with his late wife Pam Engel. They also published the wonderful but short lived film magazine Enthusiasm. The first issue on the Straubs is still one of the most valuable texts on their work. Unfortunately MELANCHOLIA appears to have only been issued on VHS tape and no DVD seems to exist. The film is occasionally screened in its 35mm format so I hope someone will do a transfer and issue a DVD in future - it would be a fitting tribute to this pioneer of indie cinema in the UK.