So apparently Somers Town was completely financed by Eurostar, which is not surprising because trains, the new terminal and trips to Paris are featured prominently in the film. See below my review on The Quietus (www.TheQuietus.com)
http://thequietus.com/articles/shane-meadows-somers-town-reviewed
What does everyone else think? Does the film seem like a giant advert to anybody else? Does this knowledge spoil your enjoyment of the film?
I was aware of this beforehand, and yes, you are unfortunately conscious of it looming in the background. However, in fairness to Meadows, it's not too obstructive and if you didn't know you'd probably just assume it was a (slightly clumsy) plot device. In a cinematic world where the most ugly and blatent product placement seems acceptable, this is subtle given that no logos or even trains appear in shot.
You might argue the morality of it all, but others would say "have you ever tried to get funding for a film in the UK?" What strikes me as most cynical is that this started as a short film which, presumably, would never have left the on-line and promo world. Expanding it to (only just) a full-length feature has pushed the Eurostar PR machine into new worlds.
There's a bigger debate to be had too: if you are sad like me and stay to the end of the credits, you will notice the last credit is (C) 2008 Eurostar Ltd. Meaning that Eurostar own this in the same way a studio would. When corporations start owning feature films, is this the thin end of a more insidious wedge?
It's not entirely without precedant. Back ib the 1980s CocaCola owned Columbia Pictures for an number of years ; mainly so they could have as many Product Placements in their films without even paying for them bacause they owned the studio outright (!).
shareActually the colour sequence did like a bit like an advert for Eurostar.
The rest of the film didn't.
After hearing Mark Kermode's review I was concerned that the product placement of Eurostar would be over the top. But I saw the film today and I was amazed how insignificant Eurostar was. Had I not known that Eurostar had financed the film, I would not have suspected. Compared to the product placement in recent Bond films, Castaway etc, it is invisible. The product placement is simply a cross-channel train ride and anyone who lives in Britain will know this is the natural way of going to Paris. And Eurostar logos are very minimal indeed. I'd offer my congratualtions to Shane Meadows for finding an innovative way to finance his film and also congratulations to Eurostar for backing this project and for not insisting on ruining the film with their own gratuitous self-promotion. Well done all round.
shareI also heard Dr K's review on the podcast back when the film was released but I've only just watched the movie this week.
Until I saw this thread I completely forgot about the Eurostar funding so it can't have been very obtrusive.
So Eurostar are well known for funding british films? Hardly! If you hadn't have known about the Eurostar funding you would never have suspected anything at all. It's hardly a 'clumsy' device.
If you ask me, it seems like a clever way to get funding & an all expenses paid jolly to Paris. Meadows knew what he was doing no doubt!
I think it's about as tasteful as it could be. Eurostar are bound to want some incentive to invest in the film, and though I'd agree there are a couple of moments in the epilogue that feel a bit advert-y, it's incredibly restrained when you consider the kind of product placement that's common in films. If I hadn't noticed Eurostar in the credits, it wouldn't have even occurred to me.
(Though, having said that, I really want to catch a train to Paris and meet a girl called Maria now ;o) )
if i had not seen this thread i would have never guessed it...
it was subtle and it was nicely plotted.
I AM REALLY OFFENDED BY PEOPLE WHO WILL GO OUT OF THEIR WAY TO GET OFFENDED.
Meadows initially turned the project down because he felt it would be too commercial. I found it anything but. If two kids were going to Paris, and one of them had a father who was working on the London terminus, what could be more natural?
Eurostar wasn't obtrusive in any way. If it hadn't been listed on the credits I don't imagine anyone would have guessed it was their money. Plus it only cost £400k which is cheap even for an otherwise independent film. They had no influence on the production at all.
I was more interested by the fact that Tomo was able to get a UK passport at the drop of a hat without any identification. Maybe the Passport Office put in some secret funding?
"Eurostar wasn't obtrusive in any way. If it hadn't been listed on the credits I don't imagine anyone would have guessed it was their money. Plus it only cost £400k which is cheap even for an otherwise independent film. They had no influence on the production at all."
Not being European, Eurostar means nothing to me; but I'm itching to see this because I love Shane's work (especially "Dead Man's Shoes" and "This Is England"), and as long as the company allowed him complete creative control on this project, its origins shouldn't matter. :)
"I know I'm not normal -- but I'm trying to change!" ~ Muriel's Wedding
Eurostar are the operators of the Eurotunnel between England and France. Their trains make the journeys with passengers, cars, trucks and illegal immigrants. When the film was first mooted it was thought of as being a nine or ten minute short, but it grew and Eurostar were quite happy with that.
Meadows originally turned the project down, fearing that it would be too commercial, but if you watch the interviews on the DVD he was eventually persuaded that he would have a free hand, and that's how it turned out.
If you do watch it I hope you'll enjoy it. It's different from the films you mention because there is no real violence, but it still has an important story which is well told.
"Eurostar are the operators of the Eurotunnel between England and France."
Oh, cool. :)
"if you watch the interviews on the DVD he was eventually persuaded that he would have a free hand, and that's how it turned out."
A good move on the company's part. I doubt they could've ever imagined the film playing outside of Europe, and I'm guessing it probably wouldn't have happened if Shane hadn't made it with such quality as he had.
"It's different from the films you mention because there is no real violence, but it still has an important story which is well told."
I kinda figured that -- I think the story sounds sweet, and it might be fun.
"I know I'm not normal -- but I'm trying to change!" ~ Muriel's Wedding
I wasn't aware that this movie was financed by Eurostar.
Have to say if this was advertisement then it was the best advertisement that i have seen in my entire life. Loved every bit of the movie.
In the scene where Tomo bumps into the woman he met on the way down, behind them there is a big billboard promoting the opening or something of St Pancras/eurostar
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