Local Hero - Bill Forsyth
Credit: Criterion Collection / Warner Bros.
by Patrick Preziosi Featured Film Kicking the Canon Kicking the Canon

Local Hero — Bill Forsyth

February 17, 2023

Bill Forsyth may have to bear the reductive, buzzy distinction of having “put Scottish cinema on the map,” but he at least did so with both a disarming degree of separation — shifting the sensation of discovery onto his characters — and an expectedly warm familiarity. Originally an aspiring writer, Forsyth prioritizes novelistic detail over momentum, which allows him to poke fun at his country while also reveling in its low-key uniqueness, juggling breaks in perspective like they were the most graceful of chapter or paragraph breaks. 

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Part of Kicking the Canon — The Film Canon.
Published as part of InRO Weekly — Volume 1, Issue 7.