Continuing the provincial theme of the last three episodes of the podcast (albeit without the urban component featured alongside the rural in Safe, Trenque Lauquen, and Evil Does Not Exist), Penda's Fen settles with both comfort and disquiet into the village of Pinvin where its teenage protagonist Stephen (Spencer Banks) comes of age. Introduced as an almost comically hidebound reactionary, Stephen slowly opens up to both the world around him and the world within. This film - or, depending how you classify it, play, series episode, or TV movie - engages in a vast array of topics and approaches, including religion, politics, sci-fi, horror, fantasy, musical appreciation, English history, sexual awakening, and adoptive identity. At times I was thrilled by its ambition, at others frustrated by the range of its focus. Discussing the film allowed me to touch on the Jesus biopic Son of Man, the pastoral reverie of The Wind in the Willows, the historical mythologization of pagan King Penda, the subversive nature of the Protestant-to-Catholic Oxford Movement, and the contrast of twentieth century British social conservatism's indifference to an instinctive reactionary strain vs. twenty-first century America's capacity to groom and empower adolescent traditionalism. In addition to this rich topic for the top tier, all patrons were presented with an advance coda to my Twin Peaks character series through versions including (and excluding) the not-yet-previewed top ten. As for Penda's Fen, if you want to hear my thoughts on one of director Alan Clarke's last projects, check out my podcast on his experimental portrait of the Troubles, Elephant.
