Herostratus

A unique work in British cinema which is crippled by two issues: 1) The story itself is a pretty simplistic one, which could have easily been presented in a conventional way, that is not fulfilling and 2) the avant-garde aspects, while at times interesting, feel unconnected to each other and try too hard to be against the aspects of the period the film was made in. As a result, it is an experimental failure.

At the expense of offending the core creative team (many of whom, so say the linear notes, committed suicide themselves), the film is obsessed with itself to a crippling degree, and outside of a few choice shots, never really excels. It's an interesting idea that never congeals into something truly meaningful quite like it should, which is fascinating in its specific context. But that's unfortunately it.