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Mark Lyken’s documentary is a treat for people-watchers, full of touching vignettes of the not-so-ordinary daily lives it observesI would love to have been in the audience in Hawick in the Scottish borders for the premiere of this documentary; it was filmed in the town by artist Mark Lyken during a six-month residency with local outfit Alchemy Film & Arts. A collection of brief snapshots of the day-to-day, Lyken’s film is proof that there is no such thing as ordinary life. Maybe it’s his curious, kind-natured way of looking at people, their rhythms and routines, but scenes here become gently moving in ways that are hard to pinpoint exactly. That said, the film’s 90-minute running time definitely puts this in the realm of a concentration challenger.Still, it’s a people watchers’ treat. Lyken has captured some lovely moments of warmth and community: the town’s Scrabble club nattering away; a group of wild swimmers whooping to gird themselves for a dip. In one of my favourite scenes, kids watch Buster Keaton in a darkened classroom; we don’t see the screen, just their faces. One little girl is tickled pink; a boy curls his lip with an expression somewhere between scepticism and contempt. There’s some animal entertainment too: cows in a dairy strapped in for milking by a metal contraption that looks like the harness on a rollercoaster. When it’s over the cows shuffle off like the world’s least impressed fairgoers. Continue reading...