Who remembers Britain in the 60s? I sure don’t. Y’know, age reasons. But what was it like in those days? Well, Michael Caine tells us in the style of a documentary with different stories. As Caine describes his origin, we also hear from the perspectives of other British celebrities who grew up in that time, like David Bailey, Twiggy, Roger Daltrey, Marianne Faithfull, Paul McCartney, Mary Quant, and quite a few more. Subjects of that time include the vibe caused by the Cold War, lifestyle in general, and even the stories of what they did before they made it to the top.
The documentary is divided into 3 acts. Act I: Something in the Air covers bands like The Who, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones along with the rebellious youth who listened to their music. At the same time, Caine talks about his career and how he started out, soon to become infamous. Act II: I feel free is a more closer looks into youth who spent most of their life in London for educational purposes, by which I mean the outbreak of pop art and its vigorous colours. It also describes the women in those time and just how powerful they were, especially with expression in style. Men had a certain style of expression too, wearing their hair long and being photographers. In other words, the whole act is all about creativity back then, only to change near the end that helps segue-way into the next act. Act III : All is not what it seemed explains that life isn’t what everyone expected. For starters, Caine describes the fact that so many people did drugs back then to help make themselves feel better and be even more rebellious than ever. The most common drugs back then were the same ones still somewhat common today (especially in Vancouver) Marijuana and LSD.
This is a more different approach to a documentary than usual. Michael Caine seems to be more of the focus than everyone else as he talks much more. And when the other celebrities speak with Michael, we don’t see them on screen. Rather, we see ancient footage of them in their earlier lives. The footage itself, despite being from many years ago looks rather crisp and clear without any pixelation, interestingly enough. The visuals and sounds from back then were rather genuine and outgoing too. For anyone who’s really interested in a good history lesson about Britain, I would highly recommend checking out this documentary. It really provides a lot of thorough material.
