Between Two Rivers

This is a highly interesting short documentary,not only because it is the first and probably most personal tv work of the unique Dennis Potter, but also because of its historical value.A youthful Potter revisits his homeland in the Forest of Dean and pays tribute to the place and its people,at the dawn of the great social change the 60's brought with them.Shot in the ''kitchen sink'' style of the British New Wave cinema for the BBC, it follows the well-structured, honest narration of Potter through the landscape and into the people's homes, now all altered by the new technologies, facing directly the dangers of social isolation,the new ''trend'' of consumerism and the generation gap,larger than ever before, while Potter himself, anxious about a future which might lose its sense of tradition and heritage,creates this film as a legacy for his -then-baby daughter and all the younger generations for the things past but not deserving to be forgotten.Bitter-sweet, nostalgic and sadly prophetic, this is a truly valuable piece of Potter's passion and genius.