Bogancloch

Bogancloch is the follow up to Ben Rivers 2011 film Two Years at Sea the featured Jake Williams. Which I haven’t seen.

Here in 2025 the concentration is on Jake’s isolated life in the highlands of Scotland. The vast tracts of land and forest in which he appears to freely roam supply him with all he needs.

Set over a year, through the seasons. Jake basically goes about his life documented by Rivers. Collecting roadkill he prepares and eats, as well leaving some for the cat. He lives in a cluttered house that vaguely reminds of the bizarre interior of the Steptoe’s lounge from the 1970’s sitcom.

He sorts out his collection of cassettes that he’s accumulated through his travels. The occasional degraded colour photograph provides some idea of his early life. He also has time to teach about the solar system at the local school using a bizarre pub-parasol set-up.

It’s a lonely and humble existence without much contact with others. That is until late in the film, around a campfire, they sing a song about the World’s struggle between life and death.

The film is primarily in black and white, interspersed with the aforementioned colour photographs and a very short sequence. The film is on 16mm anamorphic which, I’m guessing, was purposely distressed to appear at times bleached, others like it was damaged film stock from the silent era. It doesn’t add or takeaway too much as overall the film is not that engaging.

Jake Williams may have had an interesting life and chosen to give that up for this forest retreat away from the world. A world that he may now feel out of synch with if the song The Flyting o’ Life and Daith is anything to go by.

The main problem is that ostensibly, Bogancloch is a documentary about Mr Williams but there’s so much clear contrivance and manipulation, it doesn’t do much for him as the subject. It all begins to appear more like a presentational film for the director’s ideas.

Bogancloch will be in UK cinemas from 30 May 2025.