A Meeting
by the Railways
Martin, an ageing artist is searching for new meaning in his life and takes us on an emotional exploration of his past and how through a chance meeting with Anirban in India has found new forms of creative expression, slowly revealing the magical secret at the bottom of his garden in London.
We begin to make a connection between his art and the world of Ghumjeeling. We finally enter his secret life and begin to see close ups of this fantasy world. The magic comes alive.
Anirban now steps in front of the camera and we have a section where we begin to understand the origins of the bond between Martin and Anirban through shots and clips taken in Darjeeling and London. As we move back into Ghumjeeling the models are moving and we lose sense of scale, small things become very large and we are suddenly transformed into the full-size shooting of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, reality and fantasy the fusion is complete! Anirban says “People are talking about us, saying we are mad” Martin replies “I think we are mad”. The second half is about this joyous madness and the fun Martin and Anirban have exploring the Darjeeling railway. The music adds a feeling of crazy uplifting hysteria.
This leads into a section of direct comparisons between details in Darjeeling with the same details on the model Ghumjeeling.
Martin sums up what is important to him as an artist and how he has begun to realise that many of these concerns are present in his work as a model maker. Through his friendship with Anirban he has learnt to look again at his childhood and accept the validity of those interests which many adults put aside as childish and naïve. We return to London and although Martin’s darkness and introversion remain we sense a greater acceptance of his own history and his origins as a driving force in his creativity and destiny.
Martin is busy in the early morning light making preparations for something unknown, Anirban makes his own preparations with light settings and then he starts the film with the words “I am ready”. As the beautiful music starts, we are taken to an unknown location and Martin walks slowly into the shot along a railway track. The journey has begun. We return to the dawn breaking and Martin reveals his easel and artwork in the dark garden. We now move into daylight as he puts out the rubbish and their old Christmas tree for recycling, time for new beginnings and we move into the house to discover more of his life as an artist and family man. Anirban is filming but we feel a connection between the two of them there is no pretence. Martin is unsure of himself and self-consciously picks up a guitar exclaiming “I can’t do it” Following a brief introduction to his background using historical images, Anirban follows him into the garden to show him working on a drawing of an Indian steam engine Leonard Cohen plays in the background adding more sombre undertones. We continue with Martin talking about his childhood and we catch our first glimpse of Ghumjeeling, the world he is creating at the bottom of the garden. Sitting, talking and cycling in the local cemetery we sense some of the isolation and darkness beneath the surface of his character. As we see more of his work in painting and sculpture, we begin to understand how his skills and methods as an artist have developed. Adrien, his wife, shares some of her thoughts on their history and travels as they look through old work and photographs together.
Anirban Dutta 