The Amber Light (2019) User Reviews

A Documentary, But Not a Collection of Names and Dates

[brelanda · 7/10 · 27 July 2022]

This is not the sort of documentary where you are going to learn about Whisky.

This is the sort of documentary where you will learn about Whisky and the why it is a part and parcel linked to Scotland.

This is a film concerning the romance and poetry between Scotland and Whisky.

A lovesong to whisky, the land it comes from and the people around it

[njr-66696 · 10/10 · 25 November 2019]

Whisky seeps from every pore of this film, and anyone who loves whisky will want to see it. But although centred on whisky, it is also a film about Scotland, about the land the gives rise to whisky, the people who make and drink whisky, the music around whisky and much more besides. We see Islay, in all its glory, and Speyside, and less obviously Fife, all beautifully shot.

The film is written by Dave Broom, a whisky writer who we follow on a rambling but engaging oddesey around Scotland, talking to whisky drinkers, whisky makers, writers and musicians. Part of the thesis of the film is that making whisky is almost an art, with parallels to music, literature and poetry, and among the many vibrant characters we meet in the film are the writers Ian Rankin and Alasdair Gray, and the musicians Rachel Newton, The Furrow Collective and King Creosote.

Adam Park has given us a gem.