Having lived on the Island for 50 years I enjoyed most of the film and the history. Not sure of the authenticity of it all though. The Tanit bit was stupid and totally unnecessary. I just lived seeing the island as it was in the old days, my island!
7 Reviews
Not as Clever as it Thinks
silvio-mitsubishi10 August 2019
An attempt to tell the history of Ibiza from its first colonisation to the present day. It comes off as an extended music video that they forgot to add music to. Real ancient history is ditched in favour of a tourist-friendly tale, and it is sometimes difficult to understand what the film is trying to say, particularly around World War Two and the Spanish Civil War. The role of fascist rulers in the evolution of club culture is mentioned in passing but left me wanting more.
The film returns repeatedly to the indigenous residents, with clips of them using ancient agricultural methods, but is never explored. Local people are interviewed for less than one minute, despite the fact they have been there far longer than the night clubs. Apart from salt and olive oil, I still have no idea what the locals lived on before tourism.
In silent movie style, the commentary is restricted to a few caption boards. For some reason, the makers left yawning time gaps between these, even when up to three three formed one complete sentence. The result was that a group of words often had no real meaning until the next group appeared, by which time the first group, without context, was largely forgotten.
Someone had clearly made an effort to find old and new footage, plus clips from other films about the island, but they did not follow a narrative path. Many interesting stories were touched on but immediately abandoned in favour of more dance scenes. What was the result of the destruction of Phoenecian artifacts by builders? Did Raoul Haussmann discover more, or were we to think he faked them? To what extent did former senior Nazis find refuge there?
I watched to the end, but only as one would 'listen' to music in lifts. It was more interesting than staring at a wall, but I cannot say I learned very much. I have a few things I will now research myself, but even short answers to my questions would have elevated this film into something more. Ibiza, the island, was simply a McGuffin to frame a film about the evolution of dance music and club culture, and a shallow explanation at that.
The film returns repeatedly to the indigenous residents, with clips of them using ancient agricultural methods, but is never explored. Local people are interviewed for less than one minute, despite the fact they have been there far longer than the night clubs. Apart from salt and olive oil, I still have no idea what the locals lived on before tourism.
In silent movie style, the commentary is restricted to a few caption boards. For some reason, the makers left yawning time gaps between these, even when up to three three formed one complete sentence. The result was that a group of words often had no real meaning until the next group appeared, by which time the first group, without context, was largely forgotten.
Someone had clearly made an effort to find old and new footage, plus clips from other films about the island, but they did not follow a narrative path. Many interesting stories were touched on but immediately abandoned in favour of more dance scenes. What was the result of the destruction of Phoenecian artifacts by builders? Did Raoul Haussmann discover more, or were we to think he faked them? To what extent did former senior Nazis find refuge there?
I watched to the end, but only as one would 'listen' to music in lifts. It was more interesting than staring at a wall, but I cannot say I learned very much. I have a few things I will now research myself, but even short answers to my questions would have elevated this film into something more. Ibiza, the island, was simply a McGuffin to frame a film about the evolution of dance music and club culture, and a shallow explanation at that.
Having Lived Here Since 600 years Before Christ....
arfdawg-17 September 2019
a true story
adeibiza-190232 August 2019
Having lived here for twenty years i can honestly say this probably the best and most honest history and portrayal of here i've seen, and a brilliant soundtrack.
the last segment of the film is very much how a lot of the island has been feeling over past few years...
the last segment of the film is very much how a lot of the island has been feeling over past few years...
Worked and lived on the island for over 10 years
paolo-975-1631005 August 2019
I had the pleasure of watching this at Glastonbury at the drive through cinema and was so happy it made it to iPlayer, so the masses can actually see some of the history of the island, and what it's all about. Ibiza is such a special place and needs to be kept that way!
Nothing to see
kevin c18 August 2019
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