Robinson in Ruins is a 2010 British documentary film

Documentary film

Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...

 by Patrick Keiller

Patrick Keiller

Patrick Keiller is a British film-maker, writer and lecturer.-Biography:Keiller was born in 1950, in Blackpool and studied at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London. In 1979 he joined the Royal College of Art's Department of Environmental Media as a postgraduate student...

 and narrated by Vanessa Redgrave

Vanessa Redgrave

Vanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...

. It is a sequel to Keiller's previous films, London (1994) and Robinson in Space (1997).It documents the journey of the fictional titular character around the south of England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It premiered at the 67th Venice International Film Festival

67th Venice International Film Festival

The 67th annual Venice Film Festival held in Venice, Italy, took place from September 1 to September 11, 2010. American film director and screenwriter Quentin Tarantino was head of the Jury. John Woo was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement prior to the start of the Festival...

 in September 2010.

Overview

Vanessa Redgrave

Vanessa Redgrave

Vanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...

 assumes the role of narrator, after the death of Paul Scofield

Paul Scofield

David Paul Scofield, CH, CBE , better known as Paul Scofield, was an English actor of stage and screen...

 who narrated the previous films. Redgrave takes the part of the previous narrator's former lover. As her predecessor she guides us through the adventures of the unseen, titular character, Robinson. There is a special focus on the importance of nature as we are guided amongst Oxford

Oxford

The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

's picturesque surroundings. Keiller weaves the surreal, philosophy, architecture, the arts, science, politics, history and agriculture in this exploration of the natural world.

Release

The World Premiere was on September 4th at the 67th Venice International Film Festival. It was also be screened at the New York Film Festival

New York Film Festival

The New York Film Festival has been a major film festival since it began in 1963 in New York. The films are selected by the Film Society of Lincoln Center...

 on 26 September 2010. It was released and distributed by the British Film Institute

British Film Institute

The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...

on 19 November 2010.