Dir: Skip Kite
2014
*****
Skip Kite's Will And Testament is a defining portrait of a great man and the UK's most respected political figure of recent years. Both loved and hated and once referred to as Briton's most dangerous man, Benn changed opinion on a vast scale and was berated by those who would not profit from his socialist opinion. Tony Benn was very much a man of the people who fought for civil rights and is a rare example of a member of parliament who could admit when they were wrong and then do something about it. Loved and hated but always respected and once he was no longer seen as a danger to the right he was declared, by everybody, as a national treasure. I hope Will And Testament will go as far to keep his memory and what he achieved alive in these fickle times. It's a great factual document of Benn's political activities but also a very personal tribute to him and his wife. There are no interviews with anyone other than Benn, making this very much his film and indeed, his last will and testament as he died just before its release. The structure of the film, having each chapter of his life represented individually on a sound-stage he walks around, is very effective without being emotionally manipulative. It's a one of a kind documentary for a one of a kind man, made with the admiration and respect he deserved.
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