The Amber Light (Adam Park, 2019): UK

Reviewed by Kirsten Anderberg. Viewed at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2020.

“The Amber Light” is a charming love letter to Scotch whiskey, viewed through traditional and modern culture surrounding it. The film follows an Anthony Bourdain-type connoisseur of Scotch, Dave Broom, through the somewhat gritty streets of Glasgow, Scotland, and to the countryside’s peat bogs to view Scotch through the lens of history. Retracing olden Scotch recipes, using certain herbs and methods from an island that had an elite population of doctors producing a colorful, sweet angelica and herb flavored Scotch historically, the film illustrates “living within a landscape,” in poetry, song and distillation. They speak of making Scotch as a communal thing, not a commercial thing, especially on a remote island; stressing the Scotch was for sharing, not selling. The film describes an egalitarian spirit, a democratic will, that all shall drink, as opposed to only the king drinks. As a man shoveling peat in a bog says in the film, “whiskey is all about fun.” Citing the need for entertainment during long, dark winter months, Scotch is revered throughout this film.

An interesting animated manifestation of flashbacks is utilized throughout the film. When the film refers to a family memory, the screen turns to moving lines on a bright yellow orange palette, sketching out the scene. I found this to be very effective as it provided artistic interludes throughout the film.

This film had some similarities to the 2019 film by director Beth Elise Hawk, entitled, “Breaking Bread.” Both films illustrate how traditional foods are connected to cultural identities and how traditional food and drink can bring people together in ways that defy borders. Additionally, both of these films use culture to describe the importance of the food/drink, rather than the opposite; using the food/drink to describe the culture. A great example of this is when this film describes two men sitting at a bar, discussing which is their favorite Scotch and why, which then morphs into talking about Scotch history at their family gatherings, which then leads to talking about Scotch in literature, songs, etc. I actually think it would be interesting to watch these two movies together, as they play off of each others’ themes perfectly.