Where You're Meant To Be with Aidan Moffat @ Cinema City

As a long term fan of Aidan Moffat’s music from back in the 90’s onwards, I was chuffed to pieces to hear that the man hi’self was visiting us here in Norwich once again. This time around, however, there would be no raucous guitar, no banging beats and no drunken revelations (probably).  An altogether more civilised affair was on the cards for this evening.

There are three main players in the film Where You’re Meant To Be. Firstly, film maker Paul Fegan who has spent four years crafting a stunning, beguiling and affectionate piece of art. Aidan Moffat, musician, who challenges the concept that folk music is timeless. And Sheila Stewart MBE, traveller, stalwart singer and traditionalist who sticks to her guns like a true warrior. The coming together of these three elements, and the addition of Scotland itself as a character creates screen magic.

The auditorium isn’t packed, but there’s a definite thrill in the air as the room darkens and we settle into it. The story is this – Aidan believes traditional folk songs are no longer relevant in today’s world, so sets out to reinvent them in his own inimitable style, giving them a modern setting or lyrics.  He goes on tour around Scotland, playing remote village halls and places where time has seemed to stand still for decades to test these new versions, meeting various folk on the way. It doesn’t go well. He meets Sheila Stewart who clings fiercely and protectively to the auld style of folk singing and thinks he’s a bit of a tool. It doesn’t go well. The film ends with a successful show at Glasgow’s famous Barrowland, where traditional and modern versions finally meet and, while not accepting each other totally, they find some common ground.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a film made with a more delicate and fond touch. From meeting two warring Loch Ness monster fanatics to seeing an elderly man weeping and singing along to a traditional folk song that reminds him of his wife who passed away after 58 years of marriage, to the evocative and slow shots of Scottish landscapes it’s absolutely beautiful in every way. There's sunlit mountains, misty, unending roads, rough seas, all shot with such care. It’s very funny too – somehow Paul Fegan has a way of capturing people’s expressions and every day moments with a style that is obviously entirely natural but is so clever and stylish it could have been set up. Aidan himself willingly plays the butt of the joke throughout, from snoring in a tour bus as it rolls across the highlands to falling down a sandy bank. Sheila is a tour de force, who sadly died before the film was finished - an incredibly strong woman who was incredibly proud of her heritage. She doesn’t say much, but she is absolutely unforgettable. Where You’re Meant To Be is a love song to the Scottish people, both rural and urban dwellers, and gives us Norwich folk a sense of what it means to live in a world where tradition and modernity are easy bedfellows but also find each other grating when they touch.