All That Is England: When a Car Commercial Lasts Forever

Is it worth your time?

Only if you have an obsession with 1930s upholstery or if you’re trying to understand how companies used to trick people into watching ads for an hour. If you like classic cars and polite people pointing at hills, you’ll find it cozy. If you’re looking for, I don’t know, a plot, you are going to be bored to tears within the first ten minutes.

It’s essentially a travelogue that forgot to stop being a commercial. You get a lot of shots of cars driving through green fields. Then more cars. Then someone talking about the engine.

The Vibes

There is this weirdly stiff energy to the whole thing. It’s like everyone involved was told that if they smiled too hard, the Austin Seven would break down. You can really feel the marketing board of directors looming over the camera operator's shoulder the entire time.

I found myself zoning out and just staring at the background. The way the light hits the English countryside in these old films always looks a bit like a painting that hasn't quite dried yet. It’s lovely, honestly.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of All That Is England (1932) through its definitive frames.

• The sheer amount of luggage these people are carrying is stressful.
• Every time someone talks about 'the open road,' it sounds like they’re reading from a pamphlet.
• The way they park the cars on cliffs? Bold choice.

It’s not quite as cynical as modern advertising, but it’s still definitely trying to sell you something. It reminded me a bit of the frantic, forced cheerfulness in Made in America, though with significantly more tea and tweed.

At one point, they stop to look at a cathedral. I think they forgot to move the car out of the shot. It’s just sitting there, being very shiny and very much the point of the whole movie. Someone in the back is probably clutching a clipboard.

It lacks the narrative punch of something like Across the Pacific, but that’s an unfair comparison. This isn't trying to tell a story. It’s trying to tell you that Austin makes a sturdy vehicle for your family picnic.

I did appreciate the lack of CGI. Everything here is real, even the slightly awkward pauses where the actors realize they have no lines left and just have to look at a radiator for another five seconds. Classic.

If you're into history, it’s a decent watch. If you’re just looking for a movie, maybe go do the dishes instead. You’ll get more out of it. 🚗💨