This 80s gem throws up some strange messages for a family film, but its mind-bending meta-mania is a joy to watch under lockdownSee the other classic missed films in this seriesThe best arts and entertainment during self-isolationIt’s a classic case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Back to the Future was released in 1985, four years before I was born, and my early film education consisted of
Disney, then Harry Potter, and then any and every romantic
comedy. It wasn’t until my final years at school and my decision to study French at university that my cinematic horizons expanded. Following my teacher’s encouragement, I watched Truffaut’s Jules et Jim and The 400 Blows, the Three Colours trilogy, Amélie and Delicatessen. I even branched out into Spanish (Y Tu Mamá También, Volver, Amores Perros) and a touch of German (The Lives of Others). Unless it was set in Hogwarts or Middle Earth, any type of adventure, sci-fi or fantasy film just didn’t appeal to me.
But what better time to rectify that than during a nationwide lockdown? I think I’ll enjoy Back to the Future. After all, I know a few things about it already. I know that a young Michael J Fox gets involved in time travel with an eccentric scientist and things, as you’d imagine, start to go wrong. I’m aware that there’s also something about hoverboards, because every once in a while people complain that we were promised we’d have them by now. And I know that Fox’s character, Marty McFly, inspired the naming of a noughties pop band – but thankfully, I’ve never seen them, either.