For
centuries the remote island of Taransay was known
only to a few, but the Castaways changed all that.
Now the makers of a film about a real life 1930s
rocket scientist have come ashore for the ideal
location
Hebridean silence came as a surprise to sound
recordists for the film Rocket Post on location
in the Western Isles. Accustomed to a more urban
background hum of traffic and aeroplanes overhead,
a natural silence seems almost eerie and takes
some getting used to.
"There is a Hebridean silence," enthuses Mark
Shorrock, the film’s producer. "It is a total,
peaceful serenity broken only by birdsong or the
lapping of waves."
The Rocket Post tells the amazing true story of
an idealistic, and decidedly eccentric, German
scientist, Gerhard Zucher (played by Danish actor
Ulrich Thomsen), who came to the Outer Hebrides
in the 1930s to develop a rocket to transport
mail between the inaccessible islands. The need
for such a device arose when, during a wild storm,
a young mother got into difficulty giving birth
to the second of her twins on the island of Scarp
(nearby Taransay, scene of the BBC’s Castaway
series, is doubling for Scarp in the movie because
the owner of Scarp forbade filming there).
On account of the high seas, no one was able to
get a message to the doctor on the larger island
of Harris, and the woman had to wait three days
before travelling across and delivering the second
twin. When Zucher arrived in this remotest corner
of Scotland, he had to deal with local hostility
not only to new technology, but also to Germans
- during the First World War the Highlands and
Islands had lost, per capita, the greatest number
of soldiers in the British Isles.
In the film, matters are further complicated when
the mistrusted foreigner starts to fall in love
with the beautiful local schoolteacher, Catherine
MacKay (played by Shauna Richings Macdonald, a
newcomer who has taken a term out of her studies
at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama
to appear in this film).
The script, by James MacInnes and William Morrissey,
captures precisely the sense of a tightly-knit
community that unravels once it comes into contact
with a magnetic outsider. Shorrock sums it up
as "Romeo and Juliet set on a Scottish island."
The producer felt that such a gripping story was
just crying out to be made into a film. "It’s
almost unbelievable that the British government
would want to send a German rocket scientist to
the islands at that point in time. It really is
a case where true life has thrown up a story that
is more remarkable than anything you could invent."
The production has the precision and scale of
a major military operation. Fifty builders spent
four weeks on Taransay constructing a facsimile
of a 1930s Highland village complete with jetty
and church hall. Everything from building materials
to fresh water had to be transported from Harris
on barges and helicopters. But it was worth it:
the results are breathtakingly convincing.
Gary Lewis, who plays Jimmy Roach, a Glaswegian
poacher, pays tribute to the builders. "The unsung
heroes of this film are the art department and
the construction team. They should be lined up
on the beach and each presented with a bottle
of Talisker whisky. The first day we were here,
the producers brought the islanders over from
Harris and Lewis, and the old locals were arguing
that these houses had been on Taransay for ages.
Even the island’s owner said: ‘I didn’t
know I had these buildings on my land.’ That’s
a real compliment to the builders."
The shoot itself is a logistical headache, with150
people being ferried to the island each day, using
just four speedboats. The production base on Taransay
could double for the camp in M*A*S*H - all cavernous
marquees draped in camouflage netting. Emergency
provisions are ready for cast and crew to overnight
in the dining marquee if the weather turns nasty
during the course of a day. It comes as no surprise
to learn that the Paras have been involved in
the planning of this production.
None of this will be visible on screen. The Rocket
Post aims to tell a simple story set against a
simple backdrop. Looking like a particularly tasty
Bounty advert, the island is clearly photogenic.
The BBC’s Castaways found Taransay so intoxicating
some returned earlier this year to help tidy up
the island.
Shorrock maintains that for authenticity’s
sake it is essential that the events are shot
in the area where they actually happened. You
can’t, he contends, mock up the sheer tranquillity
of the Outer Hebrides.
"People think of Great Britain as one big, overcrowded
concrete jungle," he says, "but then you come
somewhere like this and see that it is almost
a wilderness. This place is unique because the
sense of isolation is so special. It also has
an austere beauty; it combines Mediterranean seas
with Highland scenery. That doesn’t exist
anywhere else in the world."
The production designer, Alison Riva, agrees:
"The sea sparkles here like it does in Greece.
It’s like someone has thrown a handful of
diamonds onto the surface."
Not since Local Hero has a feature film attempted
to reflect the strangely transfixing ambience
of the Highlands and Islands on screen. On the
evidence of the rushes, The Rocket Post has succeeded.
The actors have certainly found being on Taransay
an addictive experience.
"It does something to you,"’ declares Kevin
McKidd. The Elgin actor, best known for his roles
in Trainspotting and Small Faces, plays Dr Thomas
McKinnon, Zucher’s rival for Catherine’s
affections.
"You come to work through such beautiful and untouched
landscape that everything else just seems minor.
Being here gives you a good sense of perspective.
You can get very uptight on a film set, but the
landscape here is so awesome that it just humbles
you. It helps you see what really matters in life
and stops you being obsessed with trivia like
whether or not you’ve got a double chin."
The Rocket Post will be released next year.
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For
centuries the remote island of Taransay was known
only to a few, but the Castaways changed all that.
Now the makers of a film about a real life 1930s
rocket scientist have come ashore for the ideal
location 