Programme for 65th Season
The selection of films is made up of six chosen by the Committee and six voted for by Members.
All shows start at 7:45PM unless otherwise stated
10 September 2010
In 1922 Madrid, the youthful Salvador Dalí, Luis Buñuel and Federico Garcia Lorca become a formidable trio and the most ultra-modern group in the city. As their lives and loves develop, the relationships become more than a meeting of minds at a time when Madrid was wavering on the edge of great changes.
Young Dalí is played by Robert Pattinson, soon to enjoy a different sort of fame in the 'Twilight' films.
1 October 2010
Lionel, a widower, drives RER trains in Paris and lives a contented and secluded life with his devoted student daughter, Joséphine. Other residents of the block of flats include the love-lorn Noé and Gabrielle.
The story consists of a collection of scenes from the lives of Lionel, Joséphine and their neighbours; director, Claire Denis magically evokes a liberal meditation on family, harmony, loyalty and belonging, and achieves a sweet unity with Lionel drinking the 35 shots of rum as a celebratory ritual.
15 October 2010
Broken Embraces is the third film by Pedro Almodóvar to be short-listed for the prestigious Palme D'Or and features a number of his regular colleagues in the cast, for example, Penélope Cruz, Ángela Molina and Lola Dueñas.
Harry Caine is a blind screen-writer for whom the death of a wealthy businessman brings back memories of a past love and of one of his own films (similar, as it happens to Almodóvar's first major feature). Passion, obsession, jealousy, family, guilt and creativity all play their parts in this stylish work by a master director.
29 October 2010
Vincere is a compelling drama based on the little-known story of Mussolini's first wife, Ida Dalsar. She is a well-to-do beauty salon owner and he is an impoverished young Socialist and union activist. When Ida sells all her possessions to fund her lover's new newspaper, the rise of Fascism is set into play.
A gripping film that It won four Awards at the Chicago
International Film Festival. it combines drama, archive footage, and music
creating a highly cinematic oratorio of enormous emotional force.
12 November 2010
On the steppes of Kazakhstan, Asa lives in a yurt with his sister Samal, her husband, the, herdsman Ondas, and their three children. Their environment is dry, dusty, and windy; too many lambs are stillborn.
Against this backdrop, Asa, a dreamer who has just finished a stint in the Russian Navy, tries to establish a life on the steppes. As only married men can set up as herdsmen, he calls on Tulpan, the only single girl in the area. The plot of the story basically follows the trials of how Asa, his surrogate family, and his western, culture-loving friend, Boni, help and mould the realization, disenchantment, and rebirth of Asa's dreams.
26 November 2010
The restored version of this 1948 classic by Powell and Pressburger made its début at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival and has been screened around the world.
7 January 2011
The film's title character, Odd Horten, is a habit-bound train driver, who is about to retire. He is forced to reconsider his life when a series of unexpected situations occur, starting on the very day of his retirement.
this tightly focused fable – essentially a road movie in one city – displays eccentric touches of sly humour and a quiet approach to male emotions. It is thoughtful, funny, slightly sad and superbly crafted.
18 February 2011
One day in 1914, Wilhelm Uhde, a famous German art-collector, who has been invited to dinner by his landlady, notices a small painting lying in a corner that catches his eye, and he is stunned to learn that the artist is none other than his cleaner, Séraphine.
A deceptively subtle tale based on the true story of the life and art of a simple maid discovered by a German art critic in the French town of Senlis on the eve of the First World War.
18 March 2011
Mia, a foul-mouthed, stroppy fifteen-year-old, lives on an Essex estate with her tarty mother, Joanne, and precocious little sister, Tyler. She has been excluded from school and whilst awaiting admission to a referrals unit, she spends her days aimlessly. She begins an uneasy friendship with Joanne's handsome, extrovert Irish boyfriend, Connor, who encourages her one interest, dancing. What could go wrong?
It was filmed in the Mardyke Estate in Havering, the town of Tilbury and the A13, the film won the Jury Prize at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. It also won the 2010 BAFTA for Best British Film.
15 April 2011
Mid-August Lunch
Gianni is a middle-aged man living in Rome with his imposing and demanding elderly mother. His only outlet from her and the increasing debt into which they are sinking, are the increasingly frequent quiet sessions at the local tavern. As an Oriental saying goes, 'Moments of crisis are moments of opportunities'. These appear during the celebration of the holiday of Ferragosto on 15 August, when everybody leaves town to have fun. Opportunity knocks on Gianni's door in the most unexpected way.
My Father, My Lord
Abraham Eidelmann, an old ultra-orthodox rabbi, has a young wife, Esther, and a young son, Menahem. He spends all his time praying, studying the Torah and preparing his sermons. Abraham has not much time to devote to Esther, who craves affection, nor to Menahem, who is becoming curious about the world. But today Menahem is happy. His father has accepted to go to the Dead Sea for their holidays.
This brave, fierce Israeli film, attacks the oppressive character of ultra-orthodox Judaism, with brilliant performances from all three of the main actors.
20 May 2011
Antoine Sforza, a thirty-year-old young man, left his village ten years before in order to start a new life in the big city, but now that his father, a travelling grocer, is in hospital after a stroke, he more or less reluctantly agrees to come back to replace him in his daily rounds.
Back in the village, accompanied by Claire, a young woman he loves but who hesitates to commit herself, he does the job half-satisfactorily. Too blunt, not in harmony with the locals, he offends them more than he serves them. Fortunately Claire, who has more business acumen, helps him to improve his skills and Antoine also discovers the joy of living the joy of love with Claire.
24 June 2011
Set in a small farming community in mid-Wales, a place where Koppel's parents - both refugees - found a home. This is a landscape and population that is changing rapidly as small scale agriculture is disappearing and the generation who inhabited a pre-mechanised world is dying out.
Much influenced by his conversations with the writer Peter Handke, the film maker leads us on a poetic and profound journey into a world of endings and beginnings; a world of stuffed owls, sheep and fire.
Sleep Furiously was preceded by a glowing reputation even before its premiere at the Edinburgh Film Festival in June 2008 , largely due to the enthusiastic patronage of two esteemed British critics/filmmakers, Alex Cox and Mark Cousins.
Showing this Season:
