Films in our 2009/10 Season

There are more details about the films in the season sections following the list. The audience reaction ratings are given, highlighting the highest achieved.

Autumn 2009
30 September Flame and Citron 79%
7 October The Class (in conjunction with Southampton Film Week) 82%
14 October Looking for Eric 86%
21 October Lemon Tree 89%
28 October Waltz with Bashir 88%
4 November The Reader 88%
11 November I've Loved You So Long 89%
18 November Emma's Bliss 84%
25 November Empties 86%
2 December Blue Eyelids (substitute for Amal) 66%
9 December Of Time and the City 75%
16 December Vicky Christina Barcelona 82%

Spring 2010
6 January Broken Embraces 81%
13 January 35 Shots of Rum 65%
20 January Cherry Blossoms 89%
27 January Katyn 83%
3 February Little Box of Sweets 80%
10 February Comme Ton Pere (from the UK Jewish Film Festival) 76%
17 February Tokyo Sonata 76%
24 February Bright Star 79%
3 March Rififi 87%
10 March Three Monkeys 63%
17 March Les Plages d'Agnes 81%

Summer 2010
14 April Amal (at Union Films) 91%
21 April A White Ribbon 75%
28 April Mark of an Angel 80%
5 May An Education (winner in our ever popular Audience Vote) 86%
12 May Conversations with my Gardener 92%

The full audience reaction charts for the year are available.

You can still see our previous year's programme with the audience reaction statistics. There is also a listing of all the films shown 1999-2010 available on our contacts page.

Autumn 2009

Two comrades in the Danish resistance during WWII begin to question their work as loyalties become increasingly murky. Full of suspense and tension with clandestine meetings, messages from underground chiefs, prey being stalked and much chainsmoking – this movie is one for all those who enjoyed ‘Black Book’ a few years back.

7/10/09 128 mins
The Class [15]
Laurent Cantet (France) 2008 Lang: Fr

Teacher turned novelist/script writer, François Bégaudeau here acts in his own fi lm as a teacher surviving a year with his racially mixed students from a tough Parisian neighborhood. Culture clash and classroom ethics come to the fore in this deserved Cannes Palme d’Or winner and your audience choice. Our contribution to the Southampton Film Week.

14/10/09 116 mins
Looking for Eric [15]
Ken Loach (UK) 2009 Lang: Eng/Fr

Eric, a football fanatic postman, whose life is descending into crisis, receives some life coaching from the famously philosophical Eric Cantona. Even if seagulls and trawlers do not get a mention, Cantona gets to send up his image – it is in turns sad, amusing and touching.

21/10/09 106 mins
Lemon Tree [PG]
Eran Riklis (Israel/Ger/Fr) 2008 Lang: Ar/Heb etc

This drama is based on the true story of a Palestinian widow who must defend her lemon tree field when a new Israeli Defence Minister moves next to her and threatens to have her grove
torn down. A moving parable that has much to say about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

8/10/09 90 Mins
Waltz with Bashir [18]
Ari Folman (Israel/Ger/Fr) 2008 Lang: Heb/Ger/Eng

An Israeli fi lm director interviews fellow veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon to reconstruct his own memories of his term of service in that confl ict. Dreams and hallucinations are as prominent as recollections and eyewitness accounts in this stunning animation which breaks new cinematic ground.

4/11/09 123 mins
The Reader [15]
Stephen Daldry (USA/Ger) 2008 Lang: Eng/Ger etc

Post-WWII Germany: nearly a decade after his affair with an older woman came to a mysterious end, a law student (Ralph Fiennes) re-encounters his former lover as she defends herself in a war-crime trial. Kate Winslet fully deserved her best actress Oscar in David Hare’s moving adaptation of Berhard Schlink’s best selling novel.

11/11/09 117 mins
I’ve Loved You So Long [12A]
Philippe Claudel (France/Ger) 2008 Lang: Fr

Kristin Scott Thomas excels as a woman struggling to interact with her family and fi nd her place in society after spending fifteen years in prison. Understated but with an emotional punch, the film has a stunning central performance: a range of conflicting emotions flicker through expressive eyes and gaunt, pale features.

18/11/09 99 mins
Emma’s Bliss [no cert]
Sven Taddicken (Germany) 2007 Lang: Ger

Emma is a churlish pig breeder whose farm is in debt. She has only weeks before it is auctioned but salvation comes in the unlikely form of Max, a terminally ill car salesman, who literally crashes into her life. What ensues is a charming, heart-felt tale of romance and loss, brilliantly acted and full of wry humour.

25/11/09 100 mins
Empties [no cert]
Jan Sverak (Czech Rep) 2007 Lang: Cz/Ger

Sverak father and son collaborate in this follow-up to the Oscar winning ‘Kolya’ – featuring a cantankerous, forcibly retired high school teacher who takes a job in the bottle collection department of his local supermarket. Forced to deal with the realities of his own neglected marriage, he sets up an extraordinary stunt in an effort to revive his wife’s dormant passion. Freedom, capitalism and the search for love vie in this gentle comedy.

9/12/09 74 mins
Of Time and the City [12A]
Terence Davies (UK) 2008 Lang: Eng

The celebrated fi lmmaker looks nostalgically at the history and transformation of his birthplace, Liverpool, and yes, it has seen better days. Davies recounts his own coming-of-age story against a wealth of archive footage, radio clips and quotes from thinkers, poets and wits. An evocative reminder for these recession hit times.

16/12/09 96 mins
Vicky Cristina Barcelona [12A]
Woody Allen (USA/Sp) 2008 Lang: Eng/Sp

Two girlfriends on a summer holiday in Spain become enamored with the same painter, unaware that his exwife, with whom he has a tempestuous relationship, is about to re-enter the picture. Scarlett Johansson, Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem join in the fun. Join us for wine and mince pies afterwards...

Spring 2010

6/1/10 128 mins
Broken Embraces [15]
Pedro Almodovar (Spain) 2009 Lang: Sp

Reunited with Penelope Cruz, Almodovar creates a sensuous film within a film that will be a delight for all movie fans. The action alternates between the present day and 1994 when Mateo was making his last fi lm and starting an affair with the mistress of its shady financer...

13/1/10 100 mins
35 Shots of Rum [12A]
Claire Denis (France) 2009 Lang: Fr

Claire Denis’s marvellous latest fi lm is a nod to Ozu’s ‘Late Spring’, focusing on the close relationship of a widowed train driver with his affectionate daughter, now old enough to leave the family home. A meditation on loyalty/loss and harmony/separation is achieved through beautifully discreet symbols, motifs and metaphors. Touching and a quiet joy.

20/1/10 127 mins
Cherry Blossoms [no cert]
Doris Dorrie (Germany/Fr) 2008 Lang: Ger/Eng/Jap

Only Trudi knows that her husband Rudi is suffering from a terminal illness and she has to decide whether to tell him or not. She takes him away to visit their children and grandchildren in Berlin when tragedy intervenes. A tender, intense and profound story of marital love.

27/1/10 121 mins
Katyn [15]
Andrej Wajda (Poland) 2007 Lang: Pol/Rus/Ger

Now in his 80s, Wajda gives his fatherland – in denial for many years – a controversial fi lm. The massacre of 15,000 Polish offi cers in 1940 was blamed on the Nazis when Stalin was
in fact behind it. Having lost his own father at Katyn, Wajda understandably concentrates on the impact on wives and children. This marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

3/2/10 89 mins
Little Box of Sweets [no cert]
Meneka Das (India/UK) 2007 Lang: Eng/Hindi

A gentle coming-of-age tale set in rural India, inspired by the early years of UK-based director and actress Meneka Das. Das plays Asha, a high-school girl who lives a simple existence with her grandparents, thinking little of the world beyond her village. Things change when she meets Seth, the son of an Indian commissioner whose home she cleans. We hope that the Director will be able to come and talk about the film.

10/2/10 95 mins
Comme Ton Pere [no cert]
Marco Carmel (France) 2007 Lang: Fr

Our continued involvement in the UK Jewish Film Festival will bring another powerful film which deserves wider showing. Known as 'Father's Footsteps' when released in the US, this film starts off in the late 60s. Felix, Mireille, and their two children, Eric and Michel, arrive in Marseilles. A few years later, barely settled in Belleville, Felix meets Serge, a local sponsor with whom he makes friends. Serge leads Felix on the path to organized crime. A dispute with the police causes Felix to take responsibility for a crime done by Serge, landing him in jail. Mireille is ashamed and tells her children that their father has returned to Israel to fight...

17/2/10 119 mins
Tokyo Sonata [12A]
Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Japan/NL/HK) 2008 Lang: Jap

Sacked without warning, Ryuhei chooses to conceal his unemployment from his family. Dividing his days between the employment agency and food hand-outs in the park, he picks
up tips from his friend on how best to keep up appearances – even as both their family problems mount. A timely and apposite but not a grim fi lm with its nuances and allegory offering an enticing prospect of harmony and renewal at the end.

24/2/10 120 mins
Bright Star [PG]
Jane Campion (UK/Aus) 2009 Lang: Eng

Ben Whishaw stars as Keates in this drama about his romance with Fanny Brawne. Will this emulate the success of ‘The Piano’? First signs at time of writing are that this triumph over the
conventions of period drama and biopic could be Campion’s best ever.

3/3/10 122 mins
Rififi [12]
Jules Dassin (France) 1956 Lang: Fr

This magnificent film noir classic is a member suggestion from last year. Tony, just out of prison and angry at his girl’s infi delity, joins two pals and Italian safe expert Cesar to meticulously plan the burglary of a large jeweller. Not a word is spoken as the crime is carried out. And then things begin to go wrong...

10/3/10 109 mins
Three Monkeys [15]
Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Turkey/Fr/It) 2008 Lang: Tur

When a politician runs over a stranger while driving at night, he persuades his driver Eyüp to take the blame for the accident with the promise of a big pay-off for him and his family. More
ambitious than his previous works, this visually rich existential puzzle has the feel of a film noir and won Ceylan the Best Director prize at Cannes.

17/3/10 110 mins
Les Plages d'Agnes
Agnes Varda (France) 2008 Lang: Fr

In this autobiographical documentary, acclaimed fi lm maker Agnes Varda looks back in original fashion: mirrors and circus artists on the beach, walking backwards as she goes back in time, recreating a cinema production office on a fake beach in Rue Daguerre, sailing a boat from Sete to Paris (an allegory of the evolution of her career)... Nothing if not original.

Summer 2010

14/4/10 101 mins (an EXTRA film! Postponed from the Autumn)
Amal [no cert]
Richie Mehta (Canada) 2007 Lang: Eng/Hindi

A poor, New Delhi rickshaw driver Amal encounters eccentric aging millionaire, G.K. Jayaram, who bequeaths him his entire estate before passing away. Jayaram’s children, among others, will leave no stone unturned to ensure that Amal does not get a single paisa. An enchanting modern fable – antidote to cynics everywhere. Note that this is a special FILM PREVIEW. We are being hosted by Union Films for this presentation.

21/4/10 144 mins
A White Ribbon [15]
Michael Haneke (Austria/Fr/Ger/It) 2009 Lang: Ger

If there were any question mark over how he would follow the international success of ‘Hidden’, Haneke has just scooped the Palme D’Or with this fi lm about a children’s choir in a village in northern Germany just before World War I. According to the director, the film is about “the origin of every type of terrorism, be it of political or religious nature”. If it comes out in time for us to book, dont miss it!

28/4/10 95 mins
Mark of an Angel [12A]
Safy Nebbou (France) 2008 Lang: Fr

Catherine Frot is perfectly cast as a troubled woman in the throes of a divorce who lost her newborn baby years ago in a hospital fire and now thinks she’s found her living with another family. Our sympathies get caught up in all the tension and its potential outcome – will it be good or evil? To say more would ruin the story – but you can be sure you will want a
lively debate about it afterwards.

5/5/10 95mins
An Education [12A]
Lone Scherfig (UK) 2009 Lang: Eng

Our annual slot for The Phoenix to show something recently released and/or what our audience demands! The result was An Education (83%), A Serious Man (81%) and The Hurt Locker (80%).

Nick Hornby's adaptation of well-known journalist Lynn Barber's memoir of teenage seduction shows his trademark understated wit, but it's the nuanced touch of Director, Lone Scherfig, that turns this film into something rather special. The getting of a sentimental education, as opposed to an academic one, has long obsessed film-makers, but it's been largely a boy's-eye-view. So Lone Scherfig's crisply confident and charmingly comic coming-of-age drama shows the delight of a teenage girl kicking against the pricks for a change - a girl who's hungry for adult life, too, rather than love or peer approval - those banal staples of the school-set movie since the 1980s.

12/5/10 109 mins
Dialoge avec mon Jardinier [12A]
Jean Becker (France) 2007 Lang: Fr

A successful artist (Daniel Auteuil), weary of Parisian life and on the verge of divorce, returns to the country to live in his childhood house. His re-acquaintance with an old school friend blossoms into friendship.. The pleasures of the simple life are lifted by superb performances – only the French can do domestic drama this well.

See you again in the 2010/11 Season!



JAP 28 August 2010