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Films shown in our 2005/6 Season
The full programme with film notes is below. See the audience reaction to our presentations.
You can still see our previous year's programme with the audience reaction statistics.
Autumn Season
5/10/05 126 mins
The Motorcycle Diaries [15]
Walter Salles (UK/USA/Fr) 2004 Lang: Sp
This didn’t quite win the audience vote but it came such a close second that we are showing it anyway. Walter Salles has followed up his highly successful Central Station with this tale of the young Ché Guevara and his friend Alberto Granado. They journey from Argentina across Chile and Peru to Venezuela on a clapped out motorcycle. The young medical students absorb the social and economic climate as they travel and we can see the political journey that perhaps contributed to Ernesto’s transformation to the revolutionary Ché. The ultimate road movie.
12/10/05 127 mins
Sideways [15]
Alexander Payne (USA) 2004 Lang: Eng
Jack and Miles share an unlikely friendship. They head off into the country so Miles can drown his divorce sorrows in wine tasting and Jack can have one last fling before getting married. Of course they meet up with some women and the fun begins. What makes this such an excellent film is the script, which wiped the floor winning every award going, and therefore the characters which are also beautifully acted. Giamatti (American Splendor) generates just the right amount of pathos as Miles and the whole balance of the film works perfectly as it includes moments of slapstick comedy as well as tenderness. This is very hard to pull off and a very good film.
19/10/05 104 mins
The Consequences of Love [15]
Paolo Sorrentino (Italy) 2004 Lang: It
When a loner of a man is seen propping up the bar in a sterile Swiss hotel you can be sure that all is not as it seems. Such men invariably have a troubled past and indulge in secret habits that turn a taciturn existence into a strange tale of co-dependence and odd events. This Italian thriller has been highly praised and you just know that things are not going to be dull when the men in dark suits from Sicily come to call.
Downfall [15]
Oliver Hirschbiegel (Ger/Aust/It) 2004 Lang: Ger
Most of the action in this film takes place in April, in Berlin, 1945, in the bunker. There have been very few German films which have shown Hitler, let alone one in which his character is centre stage and magnified by the claustrophobic environment. Such a film was bound to be controversial but Bruno Ganz has won many plaudits for his intense portrayal of the Nazi dictator in his final days.
2/11/05 110 mins
Kontroll [15]
Nimrod Antal (Hungary) 2003 Lang:Hung
Our anti-hero Bulcsu is a ticket inspector on the Budapest underground who has opted out of life above the tunnels and instead he eats, works and sleeps on the network. His managers treat him with contempt. However there is a big problem. A sinister faceless figure keeps pushing people under trains. Bulscu needs to somehow save the day in order to save himself and is charmed by a teddy bear along the way.
9/11/05 117 mins
The last Mitterand [PG]
Robert Guédiguian (France) 2005 Lang:Fr
Rather different from his usual Marseille working class milieu (the wonderful Marius et Jeanette for example), Guédiguian's portrayal of the last days of the French president is graced by a stunningly accurate performance by Michel Bouquet. No ordinary biopic, however, this deals with the difficulty of reclaiming, understanding and recording the past - not to mention confronting the inevitable compromises, ironies and failures. Fascinating.
16/11/05 115 mins
The Lizard [12A ]
Kamal Tabrizi (Iran) 2004 Lang:Persian
There has been some excellent cinema to come out of Iran recently but not much levity to go with it … until now. This excellent film combines satire with laugh out loud comedy. The strength of this film is the endearing “lovable rogue” lead character. As an escaped prisoner he is mistaken for the new mullah of the local mosque. As you can imagine this is just the start of the fun. Not one to miss.
23/11/05 126 mins
The Sea Inside [PG]
Alejandro Amenábar (Spain/Fr/It) 2004 Lang: Sp
This is based on the true story of Ramón Sampedro who was injured in a diving accident. As a quadriplegic he spent the next 30 years campaigning for the legal right to die. Javier Bardem (Live Flesh, The Dancer Upstairs) gives a moving portrayal of Ramón, his relationships and his dignified approach to both life and death. Like the Barbarian Invasions the potentially grim subject matter is lifted by the skilful treatment of the issue and by Amenábar’s (The Others) evocative style.
Machuca [15]
Andrés Wood (Fr/Chile/Sp/UK) 2004 Lang:Sp
This is the most successful film to come out of Chile. Set in Santiago at the time of the Allende government the action focuses on eleven year old schoolboy, Gonzalo. He goes to a progressive school with a mixed intake where he befriends a new boy from the slums. As they develop their friendship the situation in the city becomes more dangerous. This is a brave and moving film.
14/12/05 154 mins
Life is a Miracle [15]
Emir Kusturica (France/Serb & Mont) 2004 Lang:Serb-Croat, various
With Kusturica (Underground, Black Cat White Cat) we are guaranteed some eccentric characters, unlikely events and several hearty laughs in this energetic comedy. Opera mixes with football and a bear hunt whilst a railway line in constructed between Serbia and Bosnia. There is some love interest, much danger and a bit of despair. Most of all there is a lot to enjoy!
21/12/05 96 mins
The Chorus [12A]
Christophe Barratier (Fr/Switz/Ger) 2004 Lang: Fr
For Christmas we have a film that would motivate Scrooge to sponsor the local school choir and Tiny Tim would grow up to become the next Aled Jones. We know some of you might have already seen this but it is just the kind of film to see again to send us off for the break with a smile on our faces, a song in our hearts and wine and mince pies in our bellies. We promise to check the number of wine glasses before the film this year!
Spring Season
11/1/06 131 mins
William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice [PG]
Michael Radford (UK/USA) 2004 Lang: Eng
Sumptuous Venetian locations complete with leering whores and Rialto deal-makers beneath lowering skies and rolling fog - just about the perfect backdrop for Al Pacino's gutsy turn as Shylock and Jeremy Irons as jaded Bassanio. Astonishingly, the only filmed version of this great plea for mercy in the talking era.
18/1/06 101 mins
Joshua Marston (USA/Columb/Ecuad) 2003 Lang:Sp, Eng
This Columbian film garnered much praise for its detailed yet sensitive story of a young 17 year old girl who tries to escape from her problematic life by becoming a drugs mule. Why is she constantly risking her life by swallowing large quantities of drugs to smuggle them through customs? Powerful viewing.
25/1/06 129 mins
The Edukators [15]
Hans Weingartner (Germany) 2004 Lang: Ger
An ironic take on idealism and housebreaking! Jan and Peter rearrange furniture and paint slogans to annoy bourgeois suburbia...but when Julia decides to exact revenge on the businessman Hardenberg (she is in debt following a car accident being - naturally - uninsured), things start to go wrong. Is 60s style political activism still possible in the modern world?
2046 [12A]
Wong Kar-Wei (Hong Kong) 2004 Lang: Cant
All those of you who voted In the Mood for Love one of our most popular films in recent years will not want to miss this sequel. Tony Leung reprises the role of Chow, his heart now hardened after the loss of Maggie Cheung and picking his way through a string of glamorous lovers...
8/2/06 95 mins
The Soul Keeper [nyc]
Roberto Faenza (Italy/France/UK) 2002 Lang: Eng
Following the big success of Rosenstrasse last year, we are fortunate to again take part in the Jewish Film Festival. This time we have a film which very much deserves wider showing - a story of love and passion centering on the 19 year old Russian, Sabina, who is suffering from hysteria and a certain young doctor called Carl Gustav Jung.
Los Angeles Plays Itself [nyc]
Thom Anderson (USA) 2003 Lang: Eng
Out of a mixture of clips from films shot in LA and documentary footage emerges a vision of how the city has been distorted by cinema. A real life architectural smorgesboard is explored along with key LA films like Chinatown, L.A. Confidential and Bladerunner. There are many cleverly interwoven clips from Laurel and Hardy to seedy noir to laughable aliens from outer space B movies. A must for movie buffs everywhere and my favourite film this year. It is shot on digital video as there are no backers for an independent film about the film industry! All the more reason to watch…
22/2/06 120 mins
Moolaadé[15]
Ousmane Sembene (Senegal) 2004 Lang: Bambara
A strong recommendation by one of members who saw this in London swung the day on selection here. However, the master and father of African film making needs little introduction - this is another powerful and moving exploration of the plight of women in a traditional culture.
1/3/06 152 mins
Kings and Queen [15]
Arnaud Desplechin (France) 2004 Lang: Fr
Majestic movie making in this smash hit from France. A not unusual relationship melodrama (the parallel stories of Nora and the charismatic Ismael after their divorce) is intertwined with ghost story, burlesque, cornershop shootout and even a moonwalk! Experience vrai joie de vivre as both characters inch toward self knowledge.
8/3/06 75 mins
Pickpocket 7pm start [ PG]
Robert Bresson (France) 1959 Lang:Fr
This classic of French cinema focuses on the life of a pickpocket (Michel). The mesmerizing sequences of Parisian life heighten the almost balletic pickpocketing scenes. Even though there is something strangely thrilling about the skill and artistry of Michel he is ultimately saved by a chance encounter. This is a beautifully shot exploration of compulsion, creativity and morality.
The Weeping Meadow [PG]
Theo Angelopoulos (Greece) 2004 Lang: Gre
The first in a proposed trilogy, the story of an orphaned, adopted girl is set against a family's return to their Greek homeland following the Russian Revolution and in the years running up to WWII and the civil war. Trademark lengthy travelling shots and mesmerising visual images abound.
Summer Season
Vera Drake [12A]
Mike Leigh (UK/Fr) 2004 Lang:Eng
Mike Leigh is back to his very best with this BAFTA winning tale of a woman who performs abortions for young girls. Imelda Staunton is mesmerizing as the woman at the centre of a close knit working class family who enters the world of the wealthy as a domestic helper and straddles both cultures with her illegal “help”. It was not a surprise that you voted this as your audience choice this year.
5 x 2 [18]
François Ozon (France) 2004 Lang:Fr
Like Ozon’s last film Swimming Pool there is plenty of sexual tension. This time we explore an unravelling marriage and as always there is a particularly strong performance by the leading woman. This time Valéria Bruni-Tedeschi takes the part that might have been filled by Charlotte Rampling. Just to keep us on our toes the plot runs backwards, so like Momento there are several surprising twists.
10/5/06 + 17/5/06 373 mins
Best of Youth parts 1 and 2 [ 15 ]
Marco Tullio Giordana 2004 Lang:It
This is a bit of an epic so we are showing it over two evenings, but don’t be put off. Gone with the Wind got everyone off the sofa and into the cinema and most of Italy has already done the same for this one. We start in 1966 and go right through until the present day following a rich mix of characters including a political activist psychiatrist and a feisty Sicilian librarian. This is a landmark family focused film which keeps in the tradition of Visconti and Francis Ford Coppola.
Audience Vote
The Constant Gardner [15]
Fernando Meirelles (UK) 2005
A widower is determined to get to the bottom of a potentially explosive secret involving his wife's murder, big business, and corporate corruption... The award-winning filem based on John Le Carre's novel. A clear winner of the 4 choices up for voting this year.
31/5/06 75 mins
Hukkle [12A]
György Pálfi (Hungary) 2004 Lang: None!
A practically speechless film to render you speechless! An idyllic small rural community including an old man with hiccups, grunting pigs and squeaking farm machinery slowly starts to reveal its secrets - just what is that dead body doing in the lake and who is responsible? A surreal comic version of Jacques Tati!
See you again in the 2006/7 Season!
JAP 18 June 2006