2008/2009
The Singer
(France)
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Alain
Moreau, a middle-aged crooner working discos, casinos & retirement
homes, becomes smitten with Marion, a younger, attractive
divorcée who is employed by his friend Bruno. Initially
sceptical, Marion eventually reciprocates Alain's interest.
Gérard Depardieu stars in a witty & poignant account of a
tentative affair in this Palme d’Or nominated film.
|
The Diving Bell &
the Butterfly
(France/USA)
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The
true story of Elle magazine editor, Jean-Dominique Bauby, who, at the
age of 43, suffered a massive stroke that left him completely
paralysed, apart from his left eye. Using only that eye to blink, he
dictates his memoirs, eloquently describing the world as he experiences
it. A poignant reflection on what it means to be alive and, visually, a
true cinematic experience.
|
The
Italian
(Russia)
|
In
Russia every orphan longs for adoption but Vanya has other plans – to
find his real mother at all costs. Before a wealthy Italian couple
claim him, Vanya embarks on a perilous journey to find his only
remaining family. Pursued by the authorities, the determined six year
old faces the most difficult challenges of his life, in this incredible
story inspired by true events.
|
The
Counterfeiters
(Austr/Germany
|
Winner
of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, this is the true story of
the largest counterfeiting operation in history. Salomon (“Sally”)
Sorowitsch is a bohemian & counterfeiter extraordinaire. After
being arrested he finds himself in a series of concentration camps
where he agrees to help the Nazis in an organized counterfeit
operation, set up to finance the war effort.
|
2 Days in
Paris
(France/Ger/USA)
|
French
photographer Marion & American designer Jack try to rekindle their
flagging relationship with a visit to Paris, home of Marion’s
“challenging” parents ….. and a host of ex-boyfriends. Written, edited,
directed & co-produced by its star, who wrote the music & cast
her real-life parents as her onscreen ones, Julie Delpy’s playful
comedy shows off a wicked sense of humour.
|
Water
(India/Canada
|
Set
in 1938 against the backdrop of the River Ganges during Gandhi’s rise
to power, this is the inspiring tale of Chuyia, a young Hindu girl.
Chuyia’s life is suddenly changed when, at the age of 8, she is widowed
& sent away to a home where widows must live out their lives in
penitence. Refusing to accept her fate, her feisty presence soon
affects the lives of the other residents.
|
El Violin
(Mexico)
|
During
the Mexican peasant revolts of the 1970s, elderly farmer &
violinist Don Plutarco has fashioned an ingenious way of smuggling
ammunition past government troops guarding the exclusion zone. Shot
simply and starkly in black & white this mood-driven film is a
captivating exploration of familial love, duty, conflict &
innocence – reinforced by an amateur cast.
|
A Common Thread
(France)
|
When
17-year-old Claire learns she is pregnant, she decides to give birth
anonymously. She finds refuge with Madame Melikian, a widowed
embroiderer, who has recently lost her young son. The contrast of the
older woman grieving over the death of her child and the younger's
anxiety and confusion about her unborn baby is central to this charming
Cannes winner.
|
Seachd: The
Inaccessible Pinnacle
(Scotland)
|
Visiting
his dying grandfather in hospital, Angus cannot hold back his boyhood
quest for truth - the truth behind the death of his parents & the
truth behind his grandfather's ancient folk tales. Angus finds himself
being lead to one of Scotland's most treacherous mountains and a truth
he never expected to find, in this first ever feature length film in
Scots Gaelic.
|
My
Brother is an Only Child
(Italy/France)
|
Set
against a ’60s backdrop of Italian small-town political squabbling,
this playful drama centres on two warring brothers. Manrico, the older
sibling, is dark, brooding & increasingly passionate in his leftist
convictions, while Accio is the family hothead with Fascist party
leanings. Based on the novel Il Fasciocomunista this is an amusing and
engagingly acted film.
|
Persepolis
(France/USA)
|
Superbly
elegant & simple, Marjane Satrapi's animated coming-of-age story
reveals tensions between two very different cultures - her childhood in
pre-revolution Iran, her studies in Europe & her return to a
much-changed Iran in the 1980s. A BFI winner and Oscar nominee,
Persepolis is a charming yet gripping story of internal tumult matched
by geo-political upheaval.
|
Caramel
(France/Lebanon)
|
A Beirut beauty salon
becomes a treasured meeting place for five women who come together to
seek advice & confide in one another. Nadine Labaki wanted to show
a different side to her homeland in this her directorial debut - she
certainly achieves this in a colourful & often funny drama that
subtly draws attention to the difficulties Lebanese women face
day-to-day.
|
|
2009/2010
Emma’s Bliss
(Germany)
|
The story of Emma and Max, two very different people from two very different worlds, whose accidental meeting changes each other’s life completely. The plot is simple but sincere and the charming details, rural atmosphere and excellent acting lead the audience to think about questions of love, death, moral dilemma and the purpose of life.
|
I’ve Loved You So Long
(France)
|
Kristin Scott Thomas stars in this BAFTA winning family drama as Juliette, a woman who returns to live with her younger sister Lea and her family after spending 15 years in prison. Initially Juliette struggles to re-establish her life in the outside world but, over time, the icy reserve and deep-seated bitterness that have built up during her incarceration begin to soften.
|
Waltz with Bashir (Israel)
|
One night in September 1982, Christian militia members invaded refugee camps in the heart of Beirut and massacred more than three thousand Palestinians while Israeli soldiers surrounded the area. Ari Folman was one of these soldiers. A fully animated Oscar nominated documentary, Waltz With Bashir is Folman's attempt to decipher the horror of that night. |
SPECIAL FEATURE
The Age of Stupid
|
In conjunction with the Bacon Theatre, we showed "The Age of Stupid". Pete Postlethwaite stars as a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055, looking at old footage from 2008 and asking: why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance.
|
Linha de passé
(Brazil)
|
From the director of Central Station and Motorcycle Diaries comes another powerful, moving and thought provoking portrayal of the modern Brazilian experience. Set in luring and often dangerous Sao Paulo, the film tells the story of four brothers who seek redemption from a futureless existence, trying not to subside in to the easy choice of a criminal life. |
The Pope’s Toilet (Uruguay)
|
The Pope's impending visit to a small Uruguayan town stimulates a flurry of activity among the poorest residents who hope to make their fortune by catering to the needs of the 50,000 expected pilgrims. Convinced that his idea is the best, one man uses up his family's hard-earned savings to build a paying toilet. A well told, sweet yet unsentimental story about hope. |
O’Horten
(Norway)
|
Humorously melancholic tale about the unexpected events that befall a soon-to-retire Norwegian train driver. As he prepares for his penultimate day's work, Odd Horten meticulously plans his every move. For 40 years as a train driver on the Oslo to Bergen line, his life has run like clockwork, but that changes after his colleagues throw him an unexpected party at the end of the day. |
Lemon tree
(Israel)
|
Drama based on the true story of Salma, a Palestinian widow who has lived on the green-line border between Israel and the West Bank for decades. When the new Israeli Defence Minister moves in next door, the Israeli security forces declare her lemon grove a threat to his safety and issue orders to have it uprooted; but they have not reckoned on Salma’s grit and determination. |
Cherry Blossoms
(Germany)
|
When Trudi discovers her husband is terminally ill, she convinces him to go with her to see their children in Berlin. But the trip proves to be far more revealing than anyone expected. A tender, tearful tale with delicate optimism and a sense that every moment is worth grabbing, even if - like the petals of the title - those moments are forever floating out of reach. |
The Class
(France)
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The tense environment of a tough inner-city school where cultures and attitudes clash is revealed in this award-winning drama based on François Bégaudeau’s best-selling novel Between the Walls. Bégaudeau stars as an idealistic teacher of a class of unruly 15 year-olds whose spiky independence is a constant challenge to his often unconventional teaching methods.
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Tokyo Sonata
(Japan)
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When Ryuhei Sasaki is unceremoniously dumped from his safe company job, his family's happy, humdrum life is put at risk. Unwilling to accept the shame of unemployment, he decides not to tell anyone. Instead he leaves home each morning in his suit and tie, searching for work and lining up for soup with the homeless. Outstanding performances and elegant direction.
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The Wave
(Germany)
|
In an attempt to engage his students in politics,
a high school teacher takes the controversial decision to turn the classroom into a Nazi-style dictatorship.
But what starts out as an innocent social experiment ends in tragedy when the roots of fascism begin to take hold of the students. Before long, notions of discipline and community give way to more sinister ideals.
|
East of Bucharest
(Romania)
|
It's been 16 years since the Revolution and Christmas is
approaching. Piscoci, an old retiree, is preparing for another lonely holiday. Manescu, a history teacher, tries to keep up with his debts. Jderescu, the owner of the local TV station, doesn't seem very interested in the holidays; he wants to find an answer to a question - did a revolution really take place in their city? |
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2010/2011
On a Clear Day
Special feature shown in association with
Sandford
Parks Lido
|
Frank, a hard working 55 year-old stalwart of his
local community, suddenly finds himself without a job or direction in
his life. When his friend Danny jokes that on a clear day he could swim
to France, an idea is planted in Frank's mind.
|
Conversations With
My Gardener
(France)
|
Daniel Auteil plays a successful artist, weary of
Parisian life and on the verge of divorce, who returns to the country
to live in his childhood house. He wishes to re-create a vegetable
garden and employs a gardener (Darroussin) who happens to be a former
schoolfriend. A warm, fruitful conversation starts between the two men
in this gentle and likeable drama.
|
I am Love
(Italy)
|
Emma, a beautiful and stylish Russian-born woman, has
become assimilated into the moneyed upper-middle classes of
contemporary Milan. However, her marriage into a strongly patriarchal
family is not without its restrictions and her need to escape gradually
becomes clear. A very stylish and arresting drama, with a powerful
central performance by Tilda Swinton. |
Rumba
(France/Belgium)
|
Fiona and Dom share a passion for Latin dance in this
wildly offbeat comedy. Teachers by day, their weekends are dedicated to
dance competitions. One night, as they are driving back from a
competition, they encounter a man on a clumsy suicide mission, standing
in the middle of the road. They swerve to avoid him and crash, throwing
their lives into turmoil. |
Katyn
(Poland)
|
Following the dual invasion of Poland in 1939 by the
Nazis and the Soviets, thousands of Polish soldiers were massacred in
the Katyn forest, seemingly by the Nazis. Only much later does the
truth emerge. This Oscar-nominated film tells the stories of a range of
characters who are connected by their need to deal with what happened
at Katyn in this powerful drama. |
Rudo y Cursi
(Mexico)
|
Half brothers Beto and Tato – appropriately nicknamed
Rudo (rough) and Cursi (corny) respectively – have a typical love/hate
relationship and share a passion and talent for football. Both live
with their extended family who barely make ends meet. The brothers’
fortunes change when soccer scout Batuta enters their lives in this
comedy-drama. |
Machan
(Sri Lanka/Germany)
|
When their visa application to Germany is rejected,
Stanley and Manoj seem destined to remain slum dwellers. Then Stanley
stumbles across a bizarre ad: the German Handball Association is
seeking teams to attend the world championships in Bavaria. The only
catch: no one in Sri Lanka has heard of the game. A charming comedy
from the producer of “The Full Monty”. |
Micmacs
(France)
|
Avid movie-watcher and video store clerk Bazil has
lost his father to a landmine and been maimed by a stray bullet from a
nearby shootout. After losing his job and his home, Bazil lives rough
with the Micmacs, a group of underground eccentrics. Together they
decide to take revenge on the arms manufacturers in this comedy by the
director of Amelie. |
Everlasting Moments
(Sweden/Finland)
|
Set in Sweden in the 1900s this true story tells of
one woman’s impressive capacity to survive during a time of great
social change and unrest. When Maria Larsson wins a camera in a
lottery, her decision to keep it alters her whole life. It enables her
to view the world through new eyes, offering her a path to freedom and
independence from her abusive husband. |
Home
(Switzerland)
|
Marthe, Michel and their three children have spent a
decade living in unconventional isolation next to an unused highway.
However, when the authorities decide to open it, their privacy is
replaced by non-stop toxic intrusion. Described by the director as “a
road movie in reverse”, Home charts the family’s progression from
blissful fun to the strange and absurd |
Broken Embraces
(Spain)
|
Blind writer Harry Caine used to be sighted filmmaker
Mateo Blanco until a car smash robbed him of both his sight and
girlfriend. Now living alone, he continues writing with the help of his
agent’s son and finds himself revisiting past events in his life.
Almodovar unites for a fourth time with his muse Penelope Cruz, in this
dark tale of obsessive love, treachery and guilt. |
Angel of Mine
(France)
|
Elsa is caught up in a painful divorce, and
struggling to come to terms with losing her daughter. As she battles to
keep custody of her son, her former husband fears that Elsa’s history
of mental illness could affect the child’s care. His concerns seem well
founded when Elsa begins to believe one of her son’s friends is her
daughter and starts stalking her. |
Departures
(Japan)
|
When cellist Daigo Kobayashi finds himself
unemployed, he returns with his wife to his hometown and answers an ad
he believes has been placed by a travel agency. The available position,
however, turns out to be with a company that prepares corpses for
cremation—an elaborate ritual for which the stunned Daigo proves to
have a surprising aptitude. |
The First Day of the
Rest of Your Life
(France)
|
This charmingly dark comedy takes a kaleidoscopic
view on the issues afflicting the close but chaotic Duval family. Over
the course of twelve eventful years, we see five days through the eyes
of each family member. The consequences of these five crucial days
resonate across the whole family, informing and altering their lives in
passionate, playful and irreversible ways. |
Mid August Lunch
(Italy)
|
Gianni is middle-aged and living with his 93-year old
mother in her Rome apartment. With his bills mounting and the August
Bank Holiday approaching he is offered at least a partial solution to
his financial problems – and soon finds himself playing “nanny” to an
assortment of ill-matched, determined elderly ladies in the now very
cramped apartment.
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