The Concert 14 Mar 2012 Director: Radu Mihaileanu France 2009 119 min A film about music but you don’t have to be a classical music aficionado to appreciate this gem of a film; similarly you shouldn’t be put off that it has been described as a commentary on 20 years of post-communist Eastern Europe. What… Continue reading Le Concert
Category: Film Season 2011-2012
My Dog Tulip
28 Mar 2012 USA 2009 83 min Directors: Sandra & Paul Fierlinger A charming story of one man and his German Shepherd, My dog Tulip has an appeal broader than one might first expect. Animated in a highly stylised manner and, with a voiceover (by Christopher Plummer) full of dry humour that draws the viewer… Continue reading My Dog Tulip
La téte en friche
My afternoons with Margueritte 21 Sep 2011 Director: Jean Becker France 2010 82 min An intelligent, sensitive, heart warming, comedy in which Gérard Depardieu plays a simple man in a small village in South Western France, who is befriended by an elderly lady (Giséle Casadesus) who reads to him in the park. A touching, light… Continue reading La téte en friche
Winter’s Bone
05 Oct 2011 USA 2010 100 min Director: Debra Granik Gritty yet poetic, Debra Granik’s portrait of life in the poverty-stricken Ozark Mountains is remarkable for the central performance of Jennifer Lawrence in her first film role. Ree Dolly (Lawrence) is the stoical youngster who embarks on a mission to find her absentee father before… Continue reading Winter’s Bone
Les Plages d’Agnés
The Beaches of Agnés 19 Oct 2011 Director: Agnés Varda France 2008 110 min It would be easy – but misleading – to describe this simply as an autobiography of the French artist and film-maker. It is more like a tour through her memory, represented in diverse and fascinating ways. Varda and her late husband… Continue reading Les Plages d’Agnés
Pranzo di ferragosto
Mid-August lunch 02 Nov 2011 Italy 2008 75 min Director: Gianni Di Gregorio Not as lightweight or insignificant a story as it might appear, this comedy/drama takes a loving look at the lives of four elderly ladies and the man, Gianni, (Gianni DiGregorio, who also directs) who finds himself taking care of them all almost… Continue reading Pranzo di ferragosto
Okuribito
Departures 30 Nov 2011 Japan 2008 130 min Director: Yōjirō Takita This Oscar-winner looks at the Japanese rituals surrounding funerals and how they are perceived by society. Daigo Kobayashi, a young musician, finds himself out of work and ends up working (accidentally) in a funeral home as a “Nakonashi”, making the intricate, and respectful preparations… Continue reading Okuribito
Benda Bilili!
4 Dec 2011 Director: Renaud Barrett & Florent de La Tullaye DRC 2010 86 min The poverty-stricken, often disabled, men and boys that make up Staff Benda Bilili show a resilience and strength of character that wouldn’t be out of place in a WW2 action film, except that this is a documentary and these irresistibly… Continue reading Benda Bilili!
Des hommes et des dieux
Of Gods And Men 04 Jan 2012 Director: Xavier Beauvois France 2010 122 min A small group of French monks in Algeria face a dilemma when threatened by fundamentalist extremists: should they leave, as the authorities insist, or stay and complete ‘God’s mission’? The palpable inevitability of violence is counteracted by the depiction of the… Continue reading Des hommes et des dieux
Me and Orson Welles
18 Jan 2012 Director: Richard Linklater UK 2008 114 min A hugely entertaining backstage drama from cult US film-maker Linklater, this is far more than a vehicle for teen heartthrob Zac Efron. Indeed the film belongs to previously unknown Christian McKay as Welles, in a performance that is part impression, part possession from beyond the… Continue reading Me and Orson Welles