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| 2007-2008 Season |
| (Click on any film title for more details) |
2007:
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| 9th October: |
Jindabyne
Australia, 2006
Dir: Ray Lawrence
124 minutess
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In the isolated countryside of New South Wales, a group of men on a fishing trip discover a woman's body in the river.
The men decide to delay reporting their find until their trip is completed, a decision that precipitates tensions within
their home town of Jindabyne and the wider Aboriginal community. In his
follow-up to Lantana, Lawrence's version of Raymond Carver's short story
makes for an incisive take on contemporary Australia. A complex and haunting
drama of doubt, anger, shame and moral responsibility, with astounding central
performances from Laura Linney and Gabriel Byrne.
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| 23rd October: |
Water
Canada/India, 2005
Dir:
Deepa Mehta 117 minutes
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Set in the 1930s in the holy city of Varanasi, Water examines the plight of a group of widows forced into poverty against
a backdrop of political upheaval.
Kalyani (Lisa Ray), unwilling to accept the harsh restrictions imposed by society,
breaks the rules by falling in love with a man from a higher caste.
After seven years in the making, violent protests, and having to finish the film outside India,
we are delighted to finally be able to screen the final part of Mehta's taboo-confronting "elements" trilogy.
Exquisitely composed, shot and acted, Water is a film of extraordinary richness and complexity.
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Set in 1978 in the blistering heat of the Southern Italian countryside,
a young boy discovers a dark secret at an abandoned farmhouse.
It promises to be an adventure, but it turns out to be the event that will catapult him from childhood innocence
into a frighteningly adult world from which there's no turning back.
Based on the novel by Niccoló Amminiti, I'm Not Scared is part suspense drama
and part coming-of-age story. The film has a strange otherworldly and mythical
quality to it, like a cinematic dream, and the result is powerfully moving.
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Set in the Mexico City slums, this masterpiece follows the crime-filled lives of a gang of juvenile delinquents
focusing on the eventual destruction of Pedro, the menacing gang's youngest member.
Shot on location with non-professional actors, the film mixes documentary realism with sequences of surreal,
poetic intensity, and is crammed with Buñuelian motifs and obsessions.
It's a hugely influential film, foreshadowing the likes of A Clockwork Orange,
Kids and Amores Perros, and its matter-of-fact brilliance continues to astonish.
Re-released in the UK in 2007 by the BFI after many years out of circulation,
this print is a magnificent restoration by the Mexican UNAM Film Archive.
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| 4th December: |
Ten Canoes
Australia, 2006
Dir: Rolf de Heer / Peter Djigirr
90
minutes
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Setting out on an annual goose egg collecting expedition, Minygululu discovers that his younger unmarried brother
has designs on his third and youngest wife. Minygululu decides to tell him a story from the mythical past
(playfully narrated by David Gulpilil) of love, kidnapping, sorcery, bungling mayhem and revenge gone wrong.
Developed by acclaimed film-maker Rolf de Heer (The Tracker, Bad Boy Bubby)
in collaboration with the indigenous community of Raminining, Ten Canoes is an enchanting,
innovative and visually lush film that captures the deep spiritual connection between the land,
the Arafura swamp region, and its inhabitants.
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This production of Carmen sets the tragedy of the sensual and proudly independent heroine in Khayelitsha,
a Cape township. Sung and performed in Xhosa by the opera-trained Pauline Malefane and a powerful cast,
the original story is cleverly adapted to the naturalistic shantytown setting.
Flashbacks to their tragic and violent pasts in the Apartheid years give greater depth to the
Escamillo and Don Jose characters, and of course Bizet's music is superb.
But no prior knowledge of the original opera is required to enjoy U-Carmen,
with the film-makers successfully breaking free of the story's stage origins to create a dynamic cinematic work.
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2008:
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| 8th January: |
Kekexili
China, 2004
Dir: Lu Chuan 85 minutes
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A fictionalized account of the real-life volunteer team who in the 1990s patrolled the huge and sparsely beautiful
Kekexili nature reserve, fighting a running battle against armed poachers of the Tibetan antelope.
Under the leadership of the charismatic Ri Tai, a journalist accompanies the team risking their lives to
save this endangered species and symbol of Tibetan culture.
Lu Chuan's unforgettable sweeping shots of the bleak Tibetan plateau fill this film with menace and
endless ice-frozen beauty, whilst the action is unrelenting.
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| 22nd January: |
Night Watch
Russia,
2005
Dir: Timur Bekmambetov 114 minutes
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In a story spanning thousands of years, the forces of light and darkness settle
their differences policed by the "Night Watch". The main protagonist Anton
appears to be your average guy, but in a dark pact agrees to be recruited into
the "Night Watch" to hunt down vampires in the seedy present-day Russian
underworld. A spectacular sci-fi, fantasy horror with gore aplenty,
Nightwatch is not what you typically expect from the Russian film
studios, but this highly promising curtain-raiser to an ambitious trilogy was a
monumental hit at the Russian box office. And look out for the amazing
subtitles!
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Jakub, the director of an impoverished orphanage in India, returns to his native Denmark to meet a mystery benefactor who
innocently invites him to his daughter's wedding. Not everything is as it seems however and what follows is a
drama of human frailties and difficult choices. Bier has the novelist's ability to create a moving story about believable characters
and the Dogme-inspired filmmaker's skill to tell that story deftly on screen where the four charismatic leads play their
hearts out. The end result is a satisfying melodrama of the sort that Hollywood seems to have forgotten how to make.
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| 19th February: |
Hukkle
Hungary, 2002
Dir:
György Pálfi 78
minutes
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Hukkle is an intimate swoop through the human and animal occupants of a Hungarian village where a poisoner may be at work.
Focusing on nature's minute details, it is a film driven by an elusive plot buried like a cryptogram under all the action.
Blink and you may miss clues. Using images and sounds effects rather than conventional dialogue, Pálfi's eye
for offbeat detail and humour unites these rural denizens into a captivating visual jig. Beautifully photographed
in translucent, naturalistic color, the first-time director has created a truly original work.
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A bogus preacher (Robert Mitchum) marries gullible widow Willa Harper (Shelley Winters) to steal
the money hidden by her executed husband. However only her two young children know where the money
is, and they are not fooled as they flee across the bleak mid-west pursued by the
preacher. Mitchum, famously tattooed with 'love' and 'hate' on his
knuckles, gives his finest screen performance, and Laughton's only film as a
director is now seen as one of the great masterpieces of American cinema. A
gripping tale of good versus evil, this is a fairytale turned into a dark night
of the soul.
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| 18th March: |
C.R.A.Z.Y
Canada, 2005
Dir:
Jean-Marc Vallee 127 minutes
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Set in 1970s conservative Quebec, teenager Zachary struggles to deal with his oddball family and his own burgeoning sexuality.
Zachary tries to regain his doting but old-fashioned father's adoration by doing the "right thing",
but instead becomes tortured and rebellious eventually coming to blows with his junkie older brother Raymond.
Vallee makes great use of a 1970s soundtrack to help the story along, and delivers a compassionate story of
a large Catholic family struggling to love and understand each other.
C.R.A.Z.Y won ten Genies (Canadian Film Awards) in 2006 including best film.
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| 1st April: |
Keane
USA, 2004
Dir:
Lodge H Kerrigan 132 minutes
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This intense psychological drama follows a man's ceaseless search for his daughter, believed abducted from New
York's Port Authority Bus Terminal while his attention was distracted. But did the
abduction take place? Indeed does the child exist? Talented Damian Lewis is on screen throughout the film, giving
an astonishing performance as the desperate man slowly descending into mental anguish. Kerrigan's
long-awaited third feature is a pacy, profound and moving character study that shows the heart
of American independent cinema is still beating strongly.
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| 15th April: |
Hallam Foe
UK, 2007
Dir: David Mackenzie 95 minutes
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Hallam Foe is a young lad on the verge of manhood, whose talent for spying on people reveals his darkest fears and
his most peculiar sexual desires. Driven to expose the true cause of his mother's death, he
instead finds himself searching city rooftops for love. Boasting atmospheric widescreen visuals and a cool indie soundtrack,
this quirky little film shows how love and laughter are found in unexpected places. Hallam Foe represents an impressive return
to form for Mackenzie (Young Adam, Asylum), and an exceptional performance from Jamie Bell in the lead
role finally lays Billy Elliott to rest.
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After 12-year old Shaun's father has been killed in the Falklands War, he falls in with a gang
of skinheads led by the sweet natured Woody. But the mood changes when older skin Combo returns
from prison. Wonderfully evocative of 1980s England, exhilarating film-maker Meadows (Dead Man's Shoes)
draws on his own past as a young skinhead to address the still-relevant issues of racism and hardship. Thomas Turgoose
gives an incredible performance as Shaun in this powerful film that may well leave you shaken, but it
is also often warm, funny and deeply moving. Contemporary British cinema at its best.
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Eklavya is the aging guard and protector of a royal dynasty in post-independence Rajasthan, whose
loyalty is severely tested following the death of the queen. After his darkest secrets come to light,
his code of honour drives him to seek revenge. Chopra brings his trademark visual panache to this contemporary tale
of intrigue and love that bears all the hallmarks of a Shakespearian tragedy. Amitabh Bachchan
heads a strong cast of seasoned Bollywood actors and is superb as Eklavya. An enthralling end to our season.
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