Of Gods And Men - Sunday 2nd April 5pm

On Sunday we have what was considered probably the highlight of KFC's spring season: Of Gods and Men - and its reputation has certainly not dimmed since it was selected for our programme back in November. Peter Bradshaw has written a paean of praise (see our 'Cinema Handout' pdf file) as have nearly all the critics - but do have a look in your brochure. You might like the description by Derek Malcolm (London Evening Standard and President of the British Federation of Film Societies, no less): 'This is a deeply humane and compassionate film... moving because it tells us, often in the quietest detail, what basic decency and goodness really means.' I haven't used 'unmissable' much this year. Unmissable!

AGM + Loose Cannons - Sunday 25th March from 4pm

Cinema-going may not be top of your list in weather like this, but we do hope you’ll be able to get to the AGM on Sunday. 4pm at the Alhambra. Ask your questions, have your say - and meet your new Chairman! The meeting usually lasts only half an hour or so, but if you really can’t make it, do try to get to the Alhambra by 5pm for Loose Cannons. It’s said by David Parkinson of Empire magazine, the critic of great taste and distinction who gave our Festival such a good write-up, to be ‘a slickly funny and polished Italian romantic comedy’ and described by Ben Walters of Time Out as ‘engaging, affecting, well-acted & handsomely shot’ It has done pretty well for audience reaction on the Rotten Tomatoes website too, so we’re hoping it will please the majority.

The Wildest Dream at Rheged IMAX - Sunday 20th March 5pm

'For lovers of the greatest of outdoors, The Wildest Dream is a worthy excursion, especially on the big IMAX screen.' say Film Threat. Yes, you can catch it at 2pm on certain days at Rheged, but for the Club experience, do try to get there on Sunday - for another thing it's £3.50 cheaper! (Unless you're a senior citizen or child, which makes us only £2 cheaper). Here's another quote from a critic you probably won't have heard of: "This, not crud like A Christmas Carol, is what IMAX is made for. The visually astonishing Dream turns nature into artwork, whether Anker's partner Leo Houlding is doing a crazy-dangerous climb without safety ropes or Anker's enjoying a view that makes him look parallel to the sun."

Uncle Boonme - Sunday March 13th 5pm

We’re looking forward to Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Thai movie Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian, who isn’t given to doling out plaudits to also-rans, awards it 5 stars and describes it thus: ‘a cumbersome title, but it is a gloriously worthy winner of the Palme d'Or at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival This is a visionary film in the director's characteristic style: mysterious, dreamlike, gentle, quiet, magical. It has elements that are at first glance absurd, and at second or third glance, too, come to that. But they are beguiling and beautiful as well: the extended, wordless opening sequence in which a water buffalo appears to break free from its rope and roam the plains and forests of north-east Thailand at dusk is superbly filmed…It all has something sublime and visionary about it, with a spiritual quality I can't remember seeing in any film recently. Uncle Boonmee offers pleasure and heartbreak in equal measure… one of those rare films that contribute to the sum of human happiness’

On Tour - Sunday 6th March 5pm

This is how Edinburgh Filmhouse described On Tour: Mathieu Amalric (you saw him as the locked-in character in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly or even the villain in Quantum of Solace) ‘revives the genre of backstage drama through a performance form that is itself a revival of a moribund art – burlesque. The result is an entertaining, nostalgic film with a lot of charm. Amalric stars as a former French TV producer and personality who has returned from an extended stay in the United States with a troupe of New Burlesque artists. He has planned a tour of the port cities of France from Le Havre to Toulouse, then on to a grand finale in Paris.’ There’s much more information in the film notes:, where Jason Wood of Little White Lies – a review site I’m finding increasingly trustworthy – finishes his review with ‘The film’s conclusion… is amongst the finest and most thrillingly executed sequences in recent French cinema’

The Wildest Dream at Rheged

The message from Rheged is that The Wildest Dream looks fantastic on their huge IMAX screen, so we hope you’ll be able to join Club members on 20th March for a memorable experience. A large part of the idea though is to invite you to eat in the Rheged restaurant after the film: you can choose 2 courses (starter and main, or main and dessert) at £11.95, or 3 courses at £14.95.

There is a bus service from Keswick at 16.15, and which gets to Rheged at 16.45 for those not wishing to drive, but, unfortunately, not back. If people want us to arrange a coach please let us know – that would be likely to cost £4-5 if about 50 people were interested. We also need 50 people to want to eat in order to make the meal happen, and Rheged would like to know names and choices fairly soon, so if you could please let Rod know by Thursday 10th March if you’re feeling peckish (and include ‘yes’ to a coach if you want transport), that would be very helpful.