Spring Programme

Our Spring Programme of films starts on January 9th with The Kids Are All Right and amongst the other films on offer also includes a trip to Rheged's giant IMAX screen and the 12th Keswick Film Festival.

The full Spring Programme and brochure are now available on the website.

Merry Christmas

All of the committee would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and an excellent beginning and continuation of 2011. We’ll hope to see you on 9th Jan for The Kids Are All Right, and for a drink beforehand at 4.15pm.

New Time: La Danse - Sunday 19th at 4.30pm

We've had to move La Danse to the slightly earlier time of 4.30 pm. This is to accommodate the Narnia film which needs to start for the kids' sake at 7.30pm. We'd be very grateful if you could mention the change of time to anyone you think may be interested.

Down Terrace - Sunday 12th December 5pm

Down Terrace is being mentioned in the same category as The Long Good Friday, Get Carter, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (although it's much lower budget than them) rather than the britgangster dross that has been prevalent in the last few years. It won Jury Prize at the Raindance Film Festival as well as the Raindance Award at the British Independent Film Awards and the Best Film Next Wave Award at the Austin Film Festival, and that's not bad going. And two views from across the pond:

'The British do kitchen-sink realism extremely well; they also have a nice way with black comedy. It's rare, however, to see the two as wickedly combined as they are in Down Terrace."

Kate Taylor, Globe and Mail. 

"Often gaspingly, ridiculously funny."

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com

Skeletons - Sunday 5th December 5pm

Skeletons is the fourteenth film film this season but the first in the English language, which may be some kind of record. High praise in the brochure and as far as one can judge, a film that's highly likely to appeal to the refined sense of humour of the KFC membership. Venez nombreux as they say over there. And as we always say, it's not your money we want, it's large audiences enjoying films we've chosen as carefully as possible for your appreciation.

White Material - Sunday 28th November 5pm

'There's no better filmmaker working in the world right now.' There, you have it from the horse's mouth: Nick James, editor of our bible Sight & Sound was talking about Claire Denis on the release of her latest film White Material - which we have for you on Sunday. Having burst on the scene with Chocolat in 1988, the first of her films that KFC screened was Beau Travail, made in 1999 and based on French Foreign Legion troops in North Africa. Then a gap, for us, until 35 Shots of Rum, just a year ago - 'a richly textured meditation on family, friendship, love and loss' as it said in our brochure. And then there's the star, Isabelle Huppert, whom you've seen twice recently, in Home and The Sea Wall. Astonishingly she has been nominated for the Best Actress César (France's Oscar) 13 times, but only won it once (for Chabrol's La Cérémonie) but if British she'd surely have been Damed by now.

Mother - Sunday 21st November 5pm

South Korean director Joon-Ho Bong has already had two major successes, with Memories of Murder, screened by KFC in spring 2005, and The Host in the 2007 Festival. Like an old friend really! But Tom Huddleston, respected critic of Time Out says: 'Bold, unpredictable and quietly devastating, Mother is Bong's first masterpiece.' Quite an improvement on what was already a pretty good standard then! And do have a look at the comments of the two eminent American critics quoted in the brochure and on the film page: this is another of the autumn programme's films that we expect to be amongst the mustn't-be-missed category

A weekend of hell?

How about a weekend of hell? Or L'Enfer as we've chosen to call it. You might be wondering about what's going on, with films on both Saturday and Sunday, so here's the pitch: one of France's greatest film directors,Henri-Georges Clouzot, decided that he had the idea for a masterpiece, and wrote the script for a film which was to be called L'Enfer. For various reasons, which will become clear, Clouzot's great new film was never made, but his widow made important parts of it available to Serge Bromberg, a gifted young documentarist, and he was able to create a fascinating movie (from interviews, those 'rushes' and his own knowledge) which we're showing on Sunday at 5pm. So this one is called L'Enfer d'Henri-Georges Clouzot. Peter Bradshaw calls it a 'must-see' and the collective view of most reliable critics is similar. It gets the small matter of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes!

Now on Saturday at 5pm, we're screening the film that another of France's best-known directors, Claude Chabrol, made from the script of L'Enfer that was acquired for him from Clouzot's estate, about 30 years later. So you'll have a chance to compare the two films and gain more understanding of the script-to-film process, as well as enjoying two pictures that could stand alone as fascinating in themselves. Emmanuelle Béart, or Romy Schneider - which one would have better played the role of a wife likely to inspire a man's jealousy? You'll have the choice...

The Headless Woman - Sunday 7th November 5pm

The Secret in their Eyes proved as popular as expected, in terms of attendance (6th highest since 'records began' in 2003) and 22nd in terms of audience reaction with 88.62%. Not everyone liked it though - see John's review.

The third and last of our series of Argentinian films is coming up this Sunday, with Lucrecia Martel's The Headless Woman. Old hands will have seen her La Cienaga (The Swamp) at the 2002 Festival. You can get a good idea of what is on offer from the brochure and film notes or by listening to the Daily Telegraph film critic: 'Chances are you'll leave Martel's film wanting to see it again. Rightly so. It's elliptical, encoded, endlessly suggestive.'

The Secret In Their Eyes - Sunday 31st October 5pm

As the clocks change and your determination to be out fellwalking, gardening, etc., will doubtless wane in the dark, we have for you what promises to be one of, if not the highlight of the autumn season, The Secret in their Eyes on Sunday. It won the Oscar for Best Film in a Foreign Language this year, beating the likes of A Prophet and The White Ribbon in the process, and has been very warmly praised indeed by several discerning KFC members who have already seen it.

Lion's Den: 71.76%

108 people came along to see Lion's Den on Sunday and gave it a score of 71.76%, you can read John's review here and leave your own comments on the film's page.

This Sunday we have the winner of the 2009 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, The Secret In Their Eyes, described by Roger Ebert as a "complete, engrossing, lovingly-crafted film".

Lion's Den - Sunday 24th October 5pm

On Sunday, we embark on a run of 3 Argentinian films which will give you a chance to appreciate fully some of the fine filmmaking that is, and has been for a few years now, going on in that part of the world (remember Nine Queens, Son of the Bride, La Cienaga, El Bonaerense, Familia Rodante, Whisky, The Motorcycle Diaries, La Antena, Born and Bred, all of which we've screened).

Well, three of those films have come from the creative juices of Sunday's director, Pablo Trapero: Lion's Den was a natural pick for our autumn programme when it was so much appreciated by critics and prize-giving juries around the world, and nominated for the Palme d'Or at Cannes. In fact, actress Martina Gusman attracted almost as much praise for her part in the proceedings as the director himself, winning numerous awards including the FIPRESCI Prize at Palm Springs.

Revanche - Sunday 17th October 5pm

No more war films – you can come back now! But to be serious, our audience of 86 for City Of Life And Death wasn’t too bad in the circumstances, given that it was a lovely sunny afternoon, and only a fortnight after the harrowing experience of Lebanon.

This Sunday’s offering, Revanche gives a complete change of mood. To illustrate that, here are  three critics’ quotes: ‘That rarest of things -- a thoughtful thriller.’ Total Film.  ‘As good a thriller as you'll see this year.’ Empire. 'Crisply photographed, beautifully acted and taut as a cheese-wire.’ Time Out. Your brochure gives you a fair description too, and bear in mind that Revanche was considered a serious contender for Best Film in a Foreign Language at last year’s Oscars. Trailer and notes as usual on the website.

City Of Life And Death: 83.17%

City Of Life And Death was another difficult film but our audience really appreciated it and gave it a score of 83.17%.

This coming Sunday we have Revanche, nominated for Best Foreign Film at last year's Oscars and described by the Radio Times as a "riveting study of desire, isolation, guilt and redemption ... surprisingly optimistic in its assessment of human weakness."

City Of Life And Death - Sunday 10th October 5pm

The Concert did a very good job in separating the two harshest films on our programme: both Lebanon and City of Life and Death are easily categorised as war films, and neither avoids the more horrible aspects of warfare, but they are of a very different type. The Chinese film, coming up on Sunday, is much more wide-ranging, examining scenes of conflict and the huge impact of the Japanese invasion on the civilian population of Nanjing. But it also tells the story of several figures, both historical and fictional, including a Chinese soldier, a schoolteacher, a Japanese soldier, a foreign missionary, and John Rabe, a Nazi businessman who would ultimately save thousands of Chinese civilians.



'Possibly the war film of the year...  the director achieves humane switches of perspective on both sides which put Saving Private Ryan to shame.' Tim Robey, Telegraph


'One of the finest films of the year so far, City of Life and Death is harrowing, shocking and searingly emotional... the picture has the grandeur of a classic. It should be witnessed.' Kate Muir The Times


'One of the most powerful films you'll ever see. Literally unforgettable.' Little White Lies

More High Scores For Le Concert

The audience score for Le Concert may only be higher than Lebanon by less than one percent but with 88.5% it is now our second highest scoring film of the year. You can read John's review here and let us know why you liked it so much by leaving a comment on the film page.

This Sunday sees a return to war with City Of Life And Death, it comes highly recommended with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and as highlighted in the brochure by this quote from The Times:  "One of the finest films of the year so far, it is harrowing, shocking and searingly emotional... the picture has the grandeur of a classic. It should be witnessed."

Le Concert - Sunday 3rd October 5pm

We're looking forward to Le Concert on Sunday: after a tough watch last week, there's a complete change of mood for you with this shamelessly entertainment-orientated Franco-Russian tale of a janitor at the Bolshoi dreaming of putting on a concert. But he's no ordinary janitor of course. It's one of those films that has pleased audiences more than critics, so our scores will be very interesting. Here are a couple of quotes that sum it up:


'While essentially a larky comedy caper, the film's undertones of lost opportunity and growing old strike exactly the right emotional notes. It makes for a tear-jerking finale of the very first order.' David Edwards, Daily Mirror.


'More sentimental, less spiky than Mihaileanu's stock-in-trade, Le Concert is an enjoyable take on the underdogs genre. And Laurent and the music are sublime.' Empire. (That's Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D Major, by the way).

High Scores For Lebanon

With 87.77% Lebanon becomes the 2nd highest scoring film of 2010, after Festival Audience Award winner Departures.  You can read John's thoughts on Lebanon in his review for the Reminder and share your own views via our new commenting system on the film page.

Next up we have Le Concert, "A superbly directed, beautifully acted French farce that's both powerfully emotional and laugh-out-loud funny. Highly recommended" says Matthew Turner of ViewLondon.

Lebanon - Sunday 26th September 5pm

This coming Sunday's film is Lebanon: first of all, please don't be kept away by talk of the violence that it contains. It is essentially a war film, and of course that entails violence, but the thrust of the film is definitely anti-war and you'll find the experience gripping (I hope) and persuasive. Here are some views from a couple of critics:

'In its creative audacity, the precision of its psychological portraiture and, above all, in its uncompromising moral seriousness, Lebanon accomplishes about as much as any war movie can.' 

A. O. Scott, New York Times.

'It is a modern war movie of unusual poetic-political resonance and a brilliant stroke of minimalist filmmaking' 

James Verniere, Boston Herald. 

Oh... and it did win the Golden Lion at Venice.

Film Society of the Year Awards

We didn't quite manage the top BFFS prizes, but Distinctions in Best Programming and Best Website - in effect runners-up - is a lot better than nothing. Apparently there are now at least 375 film societies and 'community cinemas', so coming second seems respectable. You can see a full list of all the winners at http://www.bffs.org.uk/awards/ and if you'd like some photos of the weekend too, with Derek Malcolm, Francine Stock et al, they're on a series which pictures our plaques at http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexsnelltraveletc/5002801308/in/set-7215762498 4466876/  

Still Walking - Scores & Review

Still Walking scored 70.57% with our audience on Sunday, you can read John's opinion in his review and leave your own views on the film page.

This Sunday we have Lebanon, "an astonishing feature debut that will amaze and upset, and has the strength to ask larger questions without ever forgetting its intimate roots." according to Empire.

Still Walking - Sunday 19th September 5pm

This Sunday, we have for your delectation another Japanese film, Still Walking, that may go a long way towards rivalling last season's best-ever, Departures. Only the theme of family is similar, but the Japanese seem to have the knack of transferring quietly civilised, emotionally satisfying dramas to the big screen. And so say all the critics: it scores 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, which ain't easy.

Opening Time - Sunday 12th 4:15pm

Come and meet your fellow film enthusiasts (and you’ll probably find that they share lots of your other enthusiasms) at 4.15pm on Sunday 12th September and enjoy a free drink (wine or juice) before the screening of I Am Love.

Chosen as the first film of the new season to appeal to the whole spectrum of our audience, this critically-acclaimed love story set in the moneyed upper classes of Milan has had its dramatic impact compared to King Lear or The Leopard.

We have created an event on our Facebook page if you would like to let us and other 'Fans' know you'll be coming along.

Autumn Season Starts 12th September

The Autumn programme of films will be starting on 12th September with I Am Love starring Tilda Swinton.

"One of the most beautiful pieces of cinema we've seen in a good while" - Film Four

"A stunning achievement." - Variety

The full programme is now available here on the website and in the Autumn brochure which you should be able to pick up in and around Keswick (e.g. T.I.C, library and Booths).

Roman Film Festival: Programme Changes

Things are going well at the Roman Festival at the Senhouse Museum, Maryport, and a few KFC members have been enjoying the films. There are a few changes to the programme: next Tuesday (17th) the film Centurion has been dropped in favour of the second part of Quo Vadis – the Polish version of 2001. And then on Tuesday 24th, the last of the series, it is hoped that the very new (on DVD at least) Agora by Alejandro Amenabar, set in 391 AD Alexandria will be available.

Roman Film Festival

There is a series of 6 films about to start at the Senhouse Museum, Maryport. Organised by one of our members, Friend of Senhouse, Hugh Thomson, they are being screened, all at 7pm on the next six Tuesday evenings by your very own ‘KFC-on-the-Road’ team, and the programme is:

20th July Caesar & Cleopatra (Vivien Leigh)
27th July A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
3rd August Quo Vadis (Polish version - 2001)
10th August Mission Cleopatra
17th August Quo Vadis Part II
4th August Agora (TBC)

So, 7pm, Tuesday evenings...and free entry!

End Of Season

Thank you all for coming to another great season of films. As you can see from the scores, it would seem the people of Keswick agree that Departures was a worthy Oscar winner, not only did it win the Film Festival Audience Award but is now the highest rated film in the club's history.

We'll be back in September with our Autumn programme of films and if you have any suggestions please do get in touch.

Don't forget you can also find us on Facebook and Twitter.

Departures - Sunday 11th March 5pm

Departures won both our Festival Audience Award and the Best Film in a Foreign Language Oscar last year. Quite a few of you didn't get to see it at the Festival, which is such a pity that we've decided to extend the KFC season and show it again.

Un Prophète - Sunday 4th April 5pm

We haven't used the word 'unmissable' much this season, but look at what the
Evening Standard critic says:

'Some films have World Cinema Classic stamped all over them. A Prophet has already won the Grand Prix at Cannes, the Best Film Award at the London Film Festival, and it will surely scoop the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in a month or so. (He was wrong, like nearly everyone else! - ed.) It is two-and-a-half hours long but I wouldn't have minded another hour. It is the best film about French society since La Haine, which came out no less than 15 years ago. But the reach of the film goes well beyond France and beyond Europe: it might be the most gripping work of art this year, and not seeing it could seriously damage your interestingness.'

Andrew O'Hagan, London Evening Standard

And the view from the USA (about a French film, remember!): 'Sensational, sweeping and precisely observed. A pitch-perfect film.' Manohla Dargis, New York Times. It's our film for Sunday, of course, at 5pm as usual. But don't forget, it's no longer the last of the season, with Departures coming up on 11th April.

Disgrace - Sunday 28th March 5pm

Disgrace has attracted a good deal of critical approval, not least from the author of the Booker Prize-winning novel himself. As usual, your brochure and the film page will tell you plenty more, or check the critics on Rotten Tomatoes for yourself.

Not long to go now, before the beginning of your long drought of Club films - pack the last three in if you can! Disgrace on Sunday, then A Prophet on the 4th April and Departures on the 11th.

AGM 2010

It's the AGM on Sunday at 4pm. Please come if you can - we'd welcome your views and we need a fair number of members to make the occasion meaningful.

The White Ribbon - Sunday 21st March 5pm

We’re embarking on a run of must-see films – you really owe it to yourself to catch all four if you haven’t crept in early already! The White Ribbon, Disgrace, A Prophet, and Departures. The White Ribbon and A Prophet being rivals for the Best Foreign Language Oscar this year (‘tho both were beaten), Departures was the Oscar winner last year (and KFF11 Audience Award winner!), and Disgrace the film of the Booker Prize-winning novel by the Nobel Prize-winning author J M Coetzee.

It all starts on Sunday with The White Ribbon, winner of the Palme d’Or, Best FL Film in the Golden Globes, nominated for Oscar and Bafta Awards. Peter Bradshaw says it's ‘Profoundly disquieting, superbly acted and directed, its sinister riddle glitters more fiercely each time I watch it.’

The Sea Wall - Sunday 14th March 5pm

When Derek Malcolm was here with Ken Russell last autumn we ran The Sea Wall past him and he gave it a firm nod of approval: Derek doesn't suffer foolish films gladly. You'll see from your brochure that it's a period piece: Cambodian exile (from the Khmer Rouge) Rithy Panh re-visits some of his country's past by adapting major French novelist Marguerite Duras's semi-autobiographical Un barrage contre le Pacifique for the big screen. Beautiful photography in a lush landscape, we're reliably informed, and the usual outstanding performance from grande dame of French cinema Isabelle Huppert, whose performance you probably enjoyed in Home, our opening film of the autumn season.

Nowhere Boy - Sunday 7th March 5pm

We’re looking forward to Nowhere Boy on Sunday, getting back to our usual 5pm routine. As you probably know, it’s an account by artist-turned-film director Sam Taylor Wood of John Lennon turning from boy to Beatle and the two women in his early life (excellently played by Kristin Scott thomas and Anne-Marie Duff) who had such a profound effect on him. Peter Bradshaw calls it ‘A handsome film made with real flair.’

11th Keswick Film Festival 25-28th February

There are nearly 40 films on offer from Thursday as the 11th Keswick Film Festival takes over the Alhambra and Theatre By The Lake. It all starts at 6:30pm with an opening party for pass holders followed by the first film, The World is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner at 7:30pm. Other highlights include the films of guests Jan Dunn (Gypo, The Calling) and Tony Grisoni (The Unloved, Tideland, Brothers Of The Head) with Q&As, the 2nd Cumbrian Short Film Awards and live musical accompaniment to My Best Girl.

For full details visit the Festival Website.

Barry Lyndon - Sunday 21st February 4.00pm

We're pleased to be able to offer you the very rare chance to see Stanley Kubrick's version of William Makepeace Thackeray's Barry Lyndon on the big screen at the slightly earlier time of 4pm.

Unfortunately Neil Sinyard (Emeritus Professor of Film Studies at Hull University) can no longer make it to Keswick but he has very kindly written his introduction to the film and we'll be hearing it at 4pm on Sunday.

The Times, Sunday Times, Independent and Time Out all give it 5 stars out of 5, and we rather like the Village Voice critic's summary: 'Stanley Kubrick's magisterial Thackeray adaptation now stands as one of his greatest and most savagely ironic films, not to mention one of the few period pieces on celluloid so transporting that it seems to predate the invention of cameras... The film's greatness can make a viewer feel like a speck in the cosmos.'

Tulpan - Sunday 7th February 5:00 PM

Are you looking forward to Tulpan on Sunday? To transport yourselves away from Cumbria to the Kazakh Steppe and see the winner of (amongst many other Festival awards) the BFI’s Sutherland Trophy at the London IFF, and ‘Un Certain Regard’ at Cannes 2008, made by Kazakhstan-born, documentary filmmaker Sergey Dvortsevoy. Top reviewer Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote: ‘I swear to you that if you live in a place where this film is playing, it is the best film in town. You'll enjoy it, not soon forget it, and you’ll tell your friends about it and try to persuade them to go… there has to come a time in everyone’s life when they see a deadpan comedy about the yurt dwellers of Kazakhstan.’ And, as reported in your brochure, Peter Bradshaw calls it ‘eminently lovable’. A fair chance of it being watchable then...

Sin Nombre - Sunday 7th February 5:00 PM

Very popular on the ‘arthouse’ circuit following its UK release last August, the Edinburgh Filmhouse programme excitedly describes it thus: ‘Winner of the New Director’s Award at the Edinburgh Film Festival, this debut feature from Cary Fukunaga is must-see cinema. Crammed with beautiful moments, this evocative story of immigrants leaving South America for a better life in the States is simply unmissable. Vivid, unforgettable storytelling which grounds you in reality and hope, it’s the story of Casper, a former teenage gang member on the run from his former gangmates, and Sayra, who’s dreaming of being reunited with her father in a better life in America, as they ride the railways north. You owe it to yourself to see what is undoubtedly one of the greatest films of 2009.’ Others talk about it being a very good film, but ‘a hard watch’ – you have to be prepared to take a bit of (justified) violence with your beautiful moments, it seems...

Goodbye Solo - Sunday 31st January 5pm

Goodbye Solo is our only American film of the spring season, so we picked the best, naturally (if you listen to the most eminent critics, like Roger Ebert and A.O.Scott of the NY Times). Winner of many prizes on the international film festival circuit, the film attracts extraordinary tributes: Scott ends his review by describing the 'exquisite attention, wry humor and wide-awake intelligence that informs every frame of this almost perfect film.' Add in the Peter Bradshaw and Roger Ebert quotes in your brochure, and you won't be able to resist turning out on a cold Sunday evening

Birdwatchers - Sunday 24th January 5pm

This Sunday we have something entirely different for you: moving away from French beaches we find ourselves in BirdWatchers transported to Brazil's Mato Grosso do Sul. The rainforest - or what is supposed to be the rainforest. Here, the farmers lead a wealthy and leisurely existence: they own huge fields with transgenic plantations and they spend their nights with tourists who come bird watching. Meanwhile, at the borders of their lands, the restlessness of the natives, who were the legitimate inhabitants of those lands, is rapidly growing. A group of indigenous Gurani-Kaiowam are tired of being penned into tribal reservations and decide to take back their ancestral land.

The Beaches of Agnès - Sunday 17th January 5pm

Some of you might be wondering about the pros and cons of The Beaches of Agnès, an autobiographical documentary about a filmmaker you may seldom have encountered. If you need some convincing it scores 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, and that weight of critical opinion seldom runs counter to our audiences’ opinions. You’ll find a plethora of adjectives describing Varda’s work: ‘puckish, moving and wonderfully eccentric; deftly assembled, wry and touching, an endearing, indomitable spirit; witty and engaging; touching, highly whimsical; touching, eloquent reflections on life in general; poignant and illuminating; delightful, charming, idiosyncratic, wonderful, warm, witty and insightful’

KFC 2010. Happy New Year!

I guess you won’t need a reminder that your midwinter film fast is almost at an end, and that we start again for the spring (!) on Sunday with Bright Star. And before the film, from 4.15pm, there will be the now-traditional drinks to start off our journey into cinematic heaven. If you like the look of the programme, and can get to most of the films, you can save yourself lots of course by buying a spring pass.

If for some reason you don’t like it, never mind, you won’t have wasted your money because we’re handing over all the proceeds for this screening to the Cumbria Flood Recovery Fund – something you might like to mention to your friends who don’t usually come to our shows.