We'll follow this film with free drinks to keep you happy till our second film, 'Short Term 12', starts at 5.00. A popular film at many festivals, this is again about children struggling in society. This time it comes from the USA and follows the life in a foster home for troubled teenagers. Run by 20 something year olds, with problems of their own, the film gets critical acclaim for showing us the highs and lows of their lives - 'Beautifully written and perfectly played, all of human life is here; the good, the bad, the messy and the uplifting' - Ian Freer, Empire. Another of this season's female leads also gets high praise - Brie Larson plays her socks off as Grace. With 'Nebraska' filling the gap when we last tried to show 'Wadjda', this double bill looks like a great afternoon of cinema to make up for it; I hope you can make it along for both films.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Wadjda & Short Term 12 - Sunday 2nd February
We have two films for the price of one for you this weekend. We start with a rerun of 'Wadjda' at 2.30, after the failed run in December. In case you have forgotten, this is the first ever film made in Saudi Arabia and by a female director too. The 10 year old Wadjda does everything she can to get the bike she wants, while the society around her tries to stop her. A gentle comedy, but one with a message about the role of women in Saudi Arabia.
We'll follow this film with free drinks to keep you happy till our second film, 'Short Term 12', starts at 5.00. A popular film at many festivals, this is again about children struggling in society. This time it comes from the USA and follows the life in a foster home for troubled teenagers. Run by 20 something year olds, with problems of their own, the film gets critical acclaim for showing us the highs and lows of their lives - 'Beautifully written and perfectly played, all of human life is here; the good, the bad, the messy and the uplifting' - Ian Freer, Empire. Another of this season's female leads also gets high praise - Brie Larson plays her socks off as Grace. With 'Nebraska' filling the gap when we last tried to show 'Wadjda', this double bill looks like a great afternoon of cinema to make up for it; I hope you can make it along for both films.
We'll follow this film with free drinks to keep you happy till our second film, 'Short Term 12', starts at 5.00. A popular film at many festivals, this is again about children struggling in society. This time it comes from the USA and follows the life in a foster home for troubled teenagers. Run by 20 something year olds, with problems of their own, the film gets critical acclaim for showing us the highs and lows of their lives - 'Beautifully written and perfectly played, all of human life is here; the good, the bad, the messy and the uplifting' - Ian Freer, Empire. Another of this season's female leads also gets high praise - Brie Larson plays her socks off as Grace. With 'Nebraska' filling the gap when we last tried to show 'Wadjda', this double bill looks like a great afternoon of cinema to make up for it; I hope you can make it along for both films.
Monday, January 20, 2014
Camp 14:Total Control Zone - Sunday 26th January 5pm
Google ‘Camp 14’ and one of the first hits is the BFi website and the sub heading Film of the Week. With that recommendation Camp 14: Total Control Zone will make for compelling viewing.
The text below is taken from the review by Anton Bitel:
"I sit in the room without thoughts and without really doing anything. This quietude helps me kill time. I don’t really want to think about anything."
The speaker is Shin Donghyuk, one of very few people to have escaped a North Korean death camp, making the tale that he has lived to tell of crucial importance to the South Korean government and to human-rights organisations – and of considerable curiosity value for the world’s press.
German documentarian Marc Wiese (Das Mädchen und das Foto, Kanun – The Law of Honour) turns his subject’s quietude into a filmmaking principle. Much as Shin narrates his experiences in calm, measured tones, marking his continuing anguish not with on-camera breakdowns or emotive gestures but rather with long silences and awkward expressions of discomfort, so too Camp 14: Total Control Zone adopts a hushed approach, letting Shin’s words speak for themselves and allowing their full impact to hit in the breathing spaces of his drawn-out pauses.
The text below is taken from the review by Anton Bitel:
"I sit in the room without thoughts and without really doing anything. This quietude helps me kill time. I don’t really want to think about anything."
The speaker is Shin Donghyuk, one of very few people to have escaped a North Korean death camp, making the tale that he has lived to tell of crucial importance to the South Korean government and to human-rights organisations – and of considerable curiosity value for the world’s press.
German documentarian Marc Wiese (Das Mädchen und das Foto, Kanun – The Law of Honour) turns his subject’s quietude into a filmmaking principle. Much as Shin narrates his experiences in calm, measured tones, marking his continuing anguish not with on-camera breakdowns or emotive gestures but rather with long silences and awkward expressions of discomfort, so too Camp 14: Total Control Zone adopts a hushed approach, letting Shin’s words speak for themselves and allowing their full impact to hit in the breathing spaces of his drawn-out pauses.
Friday, January 17, 2014
Alhambra Centenary Celebrations start Wednesday 22nd January 2pm
The actual date of the Alhambra's Centenary is Wednesday 22nd January. To mark this date, you are all invited to a screening of an interview with Nick Simpson, the son of a former manager of the Alhambra, who grew up there in the 1940's and 50's. It is a fascinating record of how the cinema was run and its role in the town. Nick recalls the film 'The Clouded Yellow' being shot in Lakeland and that the crew used the Alhambra to view the rushes. Young Nick was very taken with its glamorous star, Jean Simmons! We will be showing 'The Clouded Yellow' after the interview with Nick, which will start at 2.00pm. We will also take the opportunity to announce the films to be shown from each of the decades of the Alhambra's operation over the Festival week, along with the Programme and Guests for the Film Festival. How can you resist?!
Monday, January 13, 2014
Broken Circle Breakdown - Sunday 19th January 5pm
The first thing to say about this week's film, 'Broken Circle Breakdown' is that it is short-listed for the Best Foreign Film at this year's Oscars. The reason I put this first is that once I describe it you will probably be as surprised as I was.
The story follows the love affair between the lead singer and banjo player of a bluegrass band (in Belgium!) and a tattoo artist. The story could have become too 'schmultzy' and harrowing, but the film plays back and forward in time, so we learn all is not well right at the start. Expect melodrama, sweet music, politics, religion, tears and joy. 'From all this, the director Felix Van Groeningen has created something not just plausible and affecting but sharp and alert in its distress' - Anthony Lane, The New Yorker. Expect also some great acting - the two leads both come in for some great reviews, especially Verrie Baetens - Tim Robey says in The Telegraph 'She ought to be a huge star, and this is exactly where to see her born'.
The story follows the love affair between the lead singer and banjo player of a bluegrass band (in Belgium!) and a tattoo artist. The story could have become too 'schmultzy' and harrowing, but the film plays back and forward in time, so we learn all is not well right at the start. Expect melodrama, sweet music, politics, religion, tears and joy. 'From all this, the director Felix Van Groeningen has created something not just plausible and affecting but sharp and alert in its distress' - Anthony Lane, The New Yorker. Expect also some great acting - the two leads both come in for some great reviews, especially Verrie Baetens - Tim Robey says in The Telegraph 'She ought to be a huge star, and this is exactly where to see her born'.
Monday, January 06, 2014
Papadopoulos and Sons - Sunday 12th January 5:00 PM
Our next film Sunday chronicles the fortunes of Harry Popadopoulos, a north London comestibles magnate "obliged to downsize when he finds that even an empire founded on taramasalata cannot survive a double-dip recession" (The Guardian’s reviewer, along with others, had a field day with food based puns!)
Papadopoulos and Sons is a comedy-drama exploring the stresses of family and business, not to mention the odd ethnic tension with the kebab shop down the road.
Again according to the Guardian "its an ambitious attempt to rewrite Lear for laughter rather than tears. It's a throwback, but relaxed, sweet and funny with it: a first feature that makes an impression by not pushing too hard to make an impression."
Papadopoulos and Sons is a comedy-drama exploring the stresses of family and business, not to mention the odd ethnic tension with the kebab shop down the road.
Again according to the Guardian "its an ambitious attempt to rewrite Lear for laughter rather than tears. It's a throwback, but relaxed, sweet and funny with it: a first feature that makes an impression by not pushing too hard to make an impression."
Friday, January 03, 2014
Happy New Year From Keswick Film Club
Happy New Year, film lovers - I hope you have had a great Christmas and New Year and you are now ready for our new season!
We start again this Sunday, 5th January at 4.15pm for our usual start of season drinks; this gives you a chance to swap Christmas stories, get a free drink and maybe buy yourself a Spring Season Pass; these will be on sale in foyer for £30 to club members, which makes it only £2.50 per film if you come to them all!
Our first film follows at 5.00pm. Continuing what is almost as long a tradition as the free drinks, we have a French period drama for you. 'Marius' is the first of a trilogy based on Marcel Pagnol novels (the second, 'Fanny', follows as the last film in our Spring Season on 30th March). The trilogy is directed by Daniel Auteuil, who also stars as Cesar, the father of Marius and the title role of the third film. The films are Auteuil's follow up after 'The Well-Digger's Daughter', which was our most popular film in in Spring 2012 season.
In the first film, Marius is helping to run his father's bar in Marseille where he dreams of running away to sea, until he meets Fanny. Will their love be enough to keep Marius' feet on dry ground? The love story is played against a background of humour, giving us a great season starter.
We start again this Sunday, 5th January at 4.15pm for our usual start of season drinks; this gives you a chance to swap Christmas stories, get a free drink and maybe buy yourself a Spring Season Pass; these will be on sale in foyer for £30 to club members, which makes it only £2.50 per film if you come to them all!
Our first film follows at 5.00pm. Continuing what is almost as long a tradition as the free drinks, we have a French period drama for you. 'Marius' is the first of a trilogy based on Marcel Pagnol novels (the second, 'Fanny', follows as the last film in our Spring Season on 30th March). The trilogy is directed by Daniel Auteuil, who also stars as Cesar, the father of Marius and the title role of the third film. The films are Auteuil's follow up after 'The Well-Digger's Daughter', which was our most popular film in in Spring 2012 season.
In the first film, Marius is helping to run his father's bar in Marseille where he dreams of running away to sea, until he meets Fanny. Will their love be enough to keep Marius' feet on dry ground? The love story is played against a background of humour, giving us a great season starter.
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