Our member's picked Pedro Almodóvar's Bitter Christmas for this season of films and as one of our favourite directors we were delighted to be able to bring it to Keswick.
"With its moving musical interludes, comic patter and outrageously chic production design, Bitter Christmas is another dazzling, late-period jewel." - David Jenkins, Little White Lies
"The result is an auspicious first feature, and I'd see it if I were you." - Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
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Another Members' Choice this Sunday with Rental Family. The 'dicey premise' is an out-of-work American actor, Phillip (Brendan Fraser), living in Japan, is offered a job: being hired out to pretend to be a friend or a family member - his first role is to be a mourner at a funeral. Why is he doing this? Because in Japan this actually happens! The comedy is very real, but so is the pathos - why would anybody hire someone to pretend to be their groom at a wedding..?
“This is gentle, crowd-pleasing drama comedy powered by Fraser’s heroic comeback. It won’t break your heart — but it might quietly mend a small piece of it.” - Linda Marric, HeyUGuys
Set in 1936 as the British Mandate is fading in Palestine and German Jews are beginning to flee to the area in larger and larger numbers, Palestine 36 attempts to show us some of the origins of today's troubles. This was all the more timely as filming was set to start soon after Hamas raided Israel and set off the present fighting.
“At its best it cuts between historical footage and new material and achieves the awed emotional resonance of connecting history with the present.” - Marcel Steinbauer-Lewis, Little White Lies
“Warm and sure-footed, the film has the feel of a richly satisfying meal in an excellent neighbourhood bistro. Old world pleasures of character and story are generously apportioned.” - Danny Leigh, Financial
“A crisp and understated piece... And the charismatic young cast brings a lively, impromptu-feeling organic energy.” - Jonathan Romney, Screen International
"Carreira’s is the kind of small, still-waters debut that nonetheless confidently sets out its maker’s store for future work -- a clarion call for a new generation of social-realist cinema." - Guy Lodge, Variety
"It is about a world in which women’s lives are disposable and in which the authorities are disapproving of and disgusted by their suffering – and set at a time in which the first world war had normalised the idea of mass murder" – Peter Bradshaw, Guardian.
"Writer-director Francois Ozon creates a wonderfully engaging vibe that mixes in little jolts of realism amid the generally breezy, gleefully camp thrills." - Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
If Only I Could Hibernate was chosen by members last season, but it was withdrawn by the distributors; it is now available! It was the first Mongolian film to be shown at Cannes Film Festival. It follows the daily life of Ulzii, a young 15-year-old boy, who is torn between personal ambition and family loyalty.
"Brings an earthy, lived-in authenticity to a premise that, in other hands, could feel like a piece of ethnographic voyeurism." - Wendy Ide, Observer
"Detective Ma Zhe wanders through the frames of Wei Shujun's period noir Only the River Flows, smoking cigarettes like carbon monoxide is actually his oxygen, almost always bedecked in his leather coat. These are the trademark symbols of a weary cop who has worked too long and seen too much" - Andy Crump, Paste Magazine.
"Fittingly, as pure cinema, Only The River Flows is a knockout: eerie and dreamlike" - Danny Leigh, Financial Times
"Brought to life by an electrifying cast fronted by Derbez and an ensemble of young actors already at the top of their game, while 'Radical' might feel like familiar territory, it is energized with so much heart and compassion that it feels almost impossible not to fall for its myriad charms." - Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, AWFJ
The Outrun starts in London where we meet Rona who is spiralling to the bottom of her alcoholic life, pushing her loving partner Daynin away on her way downwards. She decides to run for cover to the place of her youth, Orkney. Not out of the woods yet - her family there cause her more heartaches - but she gradually finds peace and tranquility in the remote and windswept Scottish Islands
Rona is played by Saoirse Ronan in another potentially award winning performance:
"When it comes to disappearing into emotionally and physically demanding roles, there are a few actors out there as gifted and committed" - Tomris Laffly, Harper's Bazaar.
"Bracingly shot and edited, with impressive performances from the cast, the film is packed with powerfully intense moments." - Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
“This family drama masquerading as a murder-mystery touches on universal marital tensions; it is both enigmatic and very human.” - Laura Venning, Empire Magazine
We finish this season with an unusual love story, both in characters and place, whilst the twists and turns will keep you guessing along the way. Set in the beautiful but barren Outer Hebrides, with the lovers in their autumn years, will it all turn out for good… or will it go sour?
"This wistful, island-set melodrama has strong performances and the sly hypnotic power of a high-end meditation app." - Kevin Maher, The Times
Another Members' Choice for our penultimate film of 2023. Paris Memories (Revoir Paris) is inspired by a real experience of the Bataclan attack in Paris, Alice Winocour (who co-wrote the magnificent 'Mustang' we showed here in 2016), places Mia, by a huge mis chance, in a restaurant which is attacked by a terrorist gunman. Mia "finds herself completely broken by the experience…" - Wendy Ide, Observer. We see the whole event through Mia's eyes, crouched on the floor with just the gunmen's feet in view; the tension this creates sets the scene for the whole film, but this film is not really about the attack, who did it or why, it is about the effect on a survivor, Mia. Wendy Ide goes on to say "Three months after the event, she starts the process of piecing together her shattered memories of the attack, even as she comes to realise that some elements of her life are beyond repair".
"It’s a sensitive, careful film with real emotional intelligence, but no less gripping for swerving dramatic fireworks in favour of quieter, more observational moments." - Philip De Semlyen, Time Out
In Master Gardener Joel Edgerton plays the gardener in Sigourney Weaver's estate, but we soon realise he has not always been a gardener.
"The less you know about Master Gardener going in, the better: tracing the trail of these characters’ secrets is part of the thrill. But it’s compelling for other reasons too." - Stephanie Zacharek. TIME Magazine
La Syndicaliste is a "French drama about a blood-boiling real-life case of injustice is the story of whistleblower and rape survivor Maureen Kearney, who for four years lived with a criminal record: falsely convicted of wasting police time, accused of inventing her rape" - Cath Clarke, Guardian.
“Isabelle Huppert carries it along with a performance every bit as gripping as you’d expect.” - Cath Clarke, Guardian
Another Members' Choice this week with AFIRE. Leon (Thomas Schubert) goes away to his friend Leon's parents' house for some peace and quiet to write his book. When they arrive, they find the house is not empty; Leon's Mum forgot to tell him that Nadja was already staying there... and the forest fire is getting closer and closer...
"Afire is an entertainment with spark and philosophical insight" - Jonathan Romney. Financial Times