Film and Foreign

Mid-August Lunch

The subtle drama of an Italian village

12 Aug 2009

Hitherto best known for co-writing Gomorrah, 60-year-old Gianni di Gregorio makes his directorial debut with this charming tale, which beautifully illustrates Tolstoy’s dictum that ‘To speak to the world, one should write about one’s village’. The…

Cine Cuba

Fifty years of revolution on film

4 Aug 2009

This season celebrating ‘50 Years of Revolution on Film’ hits its stride with Pavel Giroud’s ageing gangster drama Omertà and the queer politics of Tomás Gutiérrez Alea’s Strawberry and Chocolate. Also showing later in the season are Manuel Pérez’s…

Mesrine: Killer Instinct (l’Instinct de Mort)

30 Jul 2009

Tracing a line from Mesrine’s disillusioning military service during the Algerian war to the beginning of his notoriety in 1972 (when he graduated to murder), the first instalment of this epic crime tale is derivative, energetic and hugely…

Also Released - Film

23 Jul 2009

The Blues Brothers (15) 148min John Landis’ enjoyable 1980 musical comedy re-released on digital print in original US edit. Selected release from Fri 24 Jul. G-Force (PG) 90min Comedy adventure about a covertly trained group of guinea pig special…

Also Released - Film

25 Jun 2009

Blood: The Last Vampire (18) 91min Vampire hunter Saya (Gianna Jun) is unrivalled, but that’s because she is half bloodsucker herself – on her mother’s side. Will she go to the dark side or will she carry on fighting for the mortals? Popular anime gets…

Katyn

25 Jun 2009

The secret 1940 execution of 22,000 Polish POW and other patriotic citizens and its legacy is examined in this multi-thread historical drama from veteran Polish filmmaker Andrej Wajda (Danton, Man of Iron, Ashes and Diamonds). Shortly after Germany’s…

The Romance of Astrea and Celadon

25 Jun 2009

After being accused of infidelity by his love, Astrea, shepherd Celadon (Andy Gilet) proves his faithfulness by throwing himself into a fast moving river, only to be revived later by a wealthy nymph and her companions. Will Astrea and Celadon ever…

The Exterminating Angels

25 Jun 2009

Not to be confused with the Buñuel film with a similar name; French auteur Jean-Claude Brisseau's erotic drama is a far more dubious proposition than the surrealist master would dare to offer. The Exterminating Angels concerns a film director François…

Gardens in Autumn

11 Jun 2009

Anyone who’s seen Monday Morning by the Georgian Otar Iosseliani will know he is a filmmaker with a great sense of drift. He’s not interested in plot, but great on spatial texture, ably explored by the great cameraman William Lubtchansky. In Monday…

Blue Eyelids (Parpados Azules)

11 Jun 2009

Love, naivety and loneliness in a modern Mexican megalopolis are essayed in this charming and quirky bittersweet comedy. When factory worker Marina (Cecilia Suárez) wins an all-expenses-paid trip for two from her employer, she realises that, because of…