Film Choice Autumn 2021
Dream Horse 2021 UK 1h 53mins Director; Euros Lyn Stars; Toni Collette, Damian Lewis, Owen Teale Jan Vokes (Toni Collette) runs a shop in a small, deprived town in Wales. Business is slow, so when she overhears an accountant (Damian Lewis) discussing how profitable horse-racing can be, she has the sort of idea that British comedy dramas are made of. She will form a syndicate with her friends, and together they will use what little cash they have to breed and train a racehorse of their own.
Zola 2020 US 1h 27mins Director; Janicza Bravo Stars; Taylor Paige, Riley Keough, Nicholas Braun Zola must be the first ever film to use the credit "based on the tweets by". The tweets in question – all 148 of them – were posted one night in October 2015 by A'Ziah "Zola" King. They told the jaw- dropping story of how King, a waitress in Detroit, agreed to go on a road trip to Florida with a woman she had just met.
Siberia 2020 US 1h 32mins Director; Abel Ferrara Stars; Willem Dafoe, Dounia Sichov, Simon McBurney Siberia is the sixth collaboration between Abel Ferrara (Bad Lieutenant, King of New York) and his regular leading man, Willem Dafoe. It's also their wildest and weirdest film yet – and that's saying something. Dafoe plays a loner who hitches his dogsled to a team of huskies and heads off into the Siberian snow.
The Sparks Brothers 2021 US 2hrs 15 mins Director; Edgar Wright Stars; Ron & Russel Mael Sparks have been called "your favourite band's favourite band": the Los Angeles art-pop duo may not be mainstream stars, but their oddball genius has entranced and influenced musicians for decades. And not just musicians. One of their biggest fans is Edgar Wright, the director of Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and the forthcoming Last Night in Soho. Interviewing Sparks themselves (brothers Ron and Russell Mael) along with such Sparks aficionados as Beck, Jason Schwartzman and Neil Gaiman, he has put together an enthusiastic and suitably quirky film about the group's 50- year, 25-album career
Gunda Norway 2020 1h 33 mins Documentary A quiet alternative to the anthropomorphised antics in Peter Rabbit 2, Victor Kossakovsky's black- and-white documentary shows daily life on a farm from the animals' perspective, with no shots of human beings, and no dialogue except for grunts. The film's heroine is Gunda, a sow with a litter of baby piglets. Her co-stars include a one-legged chicken and a herd of cows. Artfully shot over several months, Kossakovsky's film is "gorgeous", "hilarious", and “sublime”.
Undine Germany 2020 1hr 30mins Director Christian Petzold Stars; Paula Beer, Franz Rogowski, Maryam Zaree Christian Petzold boldly reimagines the ancient myth of Undine in this suspenseful tale of romance and betrayal in modern day Berlin. Undine (Paula Beer) works as a historian lecturing on Berlin's urban development. But when the man she loves leaves her, the myth catches up with her. Undine has to kill the man who betrays her and return to the water. Will Undine defy fate when she meets a diver (Franz Rogowski) offering her a chance at new love?
Ammonite UK 2020 2h Director; Francis Lee Stars; kate Winslet, Saoirse Rohan, Fiona Shaw In 1800s England, acclaimed but unrecognized fossil hunter Mary Anning (Kate Winslet) works alone on the rugged Southern coastline. With the days of her famed discoveries behind her, she now searches for common fossils to sell to tourists to support herself and her ailing mother.
Dead Pigs China 2021 2h 10mins Director; Cathy Yan Stars: Zazia Beets, Mason lee The fates of an unlucky pig farmer, a feisty home-owner defending her property, a lovestruck busboy, a disenchanted rich girl, and an American expat pursuing the Chinese Dream converge and collide as thousands of dead pigs are found floating down the Huangpu River, towards a modernising Shanghai in Cathy Yan's debut feature.
A Ghost Waits US 2021 1h 20mins Director; Adam Stovall Stars; Natalie Walker, MacCleod Andrews An ingeniously unique and unpredictable combo of horror, humor and heart. Tasked with renovating a neglected rental home, handyman Jack quickly finds out why the tenants keep leaving in droves -- this house is haunted. The ghost in question is Muriel (Natalie Walker), herself employed from beyond the veil to keep the home vacant. Against the odds, Jack and Muriel find they have a lot in common.
Minari US 2020 1hr 55mins Director; Lee Isaac Chung Stars; Steven Yeun, Han Ye-ri, Youn You-jung A tender and sweeping story about what roots us, Minari follows a Korean-American family that moves to a tiny Arkansas farm in search of their own American Dream. The family home changes completely with the arrival of their sly, foul-mouthed, but incredibly loving grandmother. Amidst the instability and challenges of this new life in the rugged Ozarks, Minari shows the undeniable resilience of family and what really makes a home.
The Twentieth Century Canada 2021 Director; Matthew Rankin Stars; Dan Beine, Sariane Cormier Toronto, 1899. Aspiring young politician Mackenzie King (Dan Beirne) dreams of becoming the Prime Minister of Canada. But his romantic vacillation between a British soldier and a French nurse, exacerbated by a fetishistic obsession, may well bring about his downfall. In his quest for power, King must gratify the expectations of his imperious Mother, the hawkish fantasies of a war- mongering Governor-General, and the utopian idealism of a Québécois mystic before facing one, final test of leadership.
My Donkey, My Lover and I (Antoinette in the Cevennes) France 2021 1hr 35mins Director: Caroline Vignal Stars; Laura Calamy, Benjamin Lavernhe 40-something primary school teacher Antoinette has been eagerly looking forward to a long- planned weekend escape with her married lover Vladimir and the father of one of her pupils. However their plans are upended by his wife's booking of a surprise hiking trip in the picturesque Cévennes mountains in the South of France (a six-day trek made famous by best-selling author Robert Louis Stevenson). Completely unversed in the ways of the wilderness, the spurned Antoinette impulsively decides to follow them, and once paired with an unlikely companion -- an obstinate but evidently wise grey donkey named Patrick.
A Common Crime Argentina 2020 1hr 36mins Director;Fancisco Marquez Stars; Elisa Carricajo A sociology professor is haunted by the ghost of her maid's murdered son. Directed with stylistic canniness and empathetic insight, the film features a superb, elusive, genuinely unnerving performance by Elisa Carricajo, and it should cause ripples with outlets that follow new Latin American cinema at its most searching.
Los Conductos Columbia 2020 1hr 10mins Director; Camila Restrepo Stars; Luis Felipe Lozano, Fernando Usaga Higuita Medellin, Colombia. Pinky is on the run. He has just freed himself from the grip of a religious sect. He finds a place to squat and a job in a t-shirt factory. Misled by his own faith, he questions everything. But as he tries to put back together the pieces of his broken life, violent memories return to haunt him, and ask for Revenge.
Guest of Honour UK 2019 1hr 45mins Director; Atom Egoyan Stars; David Thewliss, Luke Wilson, Laysla De Oliviera A father confronts his 20-year-old daughter, who is in prison for a sexual assault. Their relationship will become more complicated when the past resurfaces.
Labyrinth of Cinema Japan 2019 2hrs 59 mins Documentary Director; Nobuhiko Obayashi The only movie theatre on the Onomichi seafront is about to close its doors. Its last night of screenings will be an all-night marathon of Japanese war films.
Dinner in America US 2020 1hr 47mins Director; Adam Rehmeier Stars; Kyle Gallner, Emily Skeggs On the run from the cops, a reckless singer finds sanctuary in the home of an awkward young woman who's a fan of his punk-rock alter ego. This exhilaratingly anarchic black comedy from writer/director Adam Rehmeier nods to the work of Todd Solondz and David Lynch but brings its own defiant spirit to the table.
Night of the Kings France 2020 1hr 23mins Director; Phillipe Lacote Stars; Steve Tientchu, Bakary Kone, Jean Cyrille Digbeu A young man is sent to "La Maca," a prison in the middle of the Ivorian forest ruled by its inmates. As tradition goes with the rising of the red moon, he is designated by the Boss to be the new "Roman" and must tell a story to the other prisoners. Learning what fate awaits him, he begins to narrate the mystical life of the legendary outlaw named "Zama King" and has no choice but to make his story last until dawn.
Riders of Justice Danish 2020 1h 56mins Director; Anders Thomas Jensen Stars Mads Mikkelsen, Nikloaj Kaas, Andrea Heick Gadeberg RIDERS OF JUSTICE follows recently-deployed Markus (Mads Mikkelsen), who is forced to return home to care for his teenage daughter after his wife is killed in a tragic train accident. But when a survivor of the wrecked train surfaces claiming foul play, Markus begins to suspect his wife was murdered and embarks on a revenge-fueled mission to find those responsible. A darkly humorous revenge thriller
Shiva Baby US 2020 1hr 17mins Director; Emma Seligman Stars; Rachel Sennott, Molly Gordon, Polly Draper While at a Jewish funeral service with her parents, a college student has an awkward encounter with her sugar daddy and her ex-girlfriend. ..a progressive comedy... unfurls a world of delightful chaos.
Memoria US 2021 1hr 50 mins Director: Apichatong Weeasethakul Stars; Tilda Swinton, Jeanne Balibar, Daniel Gimenez Cacho Ever since being startled by a loud 'bang' at daybreak, Jessica (Tilda Swinton) is unable to sleep. In Bogotá to visit her sister, she befriends Agnes (Jeanne Balibar), an archaeologist studying human remains discovered within a tunnel under construction. Jessica travels to see Agnes at the excavation site. In a small town nearby, she encounters a fish scaler, Hernan (Elkin Diaz). They share memories by the river. As the day comes to a close, Jessica is awakened to a sense of clarity.
Deerskin France 2019 1hr 17 mins Director; Quentin Dupieux Stars; Jean Dujardin, Adele Haenel, Albert Delpy A middle-aged drifter becomes obsessed with a fringed deerskin jacket that seems to hold mystical powers.
The French Dispatch US 2021 1hr 47mins Director; Wes Anderson Stars; Benicio del Toro, Tilda Swinton, Adrien Brody A love letter to journalists set in an outpost of an American newspaper in a fictional 20th-century French city that brings to life a collection of stories published in "The French Dispatch."
Another Round (Druk) Danish 1h 57mins Director; Thomas Vinterberg Stars; Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen Magnus Millang Martin is a high school teacher. He feels old and tired. His students and their parents want him terminated to increase their average. Encouraged by the per mille theory, Martin and his three colleagues throw themselves into an experiment to maintain a constant alcohol impact in everyday life. If Churchill won World War II in a dense fog of spirits, what could the strong drops do for them and their students? The result is positive in the beginning. Martin's class is in a different way now, and the project is being promoted to a real academic study with the collection of results
In the Earth UK 2020 1h 47mins Director; Ben Wheatley Stars; Joel Fry, Reece Sheersmith, Hayley Squires As the world searches for a cure to a disastrous virus, a scientist and park scout venture deep in the forest for a routine equipment run.
Limbo Hong Kong 2021 1h 58mins Director; Pou-Soi Cheang Stars; Ka tung Lam, Mason Lee Limbo follows seasoned cop Jin and a rookie partner (Mason Lee) as they track down an elusive serial killer through the dark alleys of stormy Hong Kong.