2018 - 2019 SEASON
Click to access the voting results for each film of the season.
10 Sept 2018
The square
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Sweden 2017, 144 mins, Comedy, Drama
Colour, digital, Cert 15, Official trailer here
Director: Ruben Östlund
Leading actors: Claes Bang, Elisabeth Moss, Dominic West
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Christian is the respected curator of a contemporary art museum, a divorced but devoted father of two who drives an electric car and supports good causes. His show the "The Square", is an installation which reminds passersby of their role as responsible fellow human beings. However, Christian's foolish response to the theft of his phone leads him into shameful situations. Meanwhile, the museum's PR agency has created an unexpected campaign for "The Square" resulting in an overblown response which sends Christian, and the museum, into an existential crisis.
Won the Palme d'or at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. Nominated for Best Foreign Language film at the 2018 Oscar.
This movie really brings some gobsmackingly weird and outrageous spectacle, with moments of show-stopping freakiness. (The Guardian)
8 Oct 2018
Graduation
Bacalaureat (Original Title)
Romania, France 2017, 128 mins, Drama
Colour, digital, Cert 15 - Official trailer here
Director: Christian Mungiu
Leading actors: Adrian Titieni, Maria-Victoria Dragus, Rares Andrici
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Romeo Aldea (49), a physician living in a small mountain town in Transylvania, has raised his daughter Eliza with the idea that at 18 she will leave to study and live abroad. His plan is close to succeeding when Eliza wins a scholarship to study psychology in the UK and just has to pass her final exams - a formality for such a good student. The day before her first exam, Eliza is assaulted in an attack that could jeopardize her future. Romeo has to decide how to resolve the situation in ways that could go against the principles he has taught his daughter.
With this bruising, powerful drama director Cristian Mungiu asks: What if the broken social, political and judicial culture around you allowed you to do anything for your child without any regard for right or wrong?
12 Nov 2018
The eagle huntress
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Mongolia, UK, USA 2016, 87 mins, Documentary, Adventure, Sport
Colour, digital, Cert 12 - Official trailer here
Director: Otto Bell
Narrator: Daisy Ridley
Leading actors: Aisholpan Nurgaiv, Daisy Ridley, Rys Nurgaiv (as themselves)
Aisholpan, a 13-year-old girl, trains to become the first female in 12 generations of her Kazakh family to become an eagle hunter and rises to the pinnacle of a tradition that has been handed down from father to son for centuries. While there are many old Kazakh eagle hunters who vehemently reject the idea of any female taking part in their ancient tradition, Aisholpan's father believes that a girl can do anything a boy can, as long as she's determined
Through breath-taking aerial cinematography and intimate verite footage, the film captures her personal journey while also addressing universal themes like female empowerment, the natural world, and coming of age.
25 Nov 2018
La Grande Illusion
Additional film
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France 1937, 113 mins, Drama, War
B&W, Cert U - Official trailer here
Director: Jean Renoir
Leading actors: Jean Gabin, Dita Parlo, Pierre Fresnay
During the First World War, two French aviators, the aristocratic Captain de Boeldieu and the working-class Lieutenant Maréchal set out on a reconnaissance flight when they are shot down by an aristocratic German aviator, Rittmeister von Rauffenstein. Both are imprisoned in a German P.O.W. camp. Escape attempts, including the digging of a tunnel, are thwarted as the prisoners are moved from camp to camp. Finally, they are sent to ‘Wintersborn’, a seemingly impenetrable fortress but this doesn’t deter a further escape attempt.....
10 Dec 2018
Loveless
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Russia 2018, 129 mins, Drama
Colour, digital, Cert 15 - Official trailer here
Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Leading actors: Maryana Spivak, Aleksey Rozin, Matvey Novikov, Marina Vasilyeva
Zhenya and Boris are going through a vicious divorce marked by resentment, frustration and recriminations. Already embarking on new lives, each with a new partner, they are impatient to start again, to turn the page - even if it means threatening to abandon their 12-year-old son Alyosha. After witnessing one of their fights, Alyosha disappears…...
Loveless has a brilliance and passion which are compelling.
Won the Jury Prize, Cannes film Festival. Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at 2018 Oscars.
14 Jan 2019
The bookshop
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UK, Spain 2017, 113 mins, Drama
Colour, digital, Cert PG - Official trailer here
Director: Isabel Coixet
Leading actors: Emily Mortimer, Bill Nighy, Patricia Clarkson
'The Bookshop' is set in 1959. Florence Green, a free-spirited widow, puts grief behind her and risks everything to open the first bookshop in the sleepy seaside town of Hardborough. Fighting damp, cold and local apathy, she struggles to establish herself but by exposing the narrow-minded locals to the best, sometimes scandalous, literature of the day, she brings about a cultural awakening in the town. Her activities bring her a kindred spirit and ally in the figure of Mr Brundish, who has become weary of the town's stale atmosphere. However, this social revolution brings upon her the hostility of the locals and the town's less prosperous shopkeepers.
11 Feb 2019
Closely observed trains
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Czechoslovakia 1966, 93 mins, Comedy, Drama, War
B&W - Official trailer here
Director: Jirí Menzel
Leading actors: Václav Neckár, Josef Somr, Vlastimil Brodský
In a small town still occupied by the Germans as World War II's tide is turning toward the Allies, apprentice train-watcher Milos is oblivious to the war. Instead, he is obsessed with having his first sexual experience. Despite the favours of train conductor Masa, Milos has no luck. His quest leads him to a female Resistance fighter who, in passing, recruits him to the cause. As Milos finally finds love, danger draws closer….
Won the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 40th Academy Awards in 1968.
11 Mar 2019
Western
Germany, Bulgaria 2017, 119 mins, Drama
Colour, digital, Cert 13 - Official trailer here
Director: Valeska Grisebach
Leading actors: Meinhard Neumann, Reinhardt Wetrek, Syuleyman Alilov Letifov
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A group of German construction workers start work at a remote building site in Bulgaria awakening the men's sense of adventure. However, they are also confronted with their own prejudice and mistrust due to the language barrier and cultural differences. The stage is set for a showdown when two men begin to compete for recognition and favour from the local villagers. One member of the team, Meinhard, a former member of the Foreign Legion, has first-hand experience of war and, unlike his unrefined colleagues, he meets the locals with respect and curiosity.
Free of affectation and distinguished by a generosity and sincerity rare in cinema, Western’s poignant celebration of human resilience is spectacular. Winner of the Un Certain Regard Prize at Cannes in 2017.
8 Apr 2019
The handmaiden
South Korea 2016, 184 mins, Drama, Mystery, Romance
Colour, digital, Cert 18 - Official trailer here
Director: Chan-Wook Park
Leading actors: Min-hee Kim, Jung-woo Ha, Jin-woong Jo
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A ravishing crime drama inspired by the novel 'Fingersmith' by British author Sarah Waters. Having transposed the story to 1930s-era colonial Korea and Japan, Park presents a gripping and sensual tale of a young Japanese lady living on a secluded estate, and a Korean woman who is hired to serve as her new handmaiden, but who is secretly involved in a conman's plot to defraud her of her large inheritance.
Won a BAFTA for Best Foreign Language film 2018. An erotic triumph – with a whiplash twist.
13 May 2019
In the fade
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Germany 2017, 106 mins, Crime, Drama
Colour, digital, Cert 15 - Official trailer here
Director: Fatih Akin
Leading actors: Diane Kruger, Denis Moschitto, Numan Acar
Katja is married to Nuri Sekerci, a Kurd she met when she bought hashish from him as a student. They live in Hamburg and have a 5-year-old son, Rocco. Nuri has quit drug trafficking, studied business administration in jail, and now works in a tax office. One afternoon Katja leaves Rocco at her husband’s office but when she later returns for him the road is blocked because a man and a child have been killed in a nail bomb attack. The victims are her husband and son. A young neo-Nazi couple are arrested and charged with their murder. Katia is so despairing she sees no reason to live but then decides she wants justice and revenge.
2018 Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Diane Kruger won the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival.
10 June 2019
Le sens de la fête
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France 2017, 117 mins, Comedy
Colour, digital, Cert 12A - Official trailer here
Director: Olivier Nakache, Eric Toledano
Leading actors: Jean-Pierre Bacri, Jean-Paul Rouve, Gilles Lellouche
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Pierre is marrying Héléna at a sumptuous 17th-century chateau set in a beautiful park. He wants a top-class wedding party and so has reserved the services of Max Angély, a seasoned caterer, and his team. The rich arrogant bridegroom expects everything to go according to plan and Max assures him it will. Unfortunately, his team comprises second-rate, short-tempered and worthless individuals who threaten disaster. But Max, whose motto is "Always adapt!", is the persistent kind and will do everything to save the situation. Will he manage? That is the question.