Friday 7th October 2011 7.30 for 8pm
Dir. John Huston
105 mins. certificate U
uk/usa 1951 colour
with: Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn
African queen It’s World War I and Charlie Allnut is using his old
steamer The African Queen to ferry supplies to villages
in East Africa. When Rev. Sayer dies, Charlie agrees to
take Sayer’s sister Rose back to civilization, taking on
the Germans en route. Bogart won his only Oscar as
ginsoaked riverboat captain Allnut. Hepburn, famously,
has won more Oscars than any other actor. Here she is
Rose, the strait-laced missionary, and they make the
oddest of couples sparking off each other as they
struggle to sink a German gunboat. Set and shot in
Africa, the entire crew (including the great British
cinematographer Jack Cardiff) were ravaged by illness.
A masterpiece, the film is newly digitally remastered
Friday 4th November 2010 / 7.30 for 8pm Dir. luis bunuel
101 mins. certificate 18
france 1967 colour
with: catherine deneuve, jean sorel
Belle Du Jour From the very first scene, this classic film, based on
the novel by Joseph Kessel, is identifiable as the work
of Luis Buñuel, the genius who created Un Chien
Andalou. It can be read as a psychological thriller
about a beautiful woman who, stifled in her comfortable
bourgeois life and frigid marriage, conceives a
dark desire to work in a high-class brothel during
her afternoons. That is a description which, however,
hardly does justice to this surrealist masterpiece,
which, challenging our understanding of reality,
exposes the neurotic and artificial foundations
beneath ‘normal’ identity and behaviour. Enigmatic
and mysterious, Belle de Jour is a must-see.
Friday 2nd December 2010/ 7.30 for 8pm dir. renaud barrett & florent de la tullaye
85 mins. Certificate 15
france/drc 2010 colour
subtitles
Benda Bilili A feel good documentary from the Democratic
Republic of Congo? How unusual is this? Benda Bilili
(in English ‘See Beyond’) celebrates a positive spirit
and great music – without ignoring the realities of
everyday life for people in that war torn country.
The story follows a group of disabled street musicians
in Kinshasa as they strive to become famous.
Their music, resilient spirit and humour enable
them, with the help of the directors, Barrett and
Tullaye, to overcome huge obstacles and embark on
a European tour. You feel privileged to share their
inspiring journey with them.
Friday 16th December 2010 / 7.30 for 8pm dir. alexander mackendrick
91 mins. certificate U
UK 1955 colour
with: peter sellers, alec guinness,
herbert lom, frankie howerd
The lady killers Please join in our Annual Film Quiz, with teams of
four playing. There are the usual magnificent prizes
to be won. Questions will not be too hard, but there
will be some tiebreakers. Come and put your knowledge
of the movies to the test! It is London 1955, and five diverse criminals, led by
Professor Marcus (Alec Guinness), are planning a bank
robbery. To that effect, they rent rooms from an
octogenarian widow under the pretext that they are
classical musicians. Unfortunately this leads to an
unending roll of misconceptions, confusion, and
bumbling antics, as the Professor has to spend more
time keeping their landlady off their backs than planning
the robbery. Everyone gives peak performances
in the macabre and hilarious plot that unfolds.
Friday 6th January 2011 / 7.30 for 8pm dir. xavier beauvois
122 mins. certificate 12
france 2010 colour
Of Gods and Men This fact-based film about a small community of
Trappist monks is set in 1969 in a remote Algerian
monastery threatened by terrorists. This austere,
luminous, harrowing drama triumphs in its unexpectedness,
and above all in not being anti-Islamic.
The monks run a clinic for the Muslim villagers,
they speak Arabic, attend local parties and read the
Koran. The same villagers are caught between the
corrupt militaristic state and the uneducated
jihadists. The film has a vital reticence and as the
tension slowly builds we see the monks in longshot
or track them in their daily routines. It is their
hard-won human faith that makes the intense
climax feel chosen, inevitable and transcendent.
Friday 2ndFebruary 2012 / 7.30 for 8pm
dir. mohsen makhmalbaf
75 mins. certificate U
iran/france 1996 colour
Gabbeh
Early one morning, an old couple emerge from a
hut, she carrying a gabbeh (a small rug) that she
wove many years ago whilst waiting for her betrothed
to carry her away from her clan. As they
wash the gabbeh, it comes to life, telling the old
woman’s story of waiting for marriage. We join the
clan in its travels, the spinning and dyeing of wool,
and the making of gabbehs. "All life is colour" says
her poetic, whimsical uncle; "all life is colour" chant
the women as one of them gives birth. With deep
focus and vast landscapes, the film also poetically
depicts nomadic life. The storyline echoes the
coloured threads of the rug itself, showing life as
an interwoven, never-ending story.
Friday 2nd March 2012 / 7.30 for 8pm dir. thomas mccarthy
89 mins. certificate 15
usa 2003 colour
with: peter dinklage, patricia clarkson
The Station Agent A disparate trio of individuals ends up gathered
around a disused train station out in the wilds of
New Jersey; each is passionate about trains, and
each is in search of something they lack: solitude,
friendship, meaning. The story is centred around a
young man called Fin who has dwarfism. Although
initially reluctant to connect to others, as relationships
unfold and are played out, the film skillfully
skirts around the oh-too-obvious clichés in its
tender explorations of vulnerability, finally presenting
supportive friendship as a deeply worthwhile
choice. Beautiful character studies, unhurried but
continuously captivating.
Friday 6th april 2012 / 7.30 for 8pm dir. tim hetherington, sebastian junger
93 mins. certificate U
uk/usa 2010 colour
with: the men of battle company 2nd of the
503rd infantry regiment
Restrepo This powerful and beautifully-crafted documentary
charts a year with one platoon in Afghanistan's deadly
Korgengal valley. Codirector Tim Hetheringon-a British
war photographer-died covering events in Libya in May
2011 not long after the release of this film, and this
screening is in part a homage to him and to the
bravery of war photographers every where. Verité-style
footage is intercut with interviews with the soldiers
post-deployment in Italy as they recall their time in
Afghanistan. The film's title is the name of the platoon
medic, Juan Doc Restrepo, who was killed in action,
and memories of whom frame the film.
Friday 4th May 2012 / 7.30 for 8pm
dir. joseph mankiewicz
114 mins. Certificate 15
usa 1959 colour
with: elizabeth taylor, montgomery clift,
katharine hepburn
Suddenly last summer The only son of Violet Venable (a wealthy widow) dies
while on holiday with his cousin Catherine. What the
girl saw was so horrible that she went insane; now Mrs
Venable wants Catherine lobotomized to cover up the
truth. This Tennessee Williams play, adapted for the
screen by Gore Vidal, was profoundly shocking and a
major departure from the Hollywood norm, and shows
Taylor at the height of her incredible beauty. Vidal
credits the success of the film to a review which
described it as “the work of degenerates obsessed with
rape, incest, homosexuality and cannibalism.” And all
this in 1959. A tribute to Liz Taylor, 1932-2011.
Borderlines Film Festival 2012 The new cinema at Booths Bookshop will be screening a film of their choice as part of the Borderlines Film Festival.
Date, time and film TBA.
Please check the Borderlines website www.borderlinesfilmfestival.co.uk
