A tragic love story. The England of 1935 is evoked in detail at the start of this stylish adaptation of a complex Ian McEwan novel, when a developing love affair between a couple from different social groups is thwarted.

The settings include a 1930’s country house and World War 2 Dunkirk in 1940. The lasting consequences of a single lie on a family are depicted.

Themes include the value of imagination and a child’s perceptions of adult behaviour.

A brilliant, uncomfortable and unrelenting portrayal of the fate of 43 year old Dominique Bauby, editor of Elle magazine, who suffered a catastrophic stroke which left him paralysed.

He ‘wrote’ the memoir on which the film is based by blinking to convey each letter.

We see not only what Bauby can see, but what he thinks, as we learn of his stirring, profound reflection on his own life before his stroke.

The film conveys sadness but has a spiritual charge running through it which is exhilarating viewing.

Arguably one of the great films of this decade, so far.

In rural Texas, welder and hunter Llewelyn Moss discovers the remains of several drug runners who have all killed each other in an exchange gone violently wrong. Rather than report the discovery to the police, Moss decides to simply take the two million dollars present for himself.

This puts the psychopathic killer, Anton Chigurh, on his trail as he dispassionately murders nearly every rival, bystander and even employer in his pursuit of his quarry and the money. As Moss desperately attempts to keep one step ahead, the blood from this hunt begins to flow behind him with relentlessly growing intensity as Chigurh closes in.

Meanwhile, the laconic Sheriff Ed Tom Bell blithely oversees the investigation even as he struggles to face the sheer enormity of the crimes he is attempting to thwart.

One of World cinemas all time classic films and for decades in critics all time top ten film lists. Ray’s first film, made on a limited budget and mostly using local people with no previous acting experience, tells the story of Apu, a little boy growing up in a poor rural family in Bengal, India.

It is austere, but worth the effort, and beautiful, as it portrays the hardships of life.

It does this through Apu’s eyes and includes some of the most memorable images in cinema.

The atmosphere is greatly assisted by Ravi Shankar’s music score. Via its specific setting Ray depicts universal truths.

A film to see again and again.

One of the brightest, funniest comedies of the year. Ellen Page stars as Juno, a witty teenage girl whose boredom doesn’t lead her to the mall. Instead, she makes a one-time trip into the arms of her best friend Paulie. When Juno discovers that she’s pregnant she’s forced to grow up fast as she tries to find adoptive parents for her quickly growing child. JUNO has many qualities – Page’s awardworthy performance, a pitch-perfect soundtrack, excellent direction from Jason Reitman – but it’s the screenwriting debut of writer Cody Diablo that makes this such a winning film.

Best Foreign Language Film at the ‘08 Oscars, the ‘Counterfeiters’ is the true story of the largest counterfeiting operation in history. In 1936, the Nazis intention is to flood the British and American economies with fake currency.

Enlisted to assist were any concentration camp inmates with the right skills – among them master forger, gambler and playboy Salomon “Sally” Sorowitsch.

He is at first energized by his task and by the treatment that his status affords him.

However, as the war grinds on, he is faced with a moral dilemma, and must decide whether his actions, which could prolong the war and risk the lives of fellow prisoners, are ultimately the right ones. What is his solution?

This film tells the story of two young boys in 1980’s Britain who are both excluded from school for different reasons. They are brought together by the idea of remaking the first Rambo film, ‘First Blood’, using a VHS camcorder of the time.

Both boys have no father in their lives. One has left home and the other has tragically died young.

Rambo is their surrogate father as they play in the scrubland and disused factories near their homes. It is a wonderful and moving recreation of the age when children had more freedom and nature took the place of today’s video games. This film was well received at its screening at the National Film Theatre and has received the highest audience ratings at other screenings.

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days firmly establishes Romania as a major force in early 21st century world cinema. This intense drama is set in Bucharest in the mid-1980’s during Ceaucescu’s dictatorship. In a country where abortion is outlawed, a young college student Gabita, finds herself pregnant. She enlists the help of her roommate Otilia and the pair connect with a black market doctor, Bebe, to solve the problem – but of course, it’s not that simple.

The resulting 24 hours reveals a harrowing descent into a world in which the possibility of tragedy lurks around every corner. The decision to film every scene in a hyper-documentary style, with long, unbroken takes, raises the tension to nearly unbearable proportions.

The latest film from Director Mike Leigh. He has again used his usual techniques for improvisation by the actors, but the atmosphere of this film is completely different from the gloomy Vera Drake which was shown in our 2006/7 season.

Sally Hawkins gives a wonderful performance as Poppy, a teacher who is upbeat and full of life. She received a Silver Bear award for the film at the Berlin film festival. One critic has suggested that it is a welcome change from so many recent gloomy films.

Instead you will leave feeling transformed and happy!

Originally written and directed by filmmaker John Waters in 1988, this newest adaptation proves to be yet another enjoyable incarnation.

Set in 1960’s Baltimore, the story follows a plump young girl, Tracy Turnblad, on an amazing journey as her dream of dancing on the popular Corny Collins Show becomes a reality. However producer Velma Von Tussle and her daughter Amber are unhappy with Tracy and the talented black dancers that make up “Negro Day” and are determined to rid them from the show. Thus begins a war of talent and a battle for justice, with those in favour of integration meeting many obstacles along the way. The film contains quirky humour, flashy costumes, over-the-top performances and wacky hairstyles!