A United Kingdom
Directed by: Amma Asante
Staring: David Oyelowo & Rosamund PikeA UNITED KINGDOM is based on extraordinary true events. In 1947, Seretse Khama, the King of Botswana, met Ruth Williams, a London office worker. They were a perfect match, yet their proposed marriage was challenged not only by their families but by the British and South African governments. The latter had recently introduced the policy of apartheid and found the notion of a biracial couple ruling a neighbouring country intolerable. South Africa threatened the British: either thwart the couple or be denied access to South African uranium and gold and face the risk of South Africa invading Botswana.
A Man Called Ove
Directed by: Hannes Holm
Staring: Rolf Lassgard, Bahar Pars & Filip BergStepping from the pages of Fredrik Backman’s international best-selling novel, Ove is the quintessential angry old man next door. An isolated retiree with strict principles and a short fuse, who spends his days enforcing block association rules that only he cares about, and visiting his wife’s grave. Ove has given up on life. Enter a boisterous young family next door who accidentally flatten Ove’s mailbox while moving in and earn his special brand of ire. Yet from this inauspicious beginning an unlikely friendship forms and we come to understand Ove’s past happiness and heartbreaks. What emerges is a heart-warming tale of unreliable first impressions and the gentle reminder that life is sweeter when it’s shared.
Manchester by the Sea
Directed by: Kenneth Lonergan
Staring: Casey Affleck, Lucas Hedges & Michelle WilliamsSet in a beautiful New England fishing town seen in a landscape of frost and chill, a mystery unfolds. Casey Affleck won the best actor Oscar for this role, and is mesmerising as Lee, a Boston janitor who has to return from exile to the place he left, following a terrible tragedy, to care for his dead brother’s son. Lee, dealing with grief, returns to face his past. The sombre weight of the film is offset by some wonderfully comic scenes. Hedges gives a glorious performance too as teenage Patrick. Hailed as a masterpiece, Lee’s heart breaking loss is our gain in this meticulously rich film.
Hidden Figures
Directed by: Theodore Melfi
Staring: Taraji P Henson, Janelle Monae & Octavia SpencerThose of us old enough to remember when early astronaut John Glenn went into space will have a picture in our heads of the mathematicians, scientists and engineers behind the mission. This film based on the non-fiction book by Margot Lee Shetterly illustrates that not all of them were our imagined white males but included young black women such as Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson and Dorothy Vaughan. Shetterly’s parents worked at Cape Canaveral giving her background knowledge of the space programme. The film tells how, in a desperate search for the talent needed to beat Russia in the space race, NASA became a reluctant employer of a diverse workforce by moving this trio from a segregated block for black pre-computer “number crunchers” to the mainstream development facility once they had recognising their talents in mathematics and engineering. Hidden Figures is a heartwarming tale of their success and teamwork against the odds in an era of discrimination.
Night of the Hunter
Directed by: Charles Laughton
Staring: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters & Lillian GishIn this eerie 1955 classic, a tall, handsome preacher – his knuckles tattooed with “love” and “hate” – roams the countryside spreading the gospel and leaving a trail of murdered women in his wake. Now his sights are set on $10,000 and two little children are the only ones who know where it is. “Chill…dren!” the preacher croons to the terrified boy and girl hiding in the cold, dark cellar. A brooding evil pervades Charles Laughton’s brilliant directorial venture – his first and only. Spellbinding, ominous and hauntingly suspenseful, this extraordinary film noir remains one of the most frightening movies ever made.
Frantz
Directed by: François Ozon
Staring: Pierre Niney, Paula BeerIt’s all gone wrong in February, firstly the publicised date has moved from the first (and the 1st) Thursday in the month to the 8th due to a booking mixup, and secondly we’ve had to replace the original film “My Friend in the Park” due to the licence availability… sorry for the confusion…!
Frantz is a mostly black and white film set in Germany and France in the immediate aftermath of the First World War. The story follows Anna who’s fiancé, Frantz has been killed in the war and Adrien, a French veteran of the war who mysteriously arrives in town placing flowers on Franz’s grave.
Not wanting to give anything away I’ll stop there, it’s a twisty-turny mystery that has had very good reviews (not that that’s always a good thing – remember The Master) but hopefully this one will go down well with the Keynsham audience!
Things to Come
Directed by: Mia Hansen-Love
Staring: Isabelle Huppert, Andre Marcon, & Roman KolinkaIsabelle Huppert as Nathalie delivers a note-perfect, warm, wry performance as a philosophy teacher who faces unexpected constraints and freedoms when her domestic life unravels. Mostly shot near Paris, with excursions to Brittany and the Alps, Nathalie’s life is in flux. Her former lover Heinz (Marcon) taunts her about her shifting politics but he has a secret. A film about the passing of time and life’s expectations and disappointments. The chaos of life is distilled as a warm, thoughtful drama. Huppert won several awards for her role in the film.
Arrival
Directed by: Denis Villeneuve
Staring: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner & Forest WhitakerSci-fi is a rare genre at Film Club, but don’t let that put you off one of the most thoughtful releases of last year, exploring ideas of language and the past and the future. If you missed this one in the cinema it’s a great film to see on the big screen. When twelve mysterious spacecraft touch down on earth, scattered across the globe, a civilian team is brought together by the military to investigate and try to communicate with these strange beings. As mankind is possibly on the verge of global war, the team race against time for answers.
Denial
Directed by: Mick Jackson
Staring: Rachel Weisz, Tom Wilkinson & Timothy SpallBased on the acclaimed book ‘History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier’, this film recounts Deborah E. Lipstadt’s legal battle for historical truth against David Irving (Timothy Spall), who accused her of libel when she declared him a Holocaust denier. In the English legal system, in defamation cases, the burden of proof is on the accused. It was therefore up to Lipstadt (Rachel Weisz), astonished to find that people expect her to debate on equal terms with sinister deniers, to prove the essential truth that the Holocaust occurred.
Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Directed by: Taika Waititi
Staring: Sam Neill, Julian Dennison & Rima Te WiataRaised on hip-hop and foster care, defiant city kid Ricky gets a fresh start in the New Zealand countryside. He quickly finds himself at home with his new foster family: the loving Aunt Bella, the cantankerous Uncle Hec, and dog Tupac. When a tragedy strikes that threatens to ship Ricky to another home, both he and Hec go on the run in the bush.. Equal parts road comedy and rousing adventure story, director Taika Waititi (WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS,) masterfully weaves lively humour with emotionally honest performances by Sam Neill and Julian Dennison. A hilarious, touching crowdpleaser, HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE reminds us about the journey that growing up is (at any age) and those who help us along the way.