Departures 30 Nov 2011 Japan 2008 130 min Director: Yōjirō Takita This Oscar-winner looks at the Japanese rituals surrounding funerals and how they are perceived by society. Daigo Kobayashi, a young musician, finds himself out of work and ends up working (accidentally) in a funeral home as a “Nakonashi”, making the intricate, and respectful preparations… Continue reading Okuribito
Category: Film Season 2011-2012
Benda Bilili!
4 Dec 2011 Director: Renaud Barrett & Florent de La Tullaye DRC 2010 86 min The poverty-stricken, often disabled, men and boys that make up Staff Benda Bilili show a resilience and strength of character that wouldn’t be out of place in a WW2 action film, except that this is a documentary and these irresistibly… Continue reading Benda Bilili!
Des hommes et des dieux
Of Gods And Men 04 Jan 2012 Director: Xavier Beauvois France 2010 122 min A small group of French monks in Algeria face a dilemma when threatened by fundamentalist extremists: should they leave, as the authorities insist, or stay and complete ‘God’s mission’? The palpable inevitability of violence is counteracted by the depiction of the… Continue reading Des hommes et des dieux
Me and Orson Welles
18 Jan 2012 Director: Richard Linklater UK 2008 114 min A hugely entertaining backstage drama from cult US film-maker Linklater, this is far more than a vehicle for teen heartthrob Zac Efron. Indeed the film belongs to previously unknown Christian McKay as Welles, in a performance that is part impression, part possession from beyond the… Continue reading Me and Orson Welles