Diarios de motocicleta 21 Sep 2005 Director: Walter Salles USA, Germany, UK, Argentina, Chile, Peru, France 2004 128 min Based on the diaries of Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara, this is the story of two Argentinean friends who travel across South America on the back of a rickety motorcycle. It is a thrilling and inspirational journey that… Continue reading The Motorcycle Diaries
Tag: France
Moolaadé
8 Mar 2006 Director: Ousmane Sembene Senegal, France, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Morocco, Tunisia 2004 124 min African cinema’s founding father Ousmane Sembene brings us a story from the dark heart of Africa. In a village four girls are facing the horrible and demeaning practice of female circumcision. They seek ‘protection’ from Colle who has previously… Continue reading Moolaadé
Paradise Now
22 Nov 2006 France, Germany, Netherlands, Israel 2005 90 min Director: Hany Abu-Assad In the crushing poverty of the Palestinian West Bank City of Nablus, childhood friends Said and Khaled pass their time drinking tea and working in menial jobs as mechanics. One day they receive a message that sets in motion what might be… Continue reading Paradise Now
Vera Drake
30 Nov 2005 Director: Mike Leigh UK, France, New Zealand 2004 125 min Vera Drake is a kind and selfless woman, in the 1950’s, who is devoted to and loved by her family. Her days are spent caring for sick neighbours and her elderly mother which she does with kind words and encouragement. However there… Continue reading Vera Drake
The Wind That Shakes The Barley
21 Mar 2007 Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Ireland, UK 2006 127 min Director: Ken Loach Ken Loach’s uncompromising adaptation of Paul Laverty‘s story of the struggle for Irish independence in 1920. Damien is a promising doctor but is troubled by the brutality of the Black and Tans and his deep love and sense of duty… Continue reading The Wind That Shakes The Barley
Les Choristes
The Chorus 4 Apr 2007 Director: Christophe Barratier France, Switzerland, Germany 2004 96 min In January 1949, former music teacher Clément Mathieu arrives at a boarding school for orphans and troubled boys. There he finds a severe regime where the boys receive harsh punishment for their faults. When he sees that this treatment is not… Continue reading Les Choristes
Marche de l’empereur
March of the Penguins 27 Sept 2006 France 2005 85 min Director: Luc Jacquet Every year, deep in the Antarctic, thousands of Emperor Penguins battle against the frigid stormy weather and cross the perilous continent. Here they will nurture a single egg and raise it to adulthood against all the trials this inhospitable place can… Continue reading Marche de l’empereur
Caché
Hidden Director: Michael Haneke 11 Oct 2006 France, Austria, Germany, Italy 2005 117 min The comfortable life of talk show host George, and his wife Anne is shattered when they receive a package containing footage shot of themselves and their family. Secretly filmed by an unknown sender they are soon followed by disturbing drawings and… Continue reading Caché
Familia Rodante
Rolling Family 6 Dec 2006 Director: Pablo Trapero Brazil, France, Germany, Spain, UK 2004 103 min Family chaos ensues when a wedding invitation inspires a grandmother to take her family to the wedding. Four generations of the family squeeze into a broken-down a mobile home and hit the road in this enchanting and upliftingly comic… Continue reading Familia Rodante
L’Armée des ombres
Army in the Shadows Director: Jean-Pierre Melville France, Italy 1969 145 mins This recently released and restored classic from Jean-Pierre Melville is an adaption of Joseph Kessel’s wartime novel. This is the haunting and sombre account of a group of mainly middle aged resistance fighters in Occupied France during World War Two. It spans a… Continue reading L’Armée des ombres