Keswick Film Club News

The Sea Wall - Sunday 14th March 5pm

2010-03-11T22:56:00.002Z

When Derek Malcolm was here with Ken Russell last autumn we ran The Sea Wall past him and he gave it a firm nod of approval: Derek doesn't suffer foolish films gladly. You'll see from your brochure that it's a period piece: Cambodian exile (from the Khmer Rouge) Rithy Panh re-visits some of his country's past by adapting major French novelist Marguerite Duras's semi-autobiographical Un barrage contre le Pacifique for the big screen. Beautiful photography in a lush landscape, we're reliably informed, and the usual outstanding performance from grande dame of French cinema Isabelle Huppert, whose performance you probably enjoyed in Home, our opening film of the autumn season.

Nowhere Boy - Sunday 7th March 5pm

2010-03-04T22:05:00.002Z

We’re looking forward to Nowhere Boy on Sunday, getting back to our usual 5pm routine. As you probably know, it’s an account by artist-turned-film director Sam Taylor Wood of John Lennon turning from boy to Beatle and the two women in his early life (excellently played by Kristin Scott thomas and Anne-Marie Duff) who had such a profound effect on him. Peter Bradshaw calls it ‘A handsome film made with real flair.’

11th Keswick Film Festival 25-28th February

2010-02-24T22:13:00.003Z

There are nearly 40 films on offer from Thursday as the 11th Keswick Film Festival takes over the Alhambra and Theatre By The Lake. It all starts at 6:30pm with an opening party for pass holders followed by the first film, The World is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner at 7:30pm. Other highlights include the films of guests Jan Dunn (Gypo, The Calling) and Tony Grisoni (The Unloved, Tideland, Brothers Of The Head) with Q&As, the 2nd Cumbrian Short Film Awards and live musical accompaniment to My Best Girl.

For full details visit the Festival Website.

Barry Lyndon - Sunday 21st February 4.00pm

2010-02-20T09:26:00.002Z

We're pleased to be able to offer you the very rare chance to see Stanley Kubrick's version of William Makepeace Thackeray's Barry Lyndon on the big screen at the slightly earlier time of 4pm.

Unfortunately Neil Sinyard (Emeritus Professor of Film Studies at Hull University) can no longer make it to Keswick but he has very kindly written his introduction to the film and we'll be hearing it at 4pm on Sunday.

The Times, Sunday Times, Independent and Time Out all give it 5 stars out of 5, and we rather like the Village Voice critic's summary: 'Stanley Kubrick's magisterial Thackeray adaptation now stands as one of his greatest and most savagely ironic films, not to mention one of the few period pieces on celluloid so transporting that it seems to predate the invention of cameras... The film's greatness can make a viewer feel like a speck in the cosmos.'

Tulpan - Sunday 7th February 5:00 PM

2010-02-12T08:28:00.001Z

Are you looking forward to Tulpan on Sunday? To transport yourselves away from Cumbria to the Kazakh Steppe and see the winner of (amongst many other Festival awards) the BFI’s Sutherland Trophy at the London IFF, and ‘Un Certain Regard’ at Cannes 2008, made by Kazakhstan-born, documentary filmmaker Sergey Dvortsevoy. Top reviewer Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote: ‘I swear to you that if you live in a place where this film is playing, it is the best film in town. You'll enjoy it, not soon forget it, and you’ll tell your friends about it and try to persuade them to go… there has to come a time in everyone’s life when they see a deadpan comedy about the yurt dwellers of Kazakhstan.’ And, as reported in your brochure, Peter Bradshaw calls it ‘eminently lovable’. A fair chance of it being watchable then...

Sin Nombre - Sunday 7th February 5:00 PM

2010-02-04T21:56:00.002Z

Very popular on the ‘arthouse’ circuit following its UK release last August, the Edinburgh Filmhouse programme excitedly describes it thus: ‘Winner of the New Director’s Award at the Edinburgh Film Festival, this debut feature from Cary Fukunaga is must-see cinema. Crammed with beautiful moments, this evocative story of immigrants leaving South America for a better life in the States is simply unmissable. Vivid, unforgettable storytelling which grounds you in reality and hope, it’s the story of Casper, a former teenage gang member on the run from his former gangmates, and Sayra, who’s dreaming of being reunited with her father in a better life in America, as they ride the railways north. You owe it to yourself to see what is undoubtedly one of the greatest films of 2009.’ Others talk about it being a very good film, but ‘a hard watch’ – you have to be prepared to take a bit of (justified) violence with your beautiful moments, it seems...

Goodbye Solo - Sunday 31st January 5pm

2010-01-31T11:38:00.000Z

Goodbye Solo is our only American film of the spring season, so we picked the best, naturally (if you listen to the most eminent critics, like Roger Ebert and A.O.Scott of the NY Times). Winner of many prizes on the international film festival circuit, the film attracts extraordinary tributes: Scott ends his review by describing the 'exquisite attention, wry humor and wide-awake intelligence that informs every frame of this almost perfect film.' Add in the Peter Bradshaw and Roger Ebert quotes in your brochure, and you won't be able to resist turning out on a cold Sunday evening

Birdwatchers - Sunday 24th January 5pm

2010-01-21T19:36:00.002Z

This Sunday we have something entirely different for you: moving away from French beaches we find ourselves in BirdWatchers transported to Brazil's Mato Grosso do Sul. The rainforest - or what is supposed to be the rainforest. Here, the farmers lead a wealthy and leisurely existence: they own huge fields with transgenic plantations and they spend their nights with tourists who come bird watching. Meanwhile, at the borders of their lands, the restlessness of the natives, who were the legitimate inhabitants of those lands, is rapidly growing. A group of indigenous Gurani-Kaiowam are tired of being penned into tribal reservations and decide to take back their ancestral land.

The Beaches of Agnès - Sunday 17th January 5pm

2010-01-16T17:40:00.002Z

Some of you might be wondering about the pros and cons of The Beaches of Agnès, an autobiographical documentary about a filmmaker you may seldom have encountered. If you need some convincing it scores 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, and that weight of critical opinion seldom runs counter to our audiences’ opinions. You’ll find a plethora of adjectives describing Varda’s work: ‘puckish, moving and wonderfully eccentric; deftly assembled, wry and touching, an endearing, indomitable spirit; witty and engaging; touching, highly whimsical; touching, eloquent reflections on life in general; poignant and illuminating; delightful, charming, idiosyncratic, wonderful, warm, witty and insightful’

KFC 2010. Happy New Year!

2010-01-07T23:35:00.001Z

I guess you won’t need a reminder that your midwinter film fast is almost at an end, and that we start again for the spring (!) on Sunday with Bright Star. And before the film, from 4.15pm, there will be the now-traditional drinks to start off our journey into cinematic heaven. If you like the look of the programme, and can get to most of the films, you can save yourself lots of course by buying a spring pass.

If for some reason you don’t like it, never mind, you won’t have wasted your money because we’re handing over all the proceeds for this screening to the Cumbria Flood Recovery Fund – something you might like to mention to your friends who don’t usually come to our shows.

Merry Christmas from KFC

2009-12-20T17:05:00.000Z

It's time for our short break for the holidays but we'll be back on January 10th with Jane Campion's Bright Things starting off the Spring Programme. You can find details of all the spring films here on the website, some highlights include Goodbye Solo, The White Ribbon, Un Prophète and of course the 11th Keswick Film Festival.

Joyeux Noel - Sunday 20th December 5pm

2009-12-18T09:05:00.003Z

We picked Joyeux Noel out for our Christmas spot from the most likely ‘not-overdone-on-TV’ contenders, as being a film with some suitably uplifting content for the time of year (but some grimness too, as you’d expect on the front line in 1914) and a good story based on what actually happened almost exactly 95 years ago. It’s not a brand-new film (made in 2005) but a good one, which didn’t deserve to be overlooked back then. It was nominated for the Oscar for Best Film in a Foreign Language but it was beaten to the award by Tsotsi. When it came out, Joyeux Noel was called by the Time Out critic of the day: ‘a respectful, sobering tribute to the flickering of humanitarian spirit amid the darkest days of conflict and, as such, surely a Christmas film for the ages.’ Come and see what you think, if you’re not too busy on Sunday…

Fish Tank - Sunday 13th December 5pm

2009-12-10T20:24:00.002Z

Our penultimate film of the year is Fish Tank, directed by Andrea Arnold (Red Road) and starring newcomer Katie Jarvis as 15-year-old Mia, the film was the winner of the Jury Prize at Cannes. Since Cannes, of course the film has done very well in the BIFA Awards: 'Arnold scooped Best Director as well as Katie Jarvis picking up MostPromising Newcomer for her central performance.'

Wonderful Town - Sunday 6th December 5pm

2009-12-04T08:09:00.002Z

Wonderful Town was Sight & Sound's Film of the Month in April, and your chance to see it comes up on Sunday. The magazine's review, by Tony Rayns, forms the bulk of our film notes - but you might prefer to avoid 'spoilers' by reading them later. You're safe, though, to read the description in the brochure. Suffice it to say that Rayns pays tribute to an 'excellent, poetic, and engrossing' debut from the Thai director Aditya Assarat.

Broken Embraces - Sunday 29th November 5pm

2009-11-27T19:09:00.002Z

The audience last Sunday was much better than we expected in the circumstances, and I hope that means that most of you will have no trouble in getting to Broken Embraces on Sunday. It’s the latest Pedro Almodovar film of course (you remember Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, All About My Mother, Volver, Talk to Her, Bad Education) whose main two protagonists – director Almodovar and star Penelope Cruz feature on the cover of our autumn brochure.

35 Shots Of Rum - Sunday 22nd November 5pm

2009-11-19T21:06:00.003Z

Looking ahead to Sunday, it’s good to be able to preview another of Claire Denis’s works: people were pretty impressed by Beau Travail when we screened it in spring 2001, and 35 Shots of Rum (35 rhums) is generally thought to be her best since then. 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, and here’s one more, typical, quote – this time from the Times lady: ‘The magic of Claire Denis’s exquisite 35 Shots of Rum is that although so much is left unsaid, it’s one of the most emotionally eloquent films you’ll see this year.’ Oh, and it’s French!

Ken Russell Weekend

2009-11-19T21:00:00.003Z

Thanks to everyone who came and supported our Ken Russell weekend. Ken warmed to the task as the weekend progressed, and having sat through all 3 of his films, his reaction was that The Devils confirmed itself in his mind as the best film he’d made; he was quietly pleased with Song of Summer: looking at it again after a very long gap brought back fond memories of the cast; and, 20 years after he’d last seen Mahler, he seemed quite impressed with what a good film he’d made – it must have gone up a notch or two in his opinion of his best work. The conversation with Derek Malcolm flowed well too, Derek’s knowledgeable interjections and questions enticing out a good deal of amusing and interesting anecdotes.

The Grocer's Son - Sunday 8th November 5pm

2009-11-05T20:17:00.003Z

The Grocer’s Son (Le fils de l’épicier) should certainly appeal to all those who have enjoyed sampling or observing life in the French provinces, particularly Provence, and if you admire landscapes you will enjoy the looming presence of le Mont Sainte Victoire, Cézanne’s favourite subject, of course. But even if those pleasures have thus far escaped you, there’s a general consensus amongst the critics that it’s a well-made, well-acted and intriguing story depicting family tensions, the psychological development of the young protagonists, fascinating and amusing rustic characters – and what you can buy from a French grocery van!

Katyn - Sunday 1st November 5pm

2009-10-29T19:04:00.001Z

You'll probably have heard quite a lot about Katyn, next Sunday's film, already. Taking its name from the forest in which a terrible massacre of Polish officers took place during the Second World War, it's celebrated director Andrezj Wajda's homage to his father and father's fellow officers who were murdered at the time, his desire to set the record of history straight, and his ambition to craft a beautifully-shot drama to entertain an intelligent audience.

Fugitive Pieces - Sunday 25th October 5pm

2009-10-22T21:51:00.001+01:00

Fugitive Pieces coming up on Sunday: our highly-literate membership seems to be well aware of the novel by Anne Michaels on which it's based - a prose-poem of a novel, they said. How to do poetry on the screen? Well, voice-overs is one answer, but come and see how successful you think
Canadian Jeremy Podeswa has been. Beautiful musical score, exceptional views of Greece, etc., etc...

Cherry Blossoms - Sunday 18th October 5pm

2009-10-15T22:26:00.002+01:00

Cherry Blossoms is an intriguing prospect: some of the weightier critics, realising that the director was paying tribute to Ozu’s Tokyo Story were slightly constrained in their praise when comparing the 2008 German story to the Japanese master’s work. But even they seemed impressed by Dorrie’s handling of the family relationships (yes, again!) and the development of the major character following the move from Germany to Japan. So 84% on ‘Rotten Tomatoes’ is a fair accolade. If you’d like to read more than you can find in the KFC brochure, notes are available on the film page – just don’t read Philip French’s piece if you want to avoid spoilers. But be assured that he liked it: ‘A quiet, very beautiful film about the duality of love and death.’

Everlasting Moments - Sunday 11th October 5pm

2009-10-08T21:34:00.002+01:00

Philip French, whom, you've probably realised by now, is one of our most trusted critics, gives Everlasting Moments a glowing review, which will stand as our film notes. In case you don't have time to read French's review, here a few snippets:

Everlasting Moments is a true masterpiece...There are wonderful moments in this beautiful, tender,truthful film...The acting all around is of the highest order and Maria Heiskanen's magnificent performance as Maria is a portrait of human goodness and decency, utterly lacking in sentimentality, sanctimony or self-conscious martyrdom.

sleep furiously - Sunday 4th October 5pm

2009-10-02T09:04:00.002+01:00

Coming up for your delectation this Sunday, we have sleep furiously. The title is a quotation from Noam Chomsky, who in support of his linguistic theories offered "Colourless green ideas sleep furiously" as an example of a sentence that is nonsensical even though the grammar is perfectly correct. Why director Gideon Koppel chooses it is not so clear! To convince you that you really ought to come and see this film, you should the whole of the excellent review from Sight and Sound but you probably haven't got time to do that, so here is the the beginning and the end to whet your appetite:

'As an honest and moving portrait of a year in the life of a small rural community in mid Wales, Gideon Koppel's charming and naturalistic film beats its inspiration Dylan Thomas hands down, says John Banville.'

'Now more than ever we need films such as this: grave, measured, subtly comic and beautifully wrought, free of polemic and yet offering a new way of seeing that is as old as Arcady. sleep furiously is, simply, a masterpiece.'

O'Horten - Sunday 27th September 5PM

2009-09-24T19:15:00.002+01:00

The charming eccentricity of O'Horten might come as a relief to those who found Synecdoche, New York a little too opaque to be enjoyable. It scores well (89%) on the Rotten Tomatoes website, and as well as the two critics' tributes in the brochure, you have ViewLondon, typically upbeat, saying: 'Enjoyable Norwegian comedy-drama with gorgeous photography, a pleasingly quirky script and a great performance from Bard Owe.'

Synedoche, New York

2009-09-17T22:21:00.004+01:00

Our next screening is Synedoche, New York, a film which has had a mixed reception, confused and pretentious for some critics and a masterpiece for others. Come along on Sunday and make up your own mind...

Last weekend the turnout for Home was 138 and the scores were: 1 - 0; 2 - 5; 3 - 26; 4 - 37; 5 - 18; (86 votes) giving an overall rating of 69.8%, you can read John's review here.