Next screening   |  Thursday 28th July 2011

5.30pm AGM

6.30pm pre-screening drinks and nibbles

7.00pm film screens

Agora

**** Margaret ****.5 David  ******* IMDB

4th century A.D. Egypt under the Roman Empire… Violent religious upheaval in the streets of Alexandria spills over into the city’s famous Library. Trapped inside its walls, the brilliant astronomer Hypatia and her disciples fight to save the wisdom of the Ancient World… Among them, the two men competing for her heart: the witty, privileged Orestes and Davus, Hypatia’s young slave, who is torn between his secret love for her and the freedom he knows can be his if he chooses to join the unstoppable surge of the Christians.

After his Oscar for The Sea Inside, Alejandro Amenábar now invites the audience to “experience the reality of a remote civilisation.” AGORA is a singular journey to the Egypt of two thousand years ago, to the mythical city of Alexandria and to the dramatic destruction of its Library. The film is inspired by real events which have never before been brought to the screen. It is the director’s fifth film, a huge scale production fraught with remarkable energy.

map of ancient Agora, Alexandria

Shot in English, AGORA boasts an international cast. Rachel Weisz, (Oscar for The Constant Gardener), plays Hypatia of Alexandria. Young actor Max Minghella (Syriana) plays Davus, the slave. Around them, a very solid cast: Oscar Isaac (Body of Lies), Rupert Evans (Hellboy), Ashraf Barhom (The Kingdom), Sammy Samir (Nativity) and the veteran French actor Michael Lonsdale (Munich).

“One of the things that surprised us most during our research was discovering that there were two libraries in Alexandria. The first was burnt down when Julius Cesar arrived. The film is about the second library, and Hypatia was one of the leading figures in the story of its destruction. It is a period that has not been dealt with in cinema and we thought it could fascinate the audience,” says Alejandro Amenábar.

“Alexandria was the hub of all intellectual learning at the time. People came from all corners of the earth to discuss theatre and philosophy and Maths and astronomy and it was a time of incredible learning and a passion for learning. And then towards the end of her life Alexandria became part of the Holy Roman Empire and it went under Christian rule and it was essentially the beginning of the Dark Ages. So she really straddled a very interesting moment in history, from the most enlightened time to perhaps one of the least enlightened times,” says Rachel Weisz.

 “From the beginning of the project, my goal, formally-speaking, was to make the audience feel like they’re following a CNN team documenting something that happened in the 4th century. That sense of urgency, like breaking news, was the basis of my approach. I wanted to break with some of the established norms of period films; not just shoot the larger format, wide angle shots and grandiose music. AGORA is a blend of rigour and spectacle.”

HYPATIA OF ALEXANDRIA

Daughter of Theon, the last director of the legendary Library of Alexandria, Hypatia lived in the 4th century A.D., when the decadence of the Roman Empire set in and the world began its change towards a new order. Astronomer, mathematician and philosopher, Hypatia was a noted scientist and a symbol of tolerance in her native Alexandria. Although her scientific works have been lost, the image of her that lingers in history is that of a strong woman who devoted her life to the search for truth.

Director: Alejandro Amenabar
Lead actor: Rachel Weisz
Cast: Max Minghella, Oscar Isaac, Rupert Evans, Ashraf Barhom, Michael Lonsdale, Sammy Samir
Producer: Alvaro Augustin, Fernando Bovaira
Screenplay: Alejandro Amenabar, Mateo Gil

Official website including interviews with Director and film production noteshttp://www.transmissionfilms.com.au/index.php/agora/

ABC 'At The Movies' Reivew

http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s3044689.htm

More info, goofs, Jay Leno show
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1186830/

Rated MA

Language = English
Country = Spain

Next Screening "Father of my Children"

Thursday 30th June 2011

6.30pm pre-screening drinks and nibbles

7.00pm film screens

Father of my Children

**** Margaret ***.5 David
ABC's At the Movies 

Grégoire Canvel (Louis-Do de Lencquesaing) has it all – a wife and three delightful daughters he adores and a stimulating job that he's devoted to; he's a film producer. Discovering new talent and developing projects is what drives and fulfills him.

On the surface Grégoire seems invincible, maintaining humour and charm as he juggles the never-ending demands of his company with his domestic responsibilities. But passion can also lead to obstinacy, and when Grégoire's reserves - financial and emotional - reach a dramatic tipping point, his beautiful wife Sylvia (Chiara Caselli) and children share in the repercussions...

Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, director Mia Hanson-Løve's compassionate drama reaffirms her status as one of the most exciting young talents to emerge from France in recent memory. Engaging, restrained and profoundly moving, Father Of My Children offers a rare insight into the joys and challenges of family life, yet is also a must-see experience for anyone with an interest in - or love for - the world of cinema.

Trailer
http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s2970923.htm


Classification: M
Duration: 110 mins
Genre: Drama, Family
Director: Mia Hansen-Love
Lead actor: Louis-Do de Lencquesaing
Cast: Chiara Caselli, Alice de Lencqueasaing, Alice Gautier, Manelle Driss, Eric Elmosnino, Sandrine Dumas
Producer: Oliver Damian, Philippe Martin, David Thion
Screenplay: Mia Hansen-Love
Music: Pascal Auffray
Distributor: Palace Films
Language: French
Country: France

Next screening the classic "Last Tango in Paris"

Thursday 19th May 2011

6.30pm pre-screening drinks and nibbles

7.00pm film screens

Last Tango in Paris

the cinema classic starring Marlon Brando & Maria Schneider

In recognition of the recent passing of Maria Schneider we are screening the 1972 cinemal classic "Last Tango in Paris".

Nominated for two Academy Awards - Best Director (Bernado Bertolucci) and Best Actor (Marlon Brando) - and exuding a sexual energy unlike any film before or after, this is the scintillating classic that shocked a nation... and "altered the face of an are form" (Pauline Kael).

He (Brando) is a 45 year old American living in Paris, haunted by his wife's suicide. She (Maria Schneider) is a 20 year old Parisian beauty engaged to a young filmmaker. Though nameless to each other, these tortured souls come together to satisfy their sexual cravings in an apartment as bare as their dark, tragic lives. Caught up in the frenzied beat of a carnal dance they cannot seem to stop, these unlikely lovers take their passion to erotic heights - and depths - beyond anything they could ever have imagined.

Next screening "Animal Kingdom"

Thursday 7th April 2011

6.30pm pre-screening drinks and nibbles

7.00pm film screens

Animal Kingdom

****.5 stars Australian film

Celebrating the recent Oscars and the nomination of Australian film industry stalwart,  Jacki Weaver, Reels at Wehl, is screening 'Animal Kingdom'.

ANIMAL KINGDOM is a powerful psychological crime drama that tells the story of a tense battle between a dangerous criminal family and the police.

Armed robber Pope Cody (BEN MENDELSOHN) is in hiding, on the run from a gang of renegade detectives who want him dead. His business partner and best friend, Barry 'Baz' Brown (JOEL EDGERTON), wants out of the game, recognising that their days of old-school banditry are all but over. Pope's younger brother, the speed-addicted and volatile Craig Cody (SULLIVAN STAPLETON), is making a fortune in the illicit substances trade - the true cash cow of the modern criminal fraternity - whilst the youngest Cody brother, Darren (LUKE FORD), naively navigates his way through this criminal world - the only world his family has ever known.

Awards

World Cinema Jury prize at Sundance

Oscar nomination best actress

Reviews

****.5 stars. The revelation here is JACKI WEAVER, always a fine actor but seldom revealing the depths of character she does here. All the performances are superb, down to the small parts. ABC's David & Margaret  'At the Movies'

Most countries do not define themselves by their criminals, but most countries were not established as dumping grounds for the poor and criminal classes either. The hatreds go back a long way. In a sense, there's a direct line between the shootout at Glenrowan in 1880 – when the Kelly gang and the cops attempted to settle things their own way – and the events of Animal Kingdom, an extraordinarily tense, menacing film set in a Melbourne crime family in the recent past.

Animal Kingdom is cinema, not television. The difference is subtle but significant. There is more unsaid, more told by the camera rather than dialogue and more time to develop ideas in the script.

No one will accuse this film of romanticising criminals but nor does it allow us to see them simply as beasts.

The title carries a second inference: we all live in the same jungle. The Age

http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/movies/animal-kingdom-20100604-xipy.html

Classification: MA
Duration: 113 mins
Genre: Drama
Director: David Michod
Cast: Ben Mendelsohn, Joel Edgerton, Guy Pearce, Luke Ford, Jacki Weaver, Sullivan Stapleton, James Frecheville
Producer: Liz Watts
Screenplay: David Michod
Distributor: Madman
Language: English
Country: Australia

Trailer http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s2899467.htm

Next screening "Departures"

Thursday 24 February 2011

6.30pm pre-screening drinks & nibbles  |  7.00pm film screens

"Departures" is a story of love, of discovery, of revelation and of the transcending human spirit, "Departures" will linger in your heart and mind long after viewing.

Academy Award® Winner for Best Foreign Language Film of the year, "Departures" is a delightful and sensitive journey into the heartland of Japan and an astonishingly beautiful look at a sacred part of Japan's cultural heritage.

A premiere symphony orchestra in Tokyo disbands, leaving Daigo Kobayashi (Masahiro Motoki) suddenly unemployed.  Suffering from an innate sense that he is a mediocre musician, he faces up to the fact that not everyone who has devoted their life to music can become a top artist. With wife Mika (Ryoko Hirosue) in tow, he moves back to his home town in the northeastern prefecture of Yamagata.  They move into the crumbling remains of his mother’s house, which doubled as the local pub. 

Spotting a Help Wanted ad featuring the word “departures,” he is excited about the prospect of trying a new career in the travel industry.  He arrives for the interview, curiously eyeing the coffins lining the back wall of the office.  The company owner, Sasaki (Tsutomu Yamazaki), hires him on the spot, with only a cursory glance at his resume. Daigo finally ventures to ask what is involved, exactly, and is stunned to learn what he has gotten himself into: the ceremonial “encoffination” of corpses prior to cremation.  Sasaki urges him to take the job, proffering large amounts of cash.  He’s getting older, and needs someone to carry on the tradition.

In desperate straits, Daigo overcomes his initial trepidation and begins to travel around Hirano with Sasaki. Sasaki is comically matter-of-fact but firm in his directives and the contention that they are providing an important service to their community.   Some cases are markedly traditional, featuring beatific family members in time-honored transition.  Others highlight family dramas fraught with inevitable collisions, eased into unexpected conclusion.  True to Sasaki’s expectations, Daigo develops a deep respect for life in all its variations, and a profound empathy for people trying to make peace with the finality of death.

Too embarrassed to tell his wife about his conversation-stopping profession and admit that he has fallen in love with the townsfolk, Daigo vainly tries to keep his new life secret. As their relationship hangs in the balance, the big question is how he’s going to react to surprising news she brings, as an encoffineer, as a husband, as a son and as a human being.   It is Daigo’s turn to deal with life and death among the people who are dearest to him.

Trailer and more information

http://www.departures-themovie.com/

Rated M

Japanese language English subtitles

I am Love (lo sono l'amore)

Special Valentine's Day screening, Monday 14th February 2011

6.30pm pre-screening champagne & chocolates to celebrate Valentine's Day

7.00pm film screens

A film festival favourite, winning numerous international awards "I am Love" is a film not to be missed on the big screen.

“A cinematic tour de force.” New York Times

****1/2  Margaret Pomeranz ****  David Stratton, ABC's At the Movies

I Am Love tells the story of the wealthy Recchi family, whose lives are undergoing sweeping changes. Eduardo Sr., the family patriarch, has decided to name a successor to the reins of his massive industrial company, and in so doing, surprises everyone by splitting power between his son Tancredi and grandson Edo. However, Edo dreams of opening a restaurant with his friend Antonio, a talented chef. At the heart of Tancredi’s family is his wife, Emma (Tilda Swinton), a Russian immigrant who has adopted the culture of Milan. An adoring and attentive mother, Emma’s existence is shocked to the core when she falls deeply in love with Antonio and pursues a passionate love affair that will change his family forever.

Trailers and extra information: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZBrWVvn9xA

http://www.iamlovemovie.com/

Italian with English subtitles

Rated M15+

 

Next screening "Le Concert"

"Le Concert (The Concert")

Thursday 13 January 2011

6.30pm pre-screening drinks & nibbles

7.00pm film screens

Opening at #1 at the French cinema box-office, The Concert is pure entertainment - a warm-hearted, joyous story filled with great wit and humanity. The stirring finale set against Tchaikovsky's Concerto is simply magnificent. You'll walk out of this film feeling great.

A celebrated conductor of the Bolshoi Orchestra, was fired 20 years ago for hiring Jewish musicians but reforms his orchestra to play in Paris ...

During the Brezhnev era, Andrei Filipov was a prodigy - the greatest conductor in the Soviet Union and he directed the famous Bolshoi Orchestra. But after refusing to expel his Jewish musicians, including his best friend Sacha, he was fired at the height of his glory. Thirty years later, he is still working at the Bolshoi, but... as a cleaner.When Andrei intercepts a fax from the Theatre du Chatelet inviting the Bolshoi Orchestra to Paris, he comes up with a crazy idea: he'll gather up his old musician friends (now working rag-tag jobs), head to Paris and pretend to be the famed orchestra to play Tchaikovsky's "Violin Concerto." The long-awaited dream to deliver one final performance!



Thursday 13 January 6.30pm



"An intelligent, perfectly mixed blend of comedy and drama that is emotionally satisfying on every level: the music, top-notch performances from a stellar cast and a sharp, incisive script."

Rated M

119 minutes

Language – French

Country of Origin – France/Russia