Screened Thursday 17 October 2013 "TABU"

"TABU"
6:30pm - 7:00pm Drinks and Nibbles
7pm Film screens


WINNER – Berlin Film Festival – FIPRESCI Jury Prize & Alfred Baeur Prize for Artistic Innovation.

★★★★ "Prepare yourselves for a unique cinema experience: a tour de force of great beauty, whimsy and emotion. It’s really, really something special. It’s sublime.”Margaret Pomeranz, ABC AT THE MOVIES 

★★★★★ “I fell in love with it. I just fell under the spell. It is so rewarding.”David Stratton, ABC AT THE MOVIES 

“The most enjoyable and creatively ambitious film I’ve seen this year…Swooningly romantic. Simply glorious.”Tim Robey, THE TELEGRAPH UK 

IMDB rating 7.3 out of 10.

A love story told in two unique parts, TABU is, quite simply, a film unlike anything you’ve ever seen. Deftly moving between contemporary Portugal, colonial Africa and the landscape of dreams, director Miguel Gomes conjures an enthralling story of obsession, memory and dangerous forbidden romance.

In part one, ‘Paradise Lost’, we follow the seemingly ordinary daily life of a devout Lisbon woman, Pilar (Teresa Madruga) and her attempts to support and console her extravagant and bitter neighbour Aurora (Laura Soveral), who spends her day gambling at the local casino and whose grip on reality is clearly becoming tenuous; she’s convinced her stoic maid Santa is secretly practicing voodoo spells against her. 

When Aurora’s health takes a turn, a stranger is summoned to her deathbed and it gradually transpires this man is Gian Luca, the love of her life from the distant past. His confession to Pilar of their doomed youthful affair forms the basis of the film’s second extraordinary chapter, ‘Paradise’, set 50 years prior at an African farm in the foothills of Mount Tabu… 

Playfully interpreting and rearranging history, Gomes’ film is somehow both technically and narratively subversive and yet inescapably romantic, in no small way thanks to the sensuous black and white cinematography and incredible score and sound design. Where part one portrays a society wallowing in nostalgia, the second propels a dramatic shift in tone and emotional power, delivering everything the characters – and we – may dream of, and live for.



TRAILER
http://www.palacefilms.com.au/tabu/

Director: Miguel Gomes
Cast: Teresa Madruga, Laura Soveral, Ana Moreira, Henrique Espírito Santo, Carloto Cotta, Isabel Cardoso, Ivo Müller, Manuel Mesquita
Duration: 118 mins
Country of Origin: Portugal

Rated MA Strong s_x scene and nudity

Screened Thursday 5 September 2013 | The Sessions

AGM is 5.30pm at the theatre

All positions are vacated. Some founding members are retiring. New committee members will be needed.  If you want to find out more please contact reelsatwehl@gmail.com and give us your phone number, one of the committee can call you to answer questions.

The Sessions

6.30pm drinks and nibbles
7.00pm film screens

4.5 stars David 4 stars Margaret
7.2/10 IMDB

A man in an iron lung who wishes to lose his virginity contacts a professional sex surrogate with the help of his therapist and priest.

Starring Academy Award® Nominee John Hawkes, Academy Award® Nominee William H. Macy and Academy Award® Winner Helen Hunt, the film is based on the true story of California–based journalist and poet Mark O’Brien. 
Portrayed by the exceptionally gifted John Hawkes – who gives a career-defining performance, O’Brien’s story is the immensely poignant and surprisingly funny tale of a man, paralyzed by polio who - at age 38 – is determined to finally lose his virginity.


Trailer: http://www.thesessions.co.uk/

Director: Ben Lewin
Producer: Judi Levine, Ben Lewin, Stephen Nemeth
Cast: William H Macy, Moon Bloodgood
Classification: MA
Duration: 95 mins
Genre: Drama
Lead actor: John Hawkes and Helen Hunt
Screenplay: Ben Lewin
Music: Marco Beltrami
Distributor: 20th Century Fox

Language: English

Screened "A Quiet Life (Una vita tranquilla)"

A Quiet Life (Una vita tranquilla)

Thursday 18th July 2013
6.30pm drink and nibbles
7.00pm film screens

A sophisticated crime drama from the Lavazza Italian Film Festival.

A brilliant addition to the new wave of sophisticated Italian crime films that focus more on character than action, A Quiet Life is further complemented by Toni Servillo who delivers a riveting performance as a man hiding a dark secret. This critically acclaimed, slow-burn dramatic thriller from Claudio Cupellini (Lessons in Chocolate) is a must-see festival highlight.

Rosario Russo (Servillo) is living near Frankfurt where he runs a restaurant and hotel and has integrated perfectly into the local community with his family. He keeps a low profile, he has changed his name and he speaks German. Life is good, until one day the introverted Diego (Marco D'Amore) and street-smart Edoardo (Francesco Di Leva) turn up at the hotel, looking for a room. Soon their sinister assignment is revealed, dragging Rosario back into the past.

Director Claudio Cupellini has created a tense thriller, moodily shot in grey winter light, edited at a breathless pace with a slick script and sensational soundtrack. But it is the three standout performances, including the ever popular Toni Servillo, that are so compelling in this modern day Greek tragedy.

"Displays slickness on all levels."SCREEN DAILY

"A psychological thriller of unusual depth, “A Quiet Life” reps a significant leap forward for sophomore helmer Claudio Cupellini (“Lessons in Chocolate”), revealing a level of stylistic control and narrative force that should catapult him onto the list of Italo directors to watch. A rare international co-production that feels organically right, the pic boasts the considerable thesping talent of Toni Servillo as a marked man hiding from his mob past." VARIETY

Rome Film Festival 2010
Winner – Best Leading Actor

Director:
Claudio Cupellini

Cast: 
Toni Servillo, Marco D'Amore, Francesco Di Leva.

Running time: 105 minutes

Rating: M+

Screened "Angels' Share" Thursday 27th June 2013

6.30pm drinks and nibbles
7.00pm 'Angels' Share' screens

****.5 stars Margaret **** stars David 

IMBD 7/10

A bittersweet comedy about a Glasgow boy locked in a family feud who just wants a way out. When Robbie sneaks into the maternity hospital to visit his young girlfriend Leonie and hold his newborn son Luke for the first time, he is overwhelmed. He swears that Luke will not lead the same stricken life he has led.

On community service Robbie meets Rhino, Albert and Mo for whom, like him, work is little more than a distant dream. Little did Robbie imagine that turning to drink might change their lives - not cheap fortified wine, but the best malt whiskies in the world.

What will it be for Robbie? More violence and vendettas or a new future with ‘Uisge Beatha’, the ‘Water of Life’?

Only the angels know...

Director: Ken Loach
Producer: Rebecca O'Brien
Cast: John Henshaw, Gary Maitland, Jasmin Riggins, William Ruane
Classification: MA
Duration: 101 mins
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Lead actor: Paul Brannigan
Screenplay: Paul Laverty
Language: English


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iELanfA565Y


Won 2012 Jury Prize, Cannes Film Festival

Screened "Chinese Takeaway"

Thursday 16 May 2013
6.30pm drink and nibbles
7.00pm film screens

Winner of Best Film and the Audience Award at the Rome International Film Festival, CHINESE TAKEAWAY is a comedy following the relationship between a reclusive Spanish hardware store owner and a Chinese immigrant, thrown together by an absurd twist of fate.

For over 20 years, introverted hardware store owner Roberto (Ricardo Darín, THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES) has lived virtually shut off from the outside. After a chance encounter with Jun, a Chinese man who has arrived in Argentina looking for his only living relative, Roberto takes him in. Their unusual cohabitation helps Roberto bring an end to his loneliness, but not without revealing to the impassive Jun that destiny's intersections are many and they can even divulge the film's surreal opening sequence: a brindled cow falling from the sky.

The end credits reveal that one of the most unlikely elements of the plot was actually based on an incredible real-life incident that gave the writer-director the inspiration for the film in the first place. Truth is certainly stranger than fiction, it seems.

"...the character that is created, he's so obsessive. I love the moment you meet him. He is counting out nails in a box of 500 and absolutely incensed because there's ten short." Margaret Pomeranz, ABC's At the Movies

7.2/10 IMDB

3.5 stars Margaret and David

Trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDhNkFDPbeQ

Director: Sebastian Borensztein
Producer: Pablo Bossi, Juan Pablo Buscarini, Gerardo Herrero, Axel Kuschevatzky, Ben Odell
Cast: Muriel Santa Ana, Ignacio Huang, Enric Cambray
Classification: M
Duration: 106 mins
Genre: Drama
Lead actor: Ricardo Darin
Screenplay: Sebastian Borensztein
Music: Lucio Godoy
Distributor: Rialto Distribution
Country: Argentina

Language: Spanish/Mandarin with English subtitles

Screened "Marley"

4th April 2013
6.30pm for pre-screening drink and nibbles
7.00pm film screens


Bob Marley's universal appeal, impact on music history and role as a social and political prophet is both unique and unparalleled. 

MARLEY is the definitive life story of the musician, revolutionary, and legend, from his early days to his rise to international superstardom. Made with the support of the Marley family, the film features rare footage, incredible performances and revelatory interviews with the people that knew him best.
Directed by Kevin MacDonald.

7.8 out of 10 IMDB rating

Trailer http://www.magpictures.com/marley/

Rated PG 13
In English

Screened "We have a Pope"

Thursday 14 March 2013
6.30pm complimentary glass of wine and nibbles
7.00pm film screens

We have a Pope (Habemus Papam)

"Brilliantly witty."
THE GUARDIAN

Following the funeral of the Pope, the red robed cardinals convene to elect a successor. Cardinal Gregori (Renato Scarpa) is the odds-on favorite but surprisingly is beaten in the second round by French cardinal Melville (Michel Piccoli.) The decision made, Melville is led towards the balcony to address the waiting crowds of the faithful but experiences a last minute panic and flees.

While the Vatican spokesman, (Jerzy Stuhr) madly troubleshoots, a psychoanalyst (Nanni Moretti) is brought in to assess and cure the future pontiff. Memorable characters and Piccoli's incredible performance as the frail old Cardinal make this comedy a delight. Moretti co-wrote a script that is full of inventive moments and cements him is one of the most creative filmmakers in Italy today.

At the Cannes screening of the film (where it was in competition), Moretti (The Son's Room) was moved to tears when he received a 10 minute standing ovation.


Cannes Film Festival 2011
In Competition

Nastri d'argento Awards 2011
Winner - Best Director,
Best Cinematography,
Best Costume Design,
Best Original Story, Best Producer,
Best Production Design.

Director:
Nanni Moretti, 2011 | 102'

Cast: 
Michel Piccoli, Nanni Moretti, Jerzy Stuhr, Renato Scarpa, Margherita Buy.

Language:
Italian with English subtitles

Trailer http://www.italianfilmfestival.com.au/2011/films/wehaveapope/