May Screenings
|
We’ve shown plenty of Japanese films over the last 10 years and I have always felt a sense of safety when watching them, and Sweet Bean was no different.
Sentaro runs a flagging dorayaki shop and rises early each day to lovingly craft the pancakes for his ‘an’ or sweet bean paste. He reluctantly hires the elderly Tokue, who has 50 years’ experience of making an and who is horrified to discover that Sentaro is buying his from a supermarket. It’s a simple story, but an important one, as it explores the roles of hard work and how we treat our elderly in society, something very important in Japan. I would recommend sampling Anna’s cakes before this film; you do not want to see the first 30 minutes if you are hungry! |
|
Director Ruben Ostlund said that all his films are “basically about people trying to avoid losing face.” Anyone who saw our screening of Force Majeure in Season 5, will know this to be the case. He returns with The Square, an exploration, or some say sideswipe, at the modern art scene.
It’s not a film you will get off lightly watching; we are constantly presented with scenarios questioning what we would do in the situation and this occasionally makes for uncomfortable viewing. The main character and museum curator Christian, is just engaging and likeable enough for the viewer to have split sympathies as decisions he makes during the film come to haunt him. |
|
A huge technical achievement, Sam Mendes and Roger Deakins have crafted a stunning evocation of WW1.
At the height of the war two young British soldiers, Schofield and Blake are given a seemingly impossible mission: in a race against time they must cross enemy territory and deliver a message that will stop the deadly attack on hundreds of soldiers, Blake’s own brother amongst them. A hard-hitting and immersive war film, high on blistering action, 1917 captures the trench warfare of World War I with raw, startling immediacy. |
|
Ralph Fiennes (Antony & Cleopatra) leads the cast in David Hare’s (Skylight) blazing account of the most powerful man in New York, a master manipulator whose legacy changed the city forever.
For forty uninterrupted years, Robert Moses exploited those in office through a mix of charm and intimidation. Motivated at first by a determination to improve the lives of New York City’s workers, he created parks, bridges and 627 miles of expressway to connect the people to the great outdoors. Faced with resistance by protest groups campaigning for a very different idea of what the city should become, will the weakness of democracy be exposed in the face of his charismatic conviction? Broadcast live from the Bridge Theatre in London, Nicholas Hytner directs this exhilarating new play. |
July Screenings
|
Jodie Comer (Killing Eve) makes her West End debut in the UK premiere of Suzie Miller’s award-winning play.
Tessa is a young, brilliant barrister. She has worked her way up from working class origins to be at the top of her game; defending; cross examining and winning. An unexpected event forces her to confront the lines where the patriarchal power of the law, burden of proof and morals diverge. Prima Facie takes us to the heart of where emotion and experience collide with the rules of the game. Justin Martin directs this solo tour de force, captured live from the intimate Harold Pinter Theatre in London’s West End. |
