Moscow, 1953: when tyrannical dictator Joseph Stalin drops dead, his parasitic cronies square off in a frantic power struggle to be the next Soviet leader. Among the contenders are the dweeby Georgy Malenkov (Jeffrey Tambor), the wily Nikita Khrushchev (Steve Buscemi), and the sadistic secret police chief Lavrentiy Beria (Simon Russell Beale). But as they…Continue readingThe Death of Stalin Friday
Category: Historical/Period
“Bicycle Thieves” is so well-entrenched as an official masterpiece that it is a little startling to visit it again after many years and realize that it is still alive and has strength and freshness. Given an honorary Oscar in 1949, routinely voted one of the greatest films of all time, revered as one of…Continue readingBicycle Thieves Friday
This month’s film is Son of Saul. Rotten Tomatoes summed it up like this – Grimly intense yet thoroughly rewarding, Son of Saul offers an unforgettable viewing experience and establishes director László Nemes as a talent to watch. You can watch the trailer here. Son of Saul (15) Hungary, 105 mins, Subtitles Friday 25th August at Hallhill…Continue readingSon of Saul
‘In terms of family drama, has any film been more moving than Yasujiro Ozu’s Tokyo Story? Time and again, Ozu has made films about family, and the shifting structure we refer to as “time and again”. Family is less a fixed entity than a kind of weather system that keeps coming back. So children…Continue readingTokyo Story
A young Scottish man’s odyssey across 19th century in search of the woman he loves is guided by a mysterious outlaw towards a terrible reckoning. You can watch the trailer here. SLOW WEST (15) 2015, New Zealand, 1hr 24 mins. Friday 25th November at Hallhill Doors and Bar 7.30pm Film starts at 8.00pmContinue readingSlow West
1950s Brooklyn – an Irish immigrant falls in love but when her past catches up with her she is forced to choose between two countries, two lives. You can watch the trailer here. BROOKLYN (PG13) 2015, Ireland, 1hr 51mins. Friday 30th September at Hallhill. Doors & Bar 7.30 Film begins 8.00 Continue readingBrooklyn
A seductive young woman (Ava Gardner) falls in love with a mysterious ship’s captain (James Mason). One of the most ethereal and haunting love stories ever filmed. You can watch the trailer here Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (PG) 1951 UK, 1hr 48 mins. Friday 29th April at Hallhill Doors and bar 7.30 Film begins…Continue readingPandora and the Flying Dutchman
Our next film is the Oscar nominated and BAFTA winning THEEB… In the Ottoman province of Hijaz during World War I, a young Bedouin boy experiences a greatly hastened coming-of-age as he embarks on a perilous desert journey to guide a British officer to his secret destination. You can watch the trailer here Annual Cheese…Continue readingTHEEB
“A small gem, tender and bleak, funny and sad, superbly photographed in luminous monochrome”. Peter Bradshaw, Film Critic, The Guardian Pawel Pawlikowski, the director of Last Resort and My Summer of Love returns to his homeland for this moving and intimate drama about a young novitiate nun in 1960s Poland who, on the verge of taking…Continue readingIda
Left to fend for themselves after their SS officer father and mother, a staunch Nazi believer, are interred by the victorious Allies at the end of World War II, five German children undertake a harrowing journey that exposes them to the reality and consequences of their parents’ actions. Led by the eldest sibling, 14-year old…Continue readingLore Friday 30th May