SEASON SEVENTEEN: 2015-2016

September 2015: Omar
October 2015: Timbuktu
November 2015: The Salt of the Earth
December 2015: The Great Beauty
January 2016: Levianthan
February 2016: The Look of Silence
February 2016 (HFS AGM): Laurel and Hardy
March 2016: The Secrets in Their Eyes
April 2016: The Adventures of Tintin
May 2016: Au Revoir Les Enfants
June 2016: The Best Offer
July 2016: Theeb

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Sunday 13 Sept 2015:  Omar 

Omar, a young Palestinian, is a freedom fighter – or a terrorist? Arrested after an Israeli soldier’s killing, he’s tricked into becoming an informant. Expertly interweaving personal and political elements, this is at once a coming-of-age drama, a romance and a thriller.

2013 | Belgium/Palestine | 96 min | Cert 12A
​Director: Hany Abu-Assad

Plus: Presentation by Simon Marchant, recently returned from working in the West Bank.

Number of beans: 50
Average bean score:  3.76 

Sunday 11 Oct 2015:  Timbuktu

The lives of a cattle herder and his family, unaffected by the regime of terror imposed by Jihadists on the nearby city of Timbuktu, are shattered abruptly. A cry from the heart about
bigotry, arrogance and violence, the film teeters between hope and despair.

2014 | France/Mauritania | 97 min | Cert 12A
Director: Abderrahmane Sissako

Number of beans: 25
Average bean score:  3.44 ​

Sunday 8 Nov 2015:  The Salt of the Earth
(Le Sel de la Terre)

A stunning visual odyssey through the long career of Sebastião Salgado, whose striking photographs reveal a deep empathy with the human condition, including his current project to capture the beauty of planet earth.

2014 | France/Brazil/Italy | 109 min | Cert 15
Directors: Wim Wenders/Juliano Ribeira Salgado

Number of beans: 57
Average bean score:  3.91 
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Sunday 13 Dec 2015:  The Great Beauty
                                                             (La Grande Belleza)

When his 65th birthday coincides with a shock from the past, socialite Jep Gambardella takes stock of his life, looking beyond his hedonistic lifestyle and rediscovering Rome in all its glory. A tragicomedy of richness, strangeness and sadness.

2013 | Italy/France | 141 min | Cert 15
Director: Paolo Sorrentino

Number of beans: 18
Average bean score:  3.00     

Sunday 10 Jan 2016:  Leviathan (Leviafan)

In a cold, grey coastal town Kolya, a small business owner, enlists the help of a lawyer friend to fight against a corrupt mayor intent on destroying all he possesses. A vodka-soaked satire on modern Russia, stunningly shot and superbly acted.

2014 | Russia | 140 min | Cert 15
Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev

Number of beans: 22
Average bean score:  3.05    ​

Sunday 7 Feb 2016:  The Look of Silence

In this companion piece to the controversial The Act of Killing, Aldi, whose brother was brutally murdered, confronts perpetrators of the Indonesian genocide, many still in power and living alongside the families of their victims. Courageous and compelling.

2014 | Indonesia | 103 min | Cert 15
Director: Joshua Oppenheimer

Number of beans: 15
Average bean score:  3.00    

Sunday 21 Feb 2016 (AGM):  Laurel and Hardy

Hopefully not ‘another fine mess’ but a look again at a few of their timeless masterpieces.

USA | Cert PG | Various directors

All welcome to AGM

Number of beans: 21
Average bean score:  3.24         

Sunday 13 March 2016: The Secrets in Their Eyes 
                                                                   (El Secreto de sus Ojos)

A retired criminal lawyer starts to write a novel about an unsolved crime from the bad old days of 70’s Argentina. This event has obsessed him for decades, as has his unrequited love for his old boss, Irene. Supremely watchable, with a dark sense of history.

2009 | Argentina | 129 min | Cert 18
Director: Juan Jose Campanella

Number of beans: 18
Average bean score:  3.00 ​

Sunday 10 April 2016:  The Adventures of Tintin:
                                   The Secret of the Unicorn

Having bought a model ship, the Unicorn, Tintin and his faithful dog Snowy are pursued over land and sea for the clue within it leading to a hidden treasure. Based on Hergé’s well-loved books, the film is a riot of daring exploits and villainous characters, masterfully animated.

2011 | USA/New Zealand | 107 min | Cert PG
Director: Steven Speilberg

Number of beans: 13
Average bean score:  3.00 ​

Sunday 15 May 2016:  Au Revoir Les Enfants 

Malle’s semi-autobiographical masterpiece depicts childhood, memory and betrayal in time of war. In a Catholic boarding school in occupied France a friendship grows between Julien and Jean, whose Jewish identity is concealed. A superb evocation of childhood, immaculately acted.

1987 (Re-released 2015) | France | 104 min | Cert 12A
Writer and director: Louis Malle

Number of beans: 24
Average bean score:  3.88    

Sunday 12 June 2016: The Best Offer
                                                 (La Migliore Offerto)

In an intriguing story with fairy-tale elements, a solitary art expert develops a passion for areclusive young heiress which will transform his life. Rich in symbolism, the film twists and turns and features a superb performance by Geoffrey Rush.

2013 | Italy | 131 min | Cert 15
Director: Giuseppe Tornatore | Score by Ennio Morricone

Number of beans: 24
Average bean score:  3.44

Sunday 10 July 2016:  Theeb

Revenge, loss of innocence and the conflict between old and new permeate this coming-of-age adventure. In 1916, a Bedouin boy, Theeb, joins his older brother in escorting a British officer across the desert, becoming involved in a world-changing event.

2014 | UAE/Qatar/Jordan | 100 min | Cert PG
Director: Naji Abu Nowar

Number of beans: 18
Average bean score:  3.56

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