Sandra, a writer and her husband Samuel and their eleven-year-old son live a secluded life in a remote town in the French Alps. Samuel is found dead in the snow and the police question whether this is a suicide or a murder with Sandra being the main suspect and her son the only witness. The trial becomes an unsettling journey into the depths of Sandra and Samuel’s conflicted relationship.
(2023). 140 mins Palme d’or winner. Drama. French, English subtitles. Director Justine Triet
Yas overhears recently heartbroken Dom sobbing in the gender-neutral lavatories. Two young strangers, both having had recent break ups, meet. She befriends him as he is about to lunch with his ex and her new boyfriend. She goes along pretending to be his new girlfriend all of which ends in chaos. They cheerfully connect with each other as they move around the sunny streets of south London. A film with street- smart grit and warmth and charm.
(2023). 82 mins. Comedy/romance. English. Dir. Raine Allen-Miller
Directed by the makers of Pan’s Labyrinth(2006) and the Shape of Water (2017) this “Pinocchio” is a stop motion animation set in Fascist Italy during the rise of Benito Mussolini.
Pinocchio is carved from wood by a father grieving for his dead son. Born into a society of people who behave like obedient puppets, Pinocchio is independent and irrepressible refusing blind obedience to parents and authority figures, even Mussolini himself.
A story of love and disobedience: a dark and powerful film which bears no resemblance to the Disney versions!
(2022). 117 minutes. Stop motion animation. English. Directors Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson
This rich, beautiful, and inexpressibly sad film is about the friendship between two men who were best childhood friends growing up in the Italian mountains. They now unite as grown men to build a shack in the valley which will be their special place. It is set in the Italian alpine valley of Aosta with breathtaking photography as the two men try to talk about their feelings, rekindle their friendship and deal with the difficult past.
“A movie with air in its lungs and love in its heart”.
(2022). 147mins. Italian, English subtitles. Directors Felix Van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch.
This is a simple but heartwarming story of an ordinary and unassuming elderly man who walks to his local postbox to post a letter to his old friend Queenie, who is dying. But instead he walks the length of Britain to deliver the letter to her in person before she dies. It is a lovely exploration of an ordinary man who passes life on the sidelines until he decides to do something extraordinary. On the way he encounters many people from all backgrounds and walks of life who encourage him in his unlikely pilgrimage.
Starring Jim Broadbent as Harold Fry. Based on the novel by Rachel Joyce.
(2023). 93 mins. English. Director Hettie Macdonald
