We’ve put up a new poll to find out what you liked the most during the month of March. With the Young Film Festival taking place and a couple of big releases there weren’t many films that got multiple screenings so there are only three choices. You can always vote for other (we can see what you enter but can’t find a way of easily sharing this with everybody – perhaps clicking through and adding comments on the results page would be the best way). It’s interesting that all three of those films Hail, Caesar!, Anomolisa and High-Rise have proved to be divisive with both audiences and critics, which surely only make the films much more interesting. Mark Kermode discussed this and aggregated review scores in one of his recent video blogs.
The Pearl Button / El botón de nácar Chile 2016
Wednesday 6th April at 4.00 p.m. and on Thursday 7th April at 6.15 p.m.
This is the new film by Patricio Guzman. His most famous work is The Battle of Chile. This epic documentary was made in exile in Cuba in three parts. These are La batalla de Chile: La lucha de un pueblo sin armas – Primera parte: La insurreción de la burguesía 1975: Segunda parte: El golpe de estado 1976: Tercera parte: El poder popular 1979. The last time it was shown locally was five or more years ago in one of the screenings ‘tween’ festivals and then I think only Part 1 and Part 2. There were 35mm prints in the UK [Metro Pictures], if they are still here it would be good to have a fresh opportunity to see what Time Out praised as “among the best documentaries ever made”.
Guzman’s new film is a companion piece to the earlier Nostalgia for Light / Nostalgia de la luz 2010. Both films combine a sort of poetic essay with a documentary treatment. The earlier film was mainly set in Chile’s northern and arid Atacama desert. In part it followed widows and family members of the ‘disappeared’ under the Military Junta looking for traces of their lost ones. The new film is set in the southern Patagonian region and initially addresses the genocidal treatment of the indigenous Indians but then draws parallels with victims of the Junta who perished in the same region. The button of the title is one of the links between these groups.
In both films Guzman uses a physiological and cosmological metaphor to bind the issues together. In this film it is water: bought to earth originally by comets and one of the major features of the Patagonian region: the others are mountains and glaciers. Both films are full of impressive visuals and enjoy distinctive sound designs. I thought the metaphoric aspects worked better in this film. It also has a freer form which allows/demands that the audience think through the interaction.
The film is in standard widescreen and colour with English subtitles. It also uses black and white archival stills and film. My only reservation was that the film follows that increasing and problematic habit of reframing early film: not exactly respectful for the predecessors of today’s’ filmmakers.
The film is showing on Wednesday and Thursday. The Wednesday screening will also offer one of the short films from The Artist Cinema 2016: El Helicóptero, which turns out to have an intriguing link with the feature, [Thursday’s may also screen this short film]. Thursday’s screening is followed by a recording of a Q&A with the film director.
This Week At The Picture House
It’s quite an interesting week at the cinema (isn’t it always?). There are a few more chances to catch High-Rise and Anomalisa, two films which seem to be splitting audience opinions between love and hate. The Coen Brothers latest Hail, Caesar! gets its first run at the Picture House along with beautiful and haunting The Pearl Button. The screening of The Pearl Button on Thursday 7th April will be followed by a recorded Q&A with the film’s director, recorded last month at Home, Manchester.
On Saturday at 4pm there’s chance to see Harmonieband perform live their wonderful new score to Anthony Asquith classic Underground (1928) which is sure to delight first time viewers and old fans alike.
On Monday there’s a rare chance to see this year’s Oscar nominees for Animated Short on the big screen. I’m sure all nine films are great but personally I’m looking forward to finally seeing World Of Tomorrow a film I’ve heard so many good things about.
Tuesday’s Wonder is This Is Exile (2015), an extraordinary, intimate portrait of child refugees forced to flee from the violence of Syria’s civil war to neighbouring Lebanon. The film will be followed by a panel discussion and the screening is a “pay as you feel” event to raise money for Amnesty International and Save The Children.
Leeds Young Film Festival 2016
Now in it’s 17th year, the Leeds Young Film Festival starts this Thursday and as always there’s plenty to see for people of all ages. Taking place throughout the Easter school holidays (24th-31st March) the festival is aimed at young people but every year it always impresses with a great selection of films. If you’re ignoring the programme because it’s a “Kids’ festival” you’re likely to be missing out.
For starters there’s another chance to see some of the LIFF29 films you may not have seen (or want to see again): Assassination Classroom (2015), Breaking A Monster (2015), Landfill Harmonic (2015), Lovemilla (2015) and Crow’s Egg (2014) are all showing at the Picture House. On Good Friday, tribute screenings of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (2009) and Labyrinth (1986) allow us to remember the great work of Alan Rickman and David Bowie. Good Friday continues with 25th Anniversary screenings of the deliciously bizarre Delicatessen (1991) and Wes Craven’s The People Under The Stairs (1991), who we also sadly lost last year.
Not For Rental is a programme of films curated by 15-19 year olds that runs throughout the year. Their selection for the festival are all showing at the Picture House and includes Studio Ghibli’s latest (and possibly last) When Marnie Was There (2014) and Boy and the Beast (2015) from the makers of Wolf Children and Summer Wars which have both screened at LIFF. Not For Rental have also programmed this week’s Creatures Of The Night and Tuesday Wonder slots. The late night (but slightly earlier than usual at 10:30pm) screening of Aliens (1986) should be great after seeing Alien at LIFF a few years ago and on Tuesday He Named Me Malala (2015) is the inspirational documentary about the the youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate, 17 year old Malala Yousafzai. Continue reading
Philosophy and Film: Badlands
Showing Tuesday 22nd March 6:15pm
Badlands (1973)
Terrence Malick’s directorial film follows two young lovers on a road trip across South Dakota, as they kill people along the way. It is a beautiful film, and touches upon many things that will occupy Malick throughout his career – nature, wonder, innocence, love and morality.
Dr. Joe Saunders (University of Leeds) will provide a short talk after the film, exploring Malick’s treatment of love and morality. This will be followed by a discussion with the audience.
This is the inaugural session of a philosophy and film series at the Hyde Park Picture House. The series explores philosophical issues raised by some of cinema’s most engaging films.
Spotlight USA 2015
Wednesday March 16th at 3.40 p.m.
There is a final opportunity to see this Oscar winning film. I suspect that the members of the Academy voted for the film partly to demonstrate their social awareness in a year when they need good publicity. And then probably partly because it a traditional genre film with a well-written script, good production values and an impressive roster of actors/characters.
The film falls into a cycle of journalist movies. The most famous of these is probably All the President’s Men (1976) and that is clearly an influence on this film. There are several scenes where there are visual crossovers, including in the offices of the newspaper and then one with Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams) researching the story in a public records library. Pfeiffer also interviews the surviving victims of the abuse that is the focus of the story. These are a distinctive feature and extremely well done. And the mise en scène constantly reminds us of the guilty party – the Roman Catholic Church in Boston. In an engaging actual parallel – Ben Bradlee edited the Washington Post during the Watergate investigation: his son Ben Bradlee Jnr. was Assistant Managing Editor at the Boston Globe during the Spotlight investigation.
In other ways the genre influence is not always for the best. There is a fairly long sequence as Mike Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo) waits to access legal records that are key to the completion of the story. This is played for suspense but the plot does not really justify this.
The film also fit into a cycle of films set in the city of Boston. Criminality and noir seem to be something of a constant. But the religious presence in the city is also a constant. The other earlier film that I was reminded of was The Verdict (1982 ). In that film Frank Galvin (Paul Newman) is fighting the church in a legal battle over medical incompetence. Apart from visual moments there is also a parallel with Walter Robinson (Michael Keaton) of the Spotlight team: both have to come terms to mistakes in their past.
Mavis!, USA 2015
Showing Sunday 13th March 4pm
Committee member, Bill Walton, urges you to go and see Mavis! this Sunday.
I haven’t seen the film Mavis! yet, but I have seen the trailer and, even better, I saw Mavis Staples performing live at Glastonbury last year. Loads of charisma, great songs, a sensational voice, an excellent backing band, and a powerful advocate of Black Lives Matter. If you like gospel and soul music, and want to learn more about the part the Staples Singers played in the Civil Rights movement, make sure that you catch Mavis!
We don’t normally share trailers on this blog but this one is a great taster of what to expect from the film featuring Prince, Bob Dylan and Chuck D.
Febuary Poll
A few weeks ago we added a poll the the site and asked what was your highlight at the Picture House during January. Not many of you took part but The Revenant came out on top, followed by Room (showing again this Sunday and Thursday) with Taxi Tehran and Zarafa picking up the “Other” votes.
Now it’s time to vote for your February highlight.
The Assassin / Nie yin niang, France-Taiwan-China-Hong Kong 2015
Five screenings starting on Friday February 26th at 9.00 p.m.
This film was screened several times in the Official Section at Leeds International Film Festival. The director, Hou Hsiao-hsien won the Best Director Award at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. This is a stunningly beautiful film. However, many people have remarked that the presentation of the plot is opaque.
The UK marketing uses the martial arts genre in the publicity, which is a mistake. This is a slow, artful film: it has parallels in terms of plot with Hero (Ying xiong 2002). Moreover, for a western audience, I think it takes some time to identify the separate characters, especially when for much of the time they wear the formal clothing of the period. In addition the film moves around in different time periods, but without the usual signalling of flashbacks.
How well you manage depends on the manner in which you view films. One friend managed most of the characters and plot at his first screening: impressive. I managed the basic characters and plot at my first screening but it was only the second time round that I followed the whole coherently.
Rather than describe the plot, the main point of which is relatively simple, it may help to describe those I believe to be the main characters:
Shu Qi as Nie Yinniang, the eponymous assassin, dressed in black when we meet her.
Fang-Yi Sheu as Princess Jiacheng and her twin sister, the princess Jiaxin turned Taoist nun
We meet Jiaxin along with Nie Yinniang in the opening sequence. Jiacheng only appears in flashback,
Chang Chen as Tian Ji’an, cousin to Nie Yinniang, formerly betrothed to her, and military governor (Jiedushi), ruling Weibo Circuit.
Zhou Yun as Lady Tian, Tian Ji’an’s wife. (Belongs to family of a separate Provincial ruler.) It seems that she is also a masked figure who duels with Nie Yinniang.
Satoshi Tsumabuki as the mirror polisher. Unidentified by name, the character’s title action is easy to miss: he appears late in the film when there is an attack in woods and he comes to the rescue. It seems that he has more scenes in the Japanese release version.
Ethan Juan as Xia Jing, Tian Ji’an’s bodyguard
Hsieh Hsin-Ying as Huji ( her name means ‘orchid’), Tian Ji’an’s concubine and a dancer
Ni Dahong as Nie Feng, Nie Yinniang’s father and Tian Ji’an’s provost.
And there is an older whiskered character who I believe is Jacques Picoux as Lady Tian’s teacher: he appears twice sitting in his study.
Note it opens in black and white and then changes to colour. And whilst the bulk of the film is in Academy ratio [1.37:1], there are two sequences (of only two shots each) in widescreen ratio [1.85:1] . For more …
Keswick Film Festival
Long before I joined the Friends of Hyde Park Picture House committee I got involved with Keswick Film Club and their annual film festival. I grew up near Keswick in the Lake District and the film club played a big part in enlightening me on the wonders of art house cinema.
Now in it’s 17th year Keswick Film Festival starts on Thursday and runs through until Sunday. There are 29 films spread across themes such as Best Of The Fests, highlighting popular films from other festivals such as The Assassin (2015), The Wolfpack (2015) and A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (2015). The Jazz theme includes a 35mm screening of Round Midnight (1986), one of the more authentic and affectionate presentations of the jazz world on the silver screen. Four films look at Memory in different ways including Imaginaerium (2015), a gothic fantasy based on the music Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish and described as a visual and aural spectacle. Another film dealing with Memory is Karen Guthrie’s The Closer We Get (also showing at the Picture House on Tuesday 1st March). Described by Mark Kermode as “a poignant examination of the bonds of family love”, Karen will be at Keswick to introduce and talk about her personal film.
Two other female directors will also be at the festival with their films. On Friday, British novelist Helen Walsh’s The Violators (2015) is “an intriguing directorial debut with a class-crossing tale of teen ennui” (Variety). Lapse Of Honour (2015) from Rayna Campbell is a gritty urban drama based in Manchester’s Moss Side and sees MOBO nominated rapper Lady Leshurr makes a seamless move into film. There are 13 other films at the festival directed by women and many more F-Rated films featuring significant roles for women both behind and in front of the camera.
Friends of Hyde Park Picture House 