Sightseers (UK, 2012) 90' 16/12/2013

Sightseers is a British black comedy film directed by Ben Wheatley. Chris (Steve Oram) is a caravan fan and aspiring writer who takes his girlfriend Tina (Alice Lowe) on a road trip, much to the chagrin of Tina's mother. At one of their stops, Chris yells at a man who is littering. When they get back to their car, Chriss accidentally runs him over and kills him, which upsets the couple but they continue onward on their trip. That accident would be the firs of a series of misfortune events.



The film was selected to be screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at 2012 Cannes Film Festival. It got good reviews.
"Wheatley is strikingly effective in his manipulation of tone, establishing a queasy intimacy that only intensifies as the movie progresses". Ben Sachs. Chicago Reader. 16/05/2013

See the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyg9aRqlUxM

My Name is Joe (UK, 1998). 105' 25/11/2013

This drama film was directed by Kean Loach. The film stars Peter Mullan as Joe Kavanagh, an unemployed recovering alcoholic in Glasgow who meets and falls in love with a health visitor. Davic McKay plays his troubled friend Liam. The film's title is a reference to the ritualised greeting performed in Alcoholics Anonymous meetins, as potrayed in the film's opening scene.



The film was well praised. "My name is Joe is a passionate, compassionate and magnificently acted film". Phillip French. The Guardian. 8/11/1998.
See the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIu-KtbJpfE

The Gods Must Be Crazy. (South Africa, 1980) 109' 18/11/2013

Xi (N!xau) is a bushman who lives a quite and peaceful life with his tribe in the middle of the Kalahari Desert. One day, Xi sees how an object fells from the sky, it is clear as the water but harder. Thinking that it is a present from the gods, the bushman takes the strange object and brings it to his tribe. Soon the present from the gods disturbs the quite life of the tribe. "A thing they had never needed before became a necessity. And unfamiliar emotions began to stir. A feeling of wanting to own, of not wanting to share. Other new things came: anger, jealousy, hate and violence."

This comedy by Jamie Uys takes as a central character a Coca-Cola bottle and develops the Enlightenment idea of the noble savage in order to make us think over our way of life.
"On its surface, "The Gods Must Be Crazy" is an innocuous enough tale about the comic conjuction of two wildly different cultures as represented by one Kalahari bushman, whose tribe hasn't yet reached the Stone Age, and by bumbling, neurotic whites and blacks who, in one way and another, cannot cope with contemporary civilization." Vincent Canby. New York Times. 28/10/1984.
See the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GorHLQ-jLRQ

Let the right one in. (Sweden, 2008) 114´ 28/10/2013

This film by Tomas Alfredson tells the story of Oscar (Kare Hedebrant). Oscar is a lonely 12 years old boy. His life is not very happy, his parents got divorced and is bullied in the school. He strikes up a friendship with Eli (Lina Leandersson), a girl who has moved to the neighborhoud recently. But Eli, is not a common person, under her girlish appearence, she hides her condition of vampire. 

The film received widespread international critical acclaim and won numerous awards, for example The Rotten Tomatoes Critical Consesus Award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
"Sinister but gorgeus and compelling". Carina Chocano. Los Angeles Times. 07/09/2013.

BLOOD DIAMOND (USA, 2006) 143´ 14/10/2013.

October is  The Black History Month in UK, and the Welcoming Cinema Club wants to contribute to this event, for that reason Blood Diamond will be screening.

This thriller was directed by Edward Zwick and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly and Djimon Hounsou.The film is set in Sierra Leona, in 1999. Rebel factions such as the Revolutionary United Front frequentl terrorize the open countryside, intimidating Mende locals and enslaving many to harvest diamonds, which fund their increasingly successful war effort. One such unfortunate is fisherman Solomon Vandy, who has been assigned to a workforce overseen by a ruthless warlord, Captain Poison.

The film was supported by Amnesty International and it helped to bring attention to the role that diamonds play in many African wars.

See the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtPX2kXhu7I

PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THE FILM CONTAINS VIOLENT SCENES

  

NO (Chile, 2012) 118´ 23/09/2013

This drama film was directed by Pablo Larrain. Gael García Bernal plays René Saavedra, a succesful advertisement creator, who gets involved in the national plebiscite of 1988. This plebiscite pretends to ask the Chileans if Pinochet should stay in power for another eight years or if there should be an open democratic presidential election the next year.
Saavedra is approached by the "No" side committee to consult on their proposed advertising. 



At the 85th Academy Awards the film was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. It also got good reviews.

"No stands proudly in a select sub-category of historical fiction films that work completely and satisfyingly, as their own movies" Michael Phillips. The Chicago Tribune. 07/03/2013

The screening is part of the events that conmemorates the 40th aniversary of the Chilean coup de êtat. The film will be hosted by Carlos Arredondo, member of FABULA (For A Better Understanding of Latin America), who organised a simbolic referendum in Edinburgh in 1988.

See the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApJUk_6hN-s
More information about FABULA: http://www.carlosarredondo.com/profile.htm

Local Hero ( UK, 1983) 111´ 09/09/2013

"Mac" Macintyre (Peter Riegert) is a typical 1980s hot-shot executive working for Know Oil and Gas in Huston, Texas. The eccentric chief of the company, Felix Happer (Burt Lancaster) chooes to send him (Largely because his surname sounds Scottish) to Scotland to acquire the village of Ferness to make way for a refinery. Mac (who is actually of Hungarian extraction) is a little apprenhensive about his assignment, complaining to a co-worker that he would much rather take care of business over the phone and via telex machines. 



Bill Forsyth won the Best Director Award at 1983 Bafta.
"It demonstrates Mr. Forsyth´s uncanny ability for making an audience sense that something magical is going on, even if that something isn´t easily explained". Janet Maslin. New York Times. 20/05/2003

See the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4WQZbGMrl4 

Tear this heart out. (México, 2008) 107´. 13/06/2013

This film was directed by Roberto Sneider based on the novel of the same name by Ángeles Mastretta.
The films tells the story of Catalina Guzmán de Ascencio (Ana Claudia Talancón). Catalina got married to the General Andrés Ascencio (Daniel Giménez Cacho), an oppressive and sexist man, who is obsessed with climbing the political ladder.
After suffering this situation for a long time, Catalina meets Carlos Vives  (José María de Tavira), an orchestra conductor. Catalina and Carlos fell in love and become lovers.



The film won several Ariel Awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay.
See the tráiler: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrYpfRrGda8

The film will be hosted by the Edinburgh University Latin America Society.

Days of Glory (Algeria/France 2006) 128´ 06/06/2013

This Algerian film was directed by Rachid Bouchareb. It tells the story of four North African men, who enlist in the French army to liberate that country from Nazi oppression.


The film was exhibited in different festivals. The main four actors, Jamel Debbouze, Samy Naceri, Roschdy Zem, Sami Bouajila and Bernard Blancan won the Prix d'interprétation masculine at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.
"With this movie, Rachid Bouchareb achieved something that hardly any director can claim - specific political change with one particular movie. He made an old-fashioned second world war drama in the Spielbergian style - premiered at last year's Cannes film festival - telling the almost forgotten story of the gallant sacrifice made by indigènes, or native forces, from the French north African colonies." Peter Bradshaw. The Guardian. 30/03/2007.

See the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5O3Hgrc_dTM

Constantine (USA, 2005) 121´ 30/05/2013

This action horror film directed by Francis Lawrence as his directorial debut, starring Keanu Reeves as John Constantine.Constantine is an exorcist who lives in Los Angeles. Born with the power to see angels and demons on Earth, he committed suicide at age 15 after being unable to cope with his visions. Constantine was revived by paramedics but spent two minutes in Hell. He knows that because of his actions his soul is condemned to damnation when he dies, and has recently learned that he has developed cancer as a result of his smoking habit.


See the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3lfSQTDSVM

Reservoir Dogs (USA, 1992) 99´ 23/05/2013

This film by Tarantino is about a heist that goes terribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant.



The film was screened out of competition at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival. It won the Critic's Award at the 4th Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival in February 1993.
"It's unclear whether this macho thriller does anything to improve the state of the world or our understanding of it, but it certainly sets off enough rockets to hold and shake us for every one of its 99 minutes." Jonathan Rosenbaum. Chicago Reader. 13/03/2007.

See the tráiler: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvoKT481EmU

Death of a Bureaucrat (Cuba 1966) 85´. 16/05/2013

This film by Gutiérrez Alea is a satire that takes on the excess of bureaucracy. Francisco J. Pérez (Manuel Estanillo) is an excellent worker and inventor of a machine that grinds out busts of the Cuban hero José Martí. Francisco dies in a bizarre accident and is buried with his work card. The problems starts when his widow (Silvia Planas) needs the card in order to get the compensation. His nephew (Salvador Wood) offers himself to resolve the problem, in that way he gets involve in a cumbersome situation.
The comedy also pays tribute to the great masters of the cinema, like Buñuel or Harold Lloyd.



Nowadays The Deatch of a Bureaucrat is considered a cult film.
"...Gutiérrez Alea is using comedy to make some serious points, leading him to refuse the traditional course of comedic closure and to make the audience think past the last laugh." The Chicago Reader. 28/09/1979.

The film will be hosted by the University of Edimburgh Latin America Society.

The Conversation. (USA, 1974) 113´. 09/05/2013

This film written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola tells the story of Harry Caul (Gene Hackman). Harry is a surveillance expert, who runs his own company in San Francisco. Harry has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that a couple he is spying on will be murdered.



The film was nominated For three Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It is also well rated by critics.
"The Conversation is an intricate and unsettlingly subtle character study, with a very strong performance from Hackman" Nick Hilditch. BBC. 05/03/2002.
See the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwfI5YwvcrI 

 

Billy Elliot (UK, 2000) 110´ . 02/05/2013

 This drama film was directed by Stephen Daldry. It is Set in northern England during the 1984-5 coal miners' strike, it stars Jamie Bell as 11-year-old Billy, an aspiring dancer dealing with the negative stereotype of the male ballet dancer.



The film won three Baftas including the Best British Independent Movie. It got good reviews.
"Engrossing, funny, very sad, very moving and very uplifting" William Gallagher. BBC. 01/01/2000

Doubt. (USA, 2008) 104´ 26/04/2013

This drama film was directed by John Patrick Shanley and is based on a theatre play
It is set in 1964 at a Catholic church in the Bronx, New York, where the progressive-minded Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) tries to introduce new ideas. His aims clash into, Sister Aloysius Beauvier (Meryl Streep), the strict and conservative principal of the attached school.



Doubt received five Academy Awards nominations on January 22, 2009, for its four lead actors and for Shanley's script. It is also  well-acclaimed by the critics.
"Doubt works best when the performers are simply allowed to spar." David Fear. Time out New York. 15/09/2011.

See the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnrmWLp1Ub8

The Wind Journeys. (Colombia, 2009) 117´ 19/04/2013

The film was written and directed by Ciro Guerra and it tells the story of Ignacio Carrillo (Marciano Martínez) is a vallenato (popular folk music of Colombia). After his wife's sudden death, Ignacio decides to stop playing and return his accordion, which is said to be cursed, to his master. He is joined by Fermín Morales (Yull Núñez), a teenage boy who admires Ignacio and wishes to become a juglar like him.
The film is going to be hosted by the Edinburgh University Latin America Society, so it will be an amazing opportunity of learning about the situation of South America.



The film was chosen to participate in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2009 Cannes Film Festival in Official Selection.
"Filmed stunningly in 80 locations, the mountains, forests, fields and sands often reduce the two travelers to specks." M. Abby Joseph. Yahoo! Voices. 16/04/2010.
See the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M5bQ3CmWGI
More information about the Edinburgh University Latin America Society: http://www.eusa.ed.ac.uk/societies/society/LatAm/

Memento (USA, 2001) 112´. 13/04/2013.

This psychological thriller was directed by Christopher Nolan.  It stars Guy Pearce as Leonard Shelby, a man who got anterograde amnesia after suffering an accident while he was trying to avoid his wife´s murder. This amnesia impairs his ability to store new explicit memories, so he has developed a system for recollection using hand-written notes, tattoos, and Polaroid photos. Dispite of this problem, he is resolute in finding his partner´s killer and revenge her.



The film received numerous accolades, including the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at the 2001  Sundance Festival. Apart from being met with positive reviews from critics, this thriller was also well-praised by scientific community, a lot of experts consider that the depiction of the amnesia is very accurate and realistic.
"A diabolical and absorbing experience." Roger Ebert. Chicago Sun-Times.13/04/2001

See the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vS0E9bBSL0

The Meaning of Live (UK, 1983) 112´ 04/04/2014

The six pandemonium mad Monty Pythons offer a tasteful sketches involving favourity bodily parts and functions, the wonders of war, the miracle of birth and a special preview of what´s is waiting for us in the Heaven. Nothing is too sacred for the probing Python crew.


It was the winner of the 1983 Cannes Film Festival Special Jury Prize. It was also well acclaimed by critics.
"Prime Monty Python, primo laughs."  Steve Crum. Kansas City Kansan. (15/10/2004)

See the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54ulXNk-bmo

City of God (Brasil, 2002) 130´ 28/03/2013

This crime drama film by Fernando Meirelles depicts the growth of organized crime in the Cidade de Deus suburb of Rio de Janeiro, between the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1980s, with the closure of the film depicting the war between the drug dealer Li'l Zé (Leandro Firmino) and criminal Knockout Ned (Seu Jorge).
The film is based on a novel of the same name written by Paulo Lins, but the plot is loosely based on real events.


The film was nominated and won several awards including the Best Editing BAFTA Award. It also was well-acclaimed.
"As the movie's frenetic visual rhythms and mood swings synchronize with the zany, adrenaline-fueled impulsiveness of its lost youth on the rampage, you may find yourself getting lost in this teeming netherworld." Stephen Holden. New York Times. 16/01/2013.

PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THE FILM CONTAINS VERY VIOLENT SCENES.

See the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldVlSKByUtg

Trainspotting (UK, 1996) 95´. 21/03/2013

This British black comedy was directed by Danny Boyle and it is based on the novel of the same name by Irvine Welsh. The film starring Ewan McGregor, who plays the role of Mark Renton, a guy involved in a world of heroin addiction in a late 1980s economically depressed area of Edinburgh and his passage through life. Beyond drug addiction, other concurrent themes in the film are exploration of the urban poverty and squalor in "culturally rich" Edinburgh.


The film won the award for the Best Adapted Screenplay at the 1995 British Academy Film Awards. It garnered almost universal praise from critics.
"For better or worse, sometimes strictly for the sake of shock value, the stylish irreverence of Trainspotting mimics that drug high and delivers its own potent kick." Janet Maslin. New York Times. 01/01/2000.
See the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=troBCR2VN4M

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN´S DAY. REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES. (USA, 2002) 90´ 07/03/2013

On 8^th of this month the International Women´s Day will be celebrated, and in the Cinema Club we want to join the festivity. For that reason we have decided to screen Real Women Have Curves.

This film by Patricia Cardoso is based on a theater play by Josefina López. It tells the story of Ana (America Ferrara), a first generation Mexican-American teenager on the verge of becoming a woman. She lives in the predominately Latino community of East Los Angeles. Freshly graduated from high school, Ana receives a full scholarship to Columbia University. Her very traditional, old-world parents feel that now is the time for Ana to help provide for the family, not the time for college.


The film was commended by critics and won different awards, for instance it won the Audience Award in addition to Special Jury Prizes for America Ferrera and Lupe Ontiveros at the Sundance Film Festival.
"A charming and funny story of clashing cultures and a clashing mother/daughter relationship." Laura Bushell. BBC. 16/01/2003.

See the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKpDifyDIp0

Match Point (UK, 2005) 124´ 28/02/2013.

This dramatic-thriller film written and directed by Woody Allen tells the story of Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). Chris, a recently retired tennis professional, is taken on as an instructor at an upmarket club in London. He strikes up a friendship with a wealthy pupil, Tom Hewett, after discovering their common affinity for opera. Tom's older sister, Chloe, is smitten with Chris and the two begin dating. During a family gathering, Chris meets Tom's fiancée, Nola Rice (Scarlett Johansson), and they are instantly attracted to each other.
 

Allen was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
The film received generally strong reviews from critics.
"[Allen's] new movie, Match Point, devoted to lust, adultery, and murder, is the most vigorous thing he's done in years." David Denby. New Yorker. (03/01/2006).

See the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wISRAOb6xm0

The Elephant Man (UK, 1980). 124´. 21/02/1980

This drama film was filmed by David Lynch and it is based on the true story of of Joseph Merrick (called John Merrick in the film).
 London Hospital surgeon Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins) discovers John Merrick (John Hurt) in a Victorian freak show in London's East End, where he is managed by the brutish Bytes. Merrick is deformed to the point that he must wear a hood and cap when in public, and Bytes claims he is an imbecile. Treves is professionally intrigued by Merrick's condition and pays Bytes to bring him to the Hospital so that he can examine him.


The Elephant Man was a critical and commercial success. It also won the BAFTA Awards for Best Film and Best Actor.
"This tale of a pure soul struggling to be heard over the prejudice of the many is quite heart-rending." Almar Haflidason. BBC. 30/05/2001.
See the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye4YTZOq2fk

Ordinary People (USA, 1980) 124´ 14/02/2013

Robert Reford debuted as a director with this drama that tells the story of the Jarrets, an upper-middle-class family trying to return to normal life after the death of one teenage son. The misfortune deeply strains the relationships among the bitter mother (Mary Tyler Moore), the good-natured father (Donald Sutherland), and the guilt-ridden younger son (Timothy Hutton).



It is a well-acclaimed film and it won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Although it was the first film directed by Robert Reford, the actor won the award for Best Director.
"An intelligent, perceptive, and deeply moving film." Roger Ebert. Chicago Sun-Times. (23/10/2004)

See the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdjlLq1tqmU

The Illusionist (UK/France 2010) 79´ 07/02/2013

This animated comedy-drama film was directed by Sylvain Chomet and tells the story of a struggling illusionist who visits an isolated community and meets a young lady who is convinced that he is a real magician.



This film won several awards, like the  first César Award for Best Animated Feature. Apart from that, it has touched the heart of the critics.
"Both a modest homage to its writer and a melancholy look at a lost world." Manolha Dargis. New York Times. (30/12/2010).
See the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMqpU7lUlLg

NEDS (UK 2010) 124´ 31/01/2013

Neds is a feature film directed by Peter Mullan. The film tells the story of John McGill (Conor McCarron), a teenager growing up in 1970s Glasgow, Scotland. The story line follows John's involvement with his city's ned (ned is the acronym form from No Educated Delinquents) culture and the consequences of it on his teenage years.

 

 

The movie won Best Film at the San Sebastian Film Festival in January 2011 and it got good reviews.

"This angry film is a forceful slice of life, clearly indebted to the realism of Ken Loach, in whose My Name Is Joe Mullan starred, and to whose Kes it nods." Philip French. The Guardian. 26/01/2011.

Of mice and men (USA 1992) 115´ 24/01/2013

Gary Sinise directed this drama based on the book by John Steinbeck.

George Milton (Gary Sinise) is in a train boxcar, reminiscing upon the events that have just happened. He thinks back to when he and his companion Lennie Small (John Malkovich), who has an intellectual disability, are fleeing from their previous employment in Weed. They were run out of town after Lennie was accused of attempted rape when he touched and held onto a young woman's pretty red dress (prompted by his love of stroking soft things). After running from Weed, George and Lennie are trying to attain their shared dream of settling down on their own piece of land.

The film received universal acclaim. Gary Sinise was nominated for the Palm D´or at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival.
"Of Mice and Men is a mournful, distantly heard lament for the loss of American innocence." Vincent Canby. New York Times. 20/03/2003.

See the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQtiStdDaYw

Paradise Now. (Palestine, 2005) 90´ 17/01/2013.

Paradise Now is a film directed by Hany Abu-Assad. It follows Palestinian childhood friends Said (Kais Nashef) and Khaled (Ali Suliman) who live in Nablus and have been recruited for suicide attacks in Tel Aviv. It focuses on what would be their last days together.


The film won a Golden Glob for Best Foreign Language Film and was nominated for an Academy Award in the same category. It got good reviews.
"This taut, ingeniously calculated thriller fixates on the flashpoint where psychology and politics ignite in self-destructive martyrdom." Stephen Holden. New York Times. 27/10/2005.

See the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jyz15qG22Ec