The Space Cinema Club: join now!!

The latest programme for the Cinema Club @ The Space: September-December 2009 is now out and I've got permission to republish it below - some excellent films. Membership - £2 (annual) Tickets £6.00, £5.00concs., £3.00 U.20’s Available on the door. EVERYONE WELCOME.

Photo: last week on the wire

Sundays: Doors open 7.30pm Films begin at 8.00pm
Wednesdays: Doors open 8.00pm Films begin at 8.15pm
Unless otherwise stated
For all Cinema Club enquiries contact Rick Vick on 07973 225 694
or e-mail cinemaclub (at)the-space.org

Wed SEP 9 The Namesake(PG) Dir. Mira Nair (2007)
From the director of ‘Monsoon Wedding’ this is the story of the Ganguli family whose move from Calcutta to New York evokes a lifelong balancing act to meld to a new world without forgetting the old. ‘An impressively directed, gorgeously photographed drama that is extremely rewarding.’ - Philip French

Sun SEP 13 Entre Les Murs - The Class (15) Dir. Laurent Cantet (2008)
A young teacher in a tough French secondary school finds his ethics put to the test when his students challenge his teaching methods. Palme d'Or 09. ‘A year in the life of a classroom of enfants terribles in a tough Paris school makes for compelling slice-of-life drama’ Philip French

Wed SEP 16 Soy Cuba - I Am Cuba(15) Dir. Mikheil Kalatozishvili (2006 )
This Russian-made study of Cuba captures the island just before it made the transition to a post-revolutionary society. Moving from city to country and back again, it examines problems caused by political oppression as well as by discrepancies in wealth and power. ‘A work of dazzling cinematographic invention that still has the ability to astound.’- Channel 4 film

Sun SEP 20 Is Anybody There? (12) Dir. John Crowley (2009)
Well-scripted and beautifully shot, the film grapples with the sad truths of getting older and losing loved ones, while maintaining a sardonic wit and sincere warmth though it deals with some of life’s toughest moments. ‘Caine leads an impeccable cast in a story that is as touching as it is funny, turning the mundane minutiae of fading lives into a vibrant display.’ Empire Magazine.

Sun SEP 27 Encounters At The End Of The World(U) Dir. Werner Herzog (2009)
Travelling to the Antarctic Herzog examines Human and Mother nature, juxtaposing breathtaking locations with the profound, surreal, and absurd experiences of the marine biologists, physicists, plumbers and truck drivers who choose to form a research society as far away from society as one can get. ‘Nature at its most mysterious, brutal and implacable - just as Herzog likes it’. Channel 4 film

Sun OCT 4 The Passion Of Joan Of Arc (PG) Dir. Carl Th. Dreyer (1928)
Regarded as one of the greatest films ever made Carl Dreyer’s film is to glimpse the soul of a saint in her hour of trial. The film is more than a dramatization, more than a biopic, more than a documentary: It is a spiritual portrait, almost a mystical portrait, of a Christ-like soul sharing in the sufferings of Christ.

Sun OCT 11 The Boat That Rocked(15) Dir. Richard Curtis (2009)
A fictionalized account of those who, bored by Pat Boone and smooth-faced charmers in cable sweaters, decided to take to the seas off the coast of England to broadcast newer, more modern pop songs from pirate-radio ships. Energetic and funny, it's a praise-song to artistic and social revolution. ‘The film has some truly magical moments that outshine anything Curtis has done before’. - Daily Telegraph

Sun OCT 18 Looking For Eric(15) Dir. Ken Loach (2009)
The story a football mad postman whose personal life is descending into chaos. In his darkest hour, he starts to imagine his hero, ex Man Utd star Eric Cantona, is at his side, a dreamlike life coach, giving him renewed confidence. Cantona, as famous for his philosophical musings as for his prowess on the field, stars in and produced this heartfelt slice of magical social realism.

Wed OCT 28 Fire (15) Dir. Deepa Mehta (1999)
The opening film of Mehta's powerful trilogy is suffused with flame, literally and metaphorically. Beyond its sensuality lurks an allegory for India, struggling with tradition versus modernity and women's peculiar place within that struggle. Young, tomboyish Sita and demure Radha, trapped in loveless marriages, turn to each other for support, companionship and other emotions they never imagined .

Sun Nov 8th The Wrestler(15) Dir. Darren Aronofsky (2009 )
‘Aronofsky has pulled off that rare feat - he's made a great film about a niche subject that will delight wrestling fans and cineastes alike. Rourke's performance is a knockout.’ Channel 4

Wed NOV 18 The Miracle Worker(12) Dir. Arthur Pen (1962)
The true story of Helen Keller and teacher Annie Sullivan. As a young girl Helen is stricken with scarlet fever, leaving her blind, mute, and deaf. Sealed off from the world, Helen’s uncontrollable rages and tantrums are born of the frustration and isolation of her internal prison. Sullivan helps Helen understand the world from which she is isolated, freeing her from that prison forever. ‘ a stunningly impressive piece of work deriving much of its power from the performances’. Time Out

Sun NOV 22 Girl Shy(U) Dir: Fred Newmeyer and Sam Taylor (1924)
Stroud Arts Festival Films presents at 8.30pm Doors open: 7.30pm Film & Food - One of the best incarnations off Harold Lloyd’s character, Harold Meadows - poor boy, dreamer, stammerer, stoically faces rejection and despair before shaking off the shackles of his shyness and capturing the girl of his dreams. This hilarious silent film will be accompanied ‘Live’ on piano by local musician/composer Albert Lamb. A unique event not to be missed. Tickets: £6.00, £5.00 concs., £3.00 U.20’s. Available on the door

Wed NOV 25 Tales of the River Severn
Stroud Arts Festival Films presents at 8.15pm Doors open: 7.45pm. A unique, specially commissioned collection of archive footage showing the history and life along and around the river Severn. Highlights include pram racing in Tewkesbury in 1957-58, Human Cannonball Mary Connors, the 1947 floods, an amphibious car during the 1960 floods, an Elver eating contest,1958 footage of a man who lives in a tree and much, much more. Tickets: £6.00, £5.00 concs., £3.00 U.20’s. Available on the door

Sun NOV 29 Jazz on a Summer’s Day Dirs. Aram Avakian, Bert Stern (1960)
Stroud Arts Festival Films presents the film plus Music & Food. 7.00pm Doors open: 6.30pm A priceless record of the 1958 Jazz Festival at Newport, Rhode Island. It just doesn't get better than this.Louis Armstrong, Mahalia Jackson, Dinah Washington,Chuck Berry,Thelonious Monk,Gerry Mulligan, George Shearing, Jack Teagarden, Sonny Stitt, Chico Hamilton, Anita O'Day and Big Maybelle. ‘Even non-jazz buffs will be exhilarated by Jazz on a Summer's Day.’~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide PLUS: 10.00pm ‘til late: Jazz with The Divorcees Quintet led by Emma Ordonez plus others & Soul Food from Star Anise Cafe. Tickets: Film:£6.00, Jazz: £5.00, Film & Jazz: £8.00. Available on the door.

Wed DEC 2 The Yes Men Fix The World Dirs. Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno (2009)
Using similar tactics to Sasha Baron Cohen and Michael Moore, troublemaking duo Bichlbaum and Bonanno – aka The Yes Men - pass themselves off as representatives of large corporations and make hilariously outrageous statements on their behalf. They infiltrate TV news shows and conferences, exposing corporate greed and corruption in companies like Exxon and Dow Chemicals, provoking widespread panic among shareholders and politicians.

Sun DEC 13 In Bruges(18) Dir. Martin McDonagh (2008)
Holed up in historic, beautiful Bruges after a horribly botched job, two hit men, play out an often hilarious, sometimes violent series of escapades. Surreal and nerve jangling this film will push all your buttons. ‘Farrell has brought his A-game to this cracking little comedy-noir written and directed by Martin McDonagh. He is absolutely superb.’– Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

Wed DEC 16 Los Abrazos Rotos - Broken Embraces (15) Dir. Pedro Almodóvar (2009)
Broken Embraces" centres on a quartet of characters in the movie business whose lives are interwoven in a torrid tale of love, power, secrecy, betrayal and vengeance. ‘Pedro Almodóvar reunites with Penélope Cruz for a sensuous film-within-a-film that is a moviegoer's delight’- Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian.

Sun DEC 20 The Unwinking Gaze(PG) Dir: Joshua Dugdale (2008)
Filmed over three years this film offers a unique portrait of the Dalai Lama and provides behind the scenes insight into His Holiness’ work towards a peaceful resolution of the Tibet issue through dialogue with the Chinese government.