SHREWSBURY FILM SOCIETY

Summer 2013

Despite, adding an extra mini-season into the main season, many members still said that the gap between the end of our main season in April and the start of the next one in September was too long, so we decided to keep showing films up to the end of the summer term. Once again, there was a very varied programme of drama, comedy and documentary from a wide range of countries and periods. And by extending our active months into June, we were able to link up with the new Shrewsbury Food Festival to put on a bumper weekend of films at the end of June.

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15 | Chile | 2012 | Spanish
Drama, History
Director: Pablo Larrain
Date Shown: Saturday 18 May 2013

Military dictator Augusto Pinochet calls for a referendum to decide his permanence in power in 1988, the leaders of the opposition persuade a young daring advertising executive - Ren? Saavedra - to head their campaign. With limited resources and under the constant scrutiny of the despot's watchmen, Saavedra and his team conceive of a bold plan to win the election and free their country from oppression.


About Elly

12A | Iran | 2009 | Persian, German
Drama, Mystery
Director: Asghar Farhadi
Date Shown: Saturday 25 May 2013

A group of middle-class friends travel from Tehran to spend the weekend at the seaside. Sepideh invites Elly, who is her daughter's teacher, to travel with the three families in order to introduce her to their recently divorced friend Ahmad, now living in Germany. The next morning, the two women go shopping in the town and Elly says that she has to return to Tehran because her mother has been recently submitted to hospital for heart surgery, but Sepideh asks her to stay and hides her luggage. The children are playing in the sea and one mother asks Elly to watch them. Out of the blue, Sepideh's daughter calls to some men playing volleyball to rescue one of the children from the water. After rescuing the little boy they seek out Elly, questioning whether she has drowned or returned to Tehran. What has happened to Elly?


Pina

PG | Germany | 2011 | German, French, English, Spanish, Croatian, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Korean
Documentary
Director: Wim Wenders
Date Shown: Saturday 1 June 2013

In modern dance since the 1970s, few choreographers have had more influence in the medium than the late Pina Bausch. This film explores the life and work of this artist of movement while we see her company perform her most notable creations where basic things like water, dirt and even gravity take on otherworldly qualities in their dancing.


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Nine Queens

15 | Argentina | 2000 | Spanish
Crime, Drama, Thriller
Director: Fabian Bielinsky
Date Shown: Saturday 15 June 2013

Early one morning, Marcos observes Juan successfully pulling off a bill-changing scam on a cashier, and then getting caught as he attempts to pull the same trick on the next shift. Marcos steps in, claiming to be a policeman, and drags Juan out of the store. Once they are back on the street, Marcos reveals himself to be a fellow swindler with a game of much higher stakes in mind, and he invites Juan to be his partner in crime. A once-in-a-lifetime scheme seemingly falls into their laps - an old-time con man enlists them to sell a forged set of extremely valuable rare stamps, The Nine Queens. The tricky negotiations that ensue bring into the picture a cast of suspicious characters, including Marcos' sister Valeria, their younger brother Federico and a slew of thieves, conmen and pickpockets. As the deceptions mount, it becomes more and more difficult to figure out who is conning whom.


Sister

15 | Switzerland | 2012 | French, English
Crime, Drama
Director: Ursula Meier
Date Shown: Saturday 22 June 2013

A drama set at a Swiss ski resort and centered on a boy who supports his sister by stealing from wealthy guests.


Jiro Dreams of Sushi

U | USA | 2011 | Japanese
Documentary
Director: David Gelb
Date Shown: Friday 28 June 2013

In the basement of a Tokyo office building, 85 year old sushi master Jiro Ono works tirelessly in his world renowned restaurant, Sukiyabashi Jiro. As his son Yoshikazu faces the pressures of stepping into his father's shoes and taking over the legendary restaurant, Jiro relentlessly pursues his lifelong quest to create the perfect piece of sushi.


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Sideways

15 | USA | 2004 | English, Armenian
Comedy, Drama, Romance
Director: Alexander Payne
Date Shown: Saturday 29 June 2013

Miles is a failed writer living a meager existence in San Diego as an English teacher. With his career seemingly fading and the fate of a book hinging on a publisher's decision, Miles is depressed with himself and what he hasn't achieved. Jack is a television actor whom some recognize but not many do, as if he were a minor actor who got a taste of success. With his best friend Miles, the two embark on a road trip through California's wine country. Miles wants to give his friend a nice sendoff before married life, while Jack simply wants to have a fling beforehand. As they're both nearing middle age with not much to show for it, the two will explore the vineyards while ultimately searching for their identities.


Babette's Feast

U | Denmark | 1987 | Danish, Swedish, French
Drama, Music
Director: Gabriel Axel
Date Shown: Saturday 29 June 2013

In a remote 19th Danish century village two sisters lead a rigid life centered around their father, the local minister, and their church. Both had opportunities to leave the village: one could have married a young army officer and the other, a French opera singer. Their father objected in each case and they spent their lives caring for him. Many years later - their father is now deceased - they take in French refugee, Babette Hersant, who agrees to work as their servant. After winning the lottery, Babette wants to repay the sisters for their kindness and offers to cook a French meal for them and their friends on the 100th anniversary of their father's birth. It proves to be an eye-opening experience for everyone.


Badlands

15 | USA | 1973 | English, Spanish
Crime, Drama
Director: Terrence Malick
Date Shown: Saturday 6 July 2013

It's the late 1950s. Mid-twenty-something Kit is a restless and unfocused young man with a James Dean vibe and swagger which he has heard mentioned about him more than once. Fifteen year old Holly has a somewhat cold relationship with her sign painter father, if only because she is the primary reminder of his wife, who died of pneumonia when Holly was a child. The two meet when Holly and her father move from Texas to the small town where Kit lives, Fort Dupree, South Dakota. They slowly fall in love, something about which she cannot tell her father because of their age difference and Kit coming from the wrong side of the tracks. When he tries to take Holly away with him, Kit, on an impulse, shoots her father dead. After letting the initial emotions of the situation settle down, Holly decides voluntarily to go with Kit, they trying to make it look like they committed suicide in a house fire. But they soon learn that their plan did not work, there being a bounty on their heads. As such, Kit continues his murderous ways in order to protect the life he wants to eke out with Holly. She, on the other hand, wants to support Kit, especially as he begins to feel more and more trapped, but she may only be able to endure what looks increasingly to be a battle they cannot win as a couple. Through it all, they openly and privately muse about their philosophies on their life considering their current circumstance.


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The Green Ray

PG | France | 1986 | French
Drama, Romance
Director: Eric Rohmer
Date Shown: Saturday 20 July 2013

Delphine's traveling companion cancels two weeks before her holiday, so Delphine, a Parisian secretary, is at loose ends. She doesn't want to travel by herself, but has no boyfriend and seems unable to meet new people. A friend takes her to Cherbourg; after a few days there, the weepy and self-pitying Delphine goes back to Paris. She tries the Alps, but returns the same day. Next, it's the beach: once there, she chats with an outgoing Swede, a party girl, and a friendship seems to bud; then, suddenly, Delphine bolts, heading back to Paris. As she waits at the Biarritz train station, a young man catches her eye; perhaps a sunset and the sun's green ray await.


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Regular film screenings at the Hive, Shrewsbury, Shropshire. SY1 1TE
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