We couldn’t have got off to a better start, with a FULL HOUSE for our launch at The Crown Hotel last night. A big thank you to everyone who came along! And of course a big thank-you to The Crown for allowing us to use their magnificent ballroom for our venture.
Everyone enjoyed a glass of bubbly on arrival before making their way up to the ballroom for our inaugural screening of the 1988 Academy Award winning Cinema Paradiso. The film held the audience captivated and worked its magic on us all. Which for me begs two questions – is young Toto the cutest character to ever hit the silver screen? And does Cinema Paradiso have one of the best endings in film history?
We’ve decided to hold onto our copy of the Directors Cut (an hour longer with the re-appearance of Toto’s true love) and raffle it off with our other films for a bumper treat at the end of the year.
We had lots of comments praising the film and have taken on board those about the seats – we are working on it but in the meantime you are welcome to bring your own cushions to future screenings.
Another Year has received rave reviews
Which brings us to our next film, Another Year, which we will screen on Thursday 20th October. Another Year is the latest creation by the great British director Mike Leigh. Tom (Jim Broadbent) and Gerri (Ruth Sheen) are a couple drifting past middle age into their sixties with a happy marriage and a grown son, Joe (Oliver Maltman), an activist lawyer who hasn’t yet settled down, much to the frustration of his mother. One of Gerri’s co-workers and close friends is Mary (Lesley Manville), who puts on a show of good cheer, despite suffering desperate loneliness since her husband left her, and has been drowning her sorrows in wine. Gerri has unsuccessfully tried to fix Mary up with Tom’s sloppy but good natured pal Ken (Peter Wight), and she’s startled when Mary begins openly flirting with Joe, more than 20 years her junior.
Leigh is a popular choice of great actors due to his extraordinary flair in bringing out the best in them by allowing them to develop their own characters. Leigh begins each project without a script. Instead, he works from a basic premise which is developed through improvisation by the actors. He works initially one-to-one with each, developing a character who is based, in the first place, on someone he or she knows. It is only after months of rehearsal, that Leigh writes a shooting script, a bare scenario. Then, on the shoot, on location, after further ‘real rehearsing’, the script is finalised. The result is a moving, edgy and emotionally honest picture of people trying to make sense of their lives.
We will show Another Year at 7.45pm on Thursday 20th October – arrive early if you fancy a drink and a chinwag!
Tickets, priced £5, will be available from The Crown Hotel reception from Monday 3rd October or on the door on the night. See you there – and don’t forget your cushions!
