After The Help, which was shown on 14 January, The Big Cheese Film Club has found another corker – nominated for an Oscar in 2001, in the Best Foreign film category, this Norwegian film portrays two middle-aged, cognitively challenged men who team up to live as roommates in urban Oslo. Somehow, their odd, symbiotic relationship allows them to cope with the day-to-day challenges of independent living even though their methods might be peculiar; the results are frequently hilarious and sometimes inspirational.

When his mother, who has sheltered him for his entire forty years, dies, Elling, a sensitive, would-be poet, is sent to live in a state institution. He soon meets Kjell Bjarne, a gentle giant and female-obsessed virgin in his forties.  The men are released after two years and provided with a state-funded apartment and stipend with the hope they will be able to live on their own. Initially, the simple act of going around the corner for groceries is a challenge. Through a friendship born of desperate dependence, the skittish Elling and the boisterous, would-be lover of women, Kjell Bjarne, discover they can not only survive on the outside, they can thrive. However as their courage grows, the two develop oddball ways to cope with society, striking up the most peculiar friendships in the most unlikely places.

This is definitely one of Norway’s best films and one, of only a few, to be internationally recognized.  The movie is based upon the author, Ingvar Ambjørnsen, who himself suffered from depression and mental illness. Despite this, his books have a deep heartfelt warmth and humour that shines throughout his writings. This film manages to carry his writing over to the screen in a commanding way.
A touching, funny film that will stay with you for as long as memories last.

When I first saw our film club advertising “The Help,” I dreaded seeing it. Although it has been acknowledge as one of the very best films of 2011 and also recognised by the Academy Awards Institution. Basically it was a film from a very successful book. How could this ever be replicated on the big screen?

 Well, after reading all the reviews I have changed my mind. The more I read, the more my anticipation grows. I now want to see it and will be there on Monday the 14^th January 2013.

 ‘’The Help’’ is an inspirational courageous and empowering story about  very difficult, extraordinary women in the 1960s Mississippi South who build an unlikely friendship around a secret writing project, one that breaks society’s rules and puts them all at risk. It is filled with poignancy, humour and hope.

 “The Help” stars Emma Stone as Skeeter, a southern society girl who returns from college determined to become a writer, but turns her friends’ lives—and a small Mississippi town—upside down when she decides to interview the black women who have spent their lives taking care of prominent southern families.  Aibileen, Skeeter’s best friend’s housekeeper, who is the first to open up—to the dismay of her friends in the tight-knit black community. Despite Skeeter’s life-long friendships hanging in the balance, she and Aibileen continue their collaboration and soon more women come forward to tell their stories—and as it turns out, they have a lot to say. Along the way, unlikely friendships are forged and a new sisterhood emerges, but not before everyone in town has a thing or two to say themselves when they become unwittingly—and unwillingly—caught up in the changing times.

Please note early start time of 07:15 as the film is 2.5 hours long.

NANTWICH Big Cheese Film Club host their first night of 2013 with a screening of Oscar-winner The Help this Monday

(January 14).

Featuring an ensemble cast, the film tells the story of a young white woman, Eugenia ‘Skeeter’ Phelan,    and her relationship with two black maids during the Civil Rights era in America. Skeeter is a journalist who writes a book from the point of view of the maids, exposing the racism they face.

The film was nominated for four Oscars last year with Octavia Spencer winning Best Supporting Actress.