Light House Film Club

Director:  Chris Atkins

Cert: 12a

Time: 1 hr 43 mins 

Quite how disturbed we should be by this documentary from Director Chris Atkins is a moot point.

The central premise that we are brain washed by a media machine which both fuels and feeds off an increasingly celebrity obsessed culture is hard to dispute.  From  pushy parents seeking recognition for their children (and financial gain) to morally corrupt public relations executives and established public figures who use their positions to gain political influence; all are given a poor press.  Far from bringing us news the main purpose of the media is to make it up the ultimate purpose being to sell more newspapers or TV advertising. Perhaps the most illuminating expose was of the G8 Summit in the July of 2005 which coincided with Live8.  Bob Geldoff made us believe that a turning point in the West’s relationship with Africa had been reached, but in the aftermath there is little concrete evidence to support that.  The only certainty is that all the artists who appeared in Live8, saw a dramatic increase in their CD sales.  Well well.

Of course Atkins is a skilled documentary maker which raises the question – how are we to know that the argument he is propounding does not employ the same methods as those used by the very media machine he is looking to skewer.  Has he brainwashed us?  That said this is a compelling film which certainly makes you think.

Rating: 4/5

Patrons: 2

Director:  Joel and Ethan Coen

Cert: 15 

Time: 1 hr 45 mins 

This is both an irritating and alienating movie.  I shall explain.

Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlberg) is a physics professor at a quiet university in Minnesota.  He is a bright man leading an uneventful life, or so you might think. One day his wife (Sari Lennick) drops a bombshell by requesting a divorce.  From that point on Larry’s life goes into freefall as he is accused of accepting a bribe from a pupil, gets into debt, agrees to be evicted from the family home - on the say so of his wife and her oily lover, Sy Ableman - whilst all the time trying to keep his dysfunctional family on the straight and narrow.  To help him deal with these crises’ he turns to three rabbis for help but they just show themselves to be both useless and uncaring.

Throughout, Larry behaves as if he has no brain – he is the world’s cleverest thick bloke.  Time and again you think, “No Larry, don’t do it”, but he does and it just gets irritating, so much so that one ends up feeling no sympathy for him.  Even the humour passed me by, principally because I’m not Jewish.   

All of which left the impression that this film is an acquired taste. Unfortunately, not mine.

Rating: 2/5

Patrons: 11

Director:  Yojiro Takiti

Cert: 12a 

Time: 2 hrs 10 mins   (Japanese with English subtitles)

Think Japan and it probably conjures up images of overcrowding, hi -tec manufacturing, soulless cities and bullet trains. But there is another side to the country, a quieter more reserved aspect,  one which this poignant and gentle movie seeks to unearth.

Daigo is a cellist working for a Tokyo based orchestra. But when it is abruptly dissolved he finds himself unemployed.  Harbouring the belief that he is a mediocre musician, he realises that his chances of finding alternative employment are slim. Thus, together with his young wife, he moves back to his family home in the heartland of Japan. Here he spots an ad in the local newspaper featuring the word “departures”. Excited by the prospect of a new career in the travel industry he finds himself unexpectedly enrolling with a firm of embalmers, preparing dead bodies for cremation.

Embarrassed at how his wife might perceive this he keeps it from her until, in a moment of dark comedy, she finds out by accident.  Appalled by what he does she leaves him, returning to Tokyo to think through their relationship.  However, had she seen the calm dignity of his work, she would have changed her mind a circumstance which eventually occurs when she returns and observes him conducting a service on a respected elder.

Whilst this film is possibly fifteen minutes too long, you cannot fail to be moved by the heart-rending beauty of the embalming scenes set as they are against a background of affecting cello music. Take plenty of tissues.

Rating: 4/5

Patrons: 9

1.     The Damned United

Michael Sheen in sparkling form as ‘Ol Big Ed’ with great supporting cast including Jim Broadbent as Sam Longson the Derby County Chairman.  A delight if you grew up in the Seventies.

2.     In the Loop

Hilarious film version of the coruscating political satire, The Thick of It. Starring Peter Capaldi’s as the foul mouthed spin doctor and Tom Hollander as a hapless politician on the make.  

3.     Fish Tank

Andrea Arnold’s gritty drama of the underclass, and it’s propensity for self destruction.  Remarkable debut from Kate Jarvis as an angry teenager trying to escape her miserable life.

4.     An Education

Bi-opic based on the life of the journalist Lynn Barber. Excellent portrayal of Britain on the cusp of the swinging sixties.

5.     Julie and Julia

The blog meets printed word in this story about the Delia Smith of her day, Julia Childs.  Meryl Streep steals the film as the ebullient Julia convincingly supported by Stanley Tucci as her loving husband.

6.     Sleep Furiously

Gideon Koppel’s slow placed yet moving portrait of the changes affecting a Welsh rural community. 

7.     Christmas Tale

Long but poignant portrayal of a French family as they adapt and change over the years.

8.     State of Play

Russell Crowe as a world weary hack trying to unearth a conspiracy within the US government.  Compelling story but not as good as the BBC series on which it was based.

9.     Slumdog Millionaire

Excellent if slightly contrived feel good movie spared too much saccharine by being set in India.

10.  Bright Star

Thoroughly convincing portrayal of the love affair between John Keats and Fanny Brawne excellently played by Abbie Cornish.     

Those that just missed out (in no particular order):

Frost Nixon

Frozen River

Looking For Eric

The Private Lives of Pippa Lee

The Hide

Wendy and Lucy

Director:  Michael Haneke

Cert: 15 

Time: 2 hrs 24 mins   (German with subtitles)

As the credits rolled, drawing a veil over two and a half hours of taut and at times disturbing viewing two thoughts came to mind. Firstly, that this viewer had been denied closure on the events he had just witnessed. And secondly – and perhaps simplistically - is it credible that so much hate, repression, death and sordid behaviour could occur in such a small village in rural Germany on the eve of WWI? And if the answer to that question is no, how can it be that this film is being viewed as an explanation for the emergence of Fascism in Germany in the 1920’s.  I don’t believe that it can.

Taken at face value Michael Haneke’s film is an unsettling whodunit which begins with an accident to the village doctor, who falls from his horse when it is brought down by a trip wire. Who laid the wire remains an unknown, as does the subsequent torture meted out to two young boys who are seemingly chosen for their punishments at random.  There are obscure deaths, acts of arson and crop destruction but we never get to the bottom of these either. What we do learn is that the local Baron is an unpopular despot, the pastor a repressive control freak, the doctor a repulsive man and pervading everything an atmosphere of brutality for which the children bear the brunt of the ire.  Filmed as it is in black and white only adds to the troubling themes.

Where the film falls down is that, bar the local school teacher - who also doubles as narrator - not one of the characters has a redeeming quality. And as a result we don’t really care what happens to them. Quite frankly they all deserve one another.  

Rating: 2/5

Patrons: 14

Director:  Jane Campion

Cert: PG 

Time: 1hr 59 mins   

Written and directed by Jane Campion (The Piano) Bright Star is the captivating story of the three-year romance between the 19^th century poet, John Keats and the girl next door, Fanny Brawne which was cut short by Keats’ untimely death at the age of 25.

By extracting first class performances from both Abbie Cornish (Brawne) and Ben Wishaw (Keats) Jane Campion has succeeded in portraying the exhilarating thrill of  love and its capacity to overwhelm.  And if this were not enough into the mix is the added complication of Mr Brown (Paul Schneider), doorkeeper and financial benefactor to Keats who sees only ill in their flourishing relationship.  Verbal sparks fly whenever he and Brawne are in the same room. And yet in a twist of irony their  union only served to have the opposite effect, inspiring Keats to even greater heights of artistic endeavour.

If I were to criticise it is that after a while the sequence of narrated love letters does get rather tedious.  But that is a minor complaint about a beautifully crafted film, one which provides as good a portrayal of love and loss as you are likely to see. Little wonder therefore that it was included in the Official Selection for Palme D’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Rating: 4/5

Patrons: 12

Director:  Robert Guediguian

Cert: 15 

Time: 2hrs 18 mins  (French with subtitles)

Based on the true story of a disparate group of French youngsters and immigrants in a battle against the Nazi occupation of Paris, The Army of Crime is the inspiring yet ultimately sad tale of what it was like to live in and forcibly resist occupation in 1941 France.

The story follows an Armenian poet Missak Manouchian who, against his “ethics”, becomes leader of a group of resistance fighters who carry out a spate of daring attacks, culminating in the murder of an SS General.  News of their killing reaches Berlin thus hastening a clampdown in which the French police are all too willing accomplices.

Although slightly too long and lacking the edge of Paul Verhoeven’s Black Book – which looked at the Nazi occupation in Holland – the film still provides a realistic and at times tense account of what it was like living under Nazi rule and more importantly the role of the French police in dancing to their occupiers tune. One wonders, given the depths of their duplicity, what happened to them once the war was over. 

Rating: 3/5

Patrons: 8

Director:  Lone Scherfig

Cert: 12A 

Time: 1hr 40mins

Adapted for the screen by Nick Hornby, from Lynn Barber’s memoir of the same name, An Education is the delightful coming of age drama set in the early 1960’s a Britain on the cusp of the end of the strait laced post war period and the free spirited decade to come.  It follows 16 year old Jenny (Carey Mulligan) a bright schoolgirl caught in a dilemma between studying at Oxford and pursuing the bright lights offered by living with an older charismatic man (Peter Sarsgard).

In many ways this film reminded me of The History Boys, Alan Bennett’s equally inspiring story of a group of bright young things being groomed for the Oxbridge entrance exam.  If there is a criticism it is that Carey Mulligan is slightly too old to carry off the personality of a teenager, her voice being the most obvious give away. That said she gives an excellent portrayal of the impetuosity of youth, the belief that you know everything only to discover that this is not necessarily the case. 

Excellent performances by Peter Sarsgard as the smooth talking conman and Ray Molina as Jenny’s father add to what is a wholly believable account of a familiar conundrum set within the context of an interesting period in history.

Rating: 4/5

Patrons: 12

Director: Nora Ephron

Cert: 12A 

Time: 2hrs 3mins

There are so many programmes on television these days devoted to cooking that it’s hard to imagine a time before they existed.  The catalyst for this revolution was Julia Childs, a larger than life American who, whilst on a posting in Paris with her diplomat husband, first learned how to cook the French way and then wrote a book about it. Her opus, Mastering the Art of French Cooking was first published in 1961 became an instant hit accompanied as it was by a television series in which Childs popularised the phrase “Bon Appetit”.

Fast forward to 2002 and Julia Powell a young government employee, wedded to a dead end job, yet dreaming of being a writer.  Over dinner one evening she hits on the idea of preparing all 524 recipes contained within “Mastering….” in a calendar year and writing a blog about it. It went on to be a huge online hit and her story provides the basis for Nora Ephron’s charming comedy starring Meryl Streep as Childs and Amy Adams as Powell.

If there is one thing that this film delivers so successfully it is in the performances of Streep and Adams who convey, so convincingly, the love which Childs and Powell held for cooking. And along the way we get some delightfully funny moments interspersed with a poignant depiction of the strength of the relationships that each of them enjoyed with their respective spouses.  Well worth going to see.

Rating: 3/5

Patrons: 18

Director: Andrea Arnold

Cert: 15 

Time: 2hrs 3mins

Rarely does a day pass without some reference in the news to the underclass be it feckless ASBO seeking youths or teenage mums who breed simply to get a free home.  We hear about it but have little experience of it an imbalance that Fish Tank makes an excellent attempt to rectify. 

Mia, brilliantly played by debutant Katie Jarvis, is a volatile and gobby 15 year old, excluded from school and ostracized by her friends.  Hardly surprising given the absence of love that she receives from an inadequate and promiscuous mother (Kierston Wareing).  One summer’s evening she (the mother) brings home a new and mysterious boyfriend called Conor (Michael Fassbender) who is clearly different from previous beaus.  For one thing he is quietly spoken, rarely swears and offers affection where none had previously existed.  Yet he too has his own personal weaknesses and demons which, when given full reign, seek to destroy all the good that he brings to Mia’s dysfunctional family.

Like Red Road, Andrea Arnold’s previous outing, one never knows quite how things are going to turn out. All of which serves to maintain the interest over what is admittedly and unremittingly bleak couple of hours during which almost everything in Mia’s life turns sour.  But never once does the tale drift into sentimentality and the end, when it finally arrives, offers a smidgen of hope. To describe Fish Tank as strictly “entertainment” is a moot point but it should be required viewing for all with government responsibility for law & order and social services.

Rating: 4/5

Patrons: 24

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