Stoke on Trent


Bringing the best in Independent and World Cinema to North Staffordshire

September

Mon 12 Sep    7.45pm

THE FALLEN IDOL (PG)

The Fallen IdolGraham Greene

The much anticipated screening of the first of director Carol Reed’s three collaborations with Graham Greene. The Fallen Idol is a thriller from a child’s point of view adapted from his 1935 novel The Basement Room. The story concerns the young son of the French Ambassador, who is left to explore the huge embassy during his father’s frequent absences. While his father is away he is cared for by the butler, whom he comes to idolise.

UK, 1948, 91 mins

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Tue 13 Sep    7.45pm

THE BIG PICTURE (15)

The Big PicturePaul Exben is a successful partner in a Parisian law firm, whose life is seemingly complete with a glamorous wife and two sons. However the only problem is, as an aspiring photographer, this really isn’t the picture perfect lifestyle he has been dreaming of. When a moment of madness presents an escape, Paul decides that a new identity will enable himself to live out his life more fully. A taut character-driven thriller featuring excellent performances by Romain Duris, Niels Arestrup and Catherine Deneuve.

France (subtitled), 2010, 115 mins

Reviews:    :: The Observer :: The Guardian :: The Independent ::

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Thu 15 to Sat 17 Sep    7.45pm

THE TREE OF LIFE (12A)

The Tree Of LifeTerrence Malick's impressionistic story of the trials of a mid-western family in the 1950s; in particular following the eldest son Jack (Sean Penn) through the innocence of childhood to disillusioned adult life and his attempts to reconcile with his father (Brad Pitt). Winner of the Palme D'Or, The Tree of Life presents Jack as a lost soul in the modern world, seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith. Notably the film's audacious, visually arresting sequences in which Malick explores the origins of the cosmos, are responsible for the return to the big screen of Douglas Trumbull.

USA, 2011, 138 mins

Reviews:    :: The Observer :: The Guardian :: The Independent ::

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Mon 19 Sep    7.45pm

GOOD BYE LENIN! (15)

Good Bye LeninEurope Loves Cinema

Wolfgang Becker's inventive satire on German reunification updating Washington Irving's story Rip Van Winkle. Irving's tale is transplanted to late 1980s and early 90s Berlin, where Alex Kerner's mother, an idealistic communist, goes into a coma after suffering a heart attack while watching a demonstration in East Berlin. When she wakes up eight months after the Wall has come down Alex is warned that any shock might be fatal, leading to ever more elaborate schemes to hide the truth.

Germany (subtitled), 2003, 121 mins

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Tue 20 Sep    7.45pm

POETRY (12A)

PoetryAn elderly lady in her 60s, Yang Mija works as a carer for a disabled man while raising her grandson alone. She has to endure the onset of Alzheimer's disease and also learns that her grandson was involved in a junior high school girl's suicide. Through all of this and to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a poet the elderly woman starts to take a poetry class and starts writing. Winner of the Best Screenplay Award at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, Lee Chang-dong’s follow-up to his acclaimed Secret Sunshine is a masterful moving study of the subtle empowerment of an older woman who refuses to give up on life.

South Korea (subtitled), 2010, 139 mins

Reviews:    :: The Observer :: The Guardian :: The Independent ::

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Thu 22 Sep    7.45pm

POTICHE (15)

PoticheA satirical comedy from Francois Ozon starring Catherine Deneuve as Suzanne, the wife of a despotic company director taken hostage by his own downtrodden workers. Managing the company in his absence Suzanne proves herself to be more than a mere trophy wife and blossoms as a competent and confident leader. Her husband's return to health and her relationship with the workers' leader, played by Gérard Depardieu, lead to unforeseen complications.

France (subtitled), 2010, 98 mins

Reviews:    :: The Observer :: The Guardian :: The Independent ::

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Fri 23 & Sat 24 Sep    7.45pm

BRIDESMAIDS (15)

BridesmaidsThe comedy hit of the summer, Bridesmaids stars Kristen Wiig as Maid Of Honour Annie, as she plots the path to the wedding day with a bunch of oddball bridesmaids. More than a women's Hangover, while occasionally straying into its gross comedy territory, the film concentrates on the women's relationships with each other, retaining a charming spontaneity in the genre's set-piece scenes. 'Subtlety and character lift this hilarious comedy above the rest', (Jason Solomons, 'The Guardian') 'Bridesmaids is a terrifically funny, smart and tender ensemble comedy' (Peter Bradshaw, 'The Guardian')

USA, 2011, 125 mins

Reviews:    :: The Observer :: The Guardian :: The Independent ::

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Mon 26 Sep    7.45pm

PAN'S LABRYNTH (15)

Pan's LabyrinthEurope Loves Cinema

A gothic fairy tale set against the postwar era of Franco's Spain from Guillermo del Toro. Pan's Labrynth unfolds through the eyes of Ofelia, a young girl uprooted to a remote military outpost by her new stepfather. One night she meets a fairy who takes her to an old faun in the center of the labyrinth. He tells her that she's a princess, but must prove her royalty by surviving three gruesome tasks or else never see her real father, the king, again.

Spain (subtitled), 2006, 119 mins

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Tue 27 Sep    7.45pm

A SEPARATION (PG)

A SeparationThe story of Nader and Simin, a middle class couple in Tehran. While Simin is determined to leave the country in search of better opportunities for their daughter, Nader refuses to go, in order to take care of his father who suffers from Alzheimer's. An outstanding, morally complex domestic drama that outlines the repressive nature of Iranian society and its social taboos.

Iran (subtitled), 2011, 122 mins

Reviews:    :: The Observer :: The Guardian :: The Independent ::

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Thu 29 Sep    7.45pm

LE QUATTRO VOLTE (U)

La Quattro VolteLe Quattro Volte is a poetic and hypnotically meditative study of a quiet Calabrian village and the people, animals and vegetation that populate it. The films title relates to Pythagoras' meditation that each of us have four lives within us, a philosophy woven through its near wordless observation. A young goat kid, an elderly man and a dog particularly captivate in Michelangelo Frammartino's enchanting film. 'Probably the most accomplished piece of cinema you'll see this year . . . Witty, wondrous and profound' (Wendy Ide, 'The Times') 'Meditative, calm, and profound, Le Quattro Volte offers a momentary respite from the bustle of contemporary life.' (Jason Wood, 'Little White Lies')

Italy (subtitled), 2010, 88 mins

Reviews:    :: The Observer :: The Guardian :: The Independent ::

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Fri 30 Sep & Sat 1 Oct    7.45pm

SARAH'S KEY (12A)

Sarah's KeyAdapted from Tatiana de Rosnay’s best selling novel, Sarah's Key alternates between two parallel stories, the first set in 1942 where 10-year-old Sarah is caught up in the Vel'D'Hiv Roundup, the second following Julia, a journalist in contemporary Paris researching the tragedy at the velodrome. Kristin Scott Thomas delivers a compelling performance as Julia, whose investigation leads to self discovery and an unsettling family history.

France (subtitled), 2011, 110 mins

Reviews:    :: The Observer :: The Guardian :: The Independent ::

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