BERSERK IN THE ANTARCTIC

2000; Certificate ??  ; 52mins

plus local film

BLUE WORKS

Second in the series on the lost industries of the Leven Valley: a film about the Backbarrow Blue Works which closed in 1984.
 

Tuesday 1st May 2007

2 short films

Rusland Reading Rooms

Evening showing, 20:00

Berserk in the Antarctic
Starring: Jarle Andhoy  (as himself)
Director: Kaare Skaad

This is the incredible story of three young men who risk their lives again and again on board their little yacht, the Berserk. The destination is Antarctica, the captain is 21-year-old Jarle Andhoy from Norway, and the crew consists of two chance adventurers from the USA and Argentina who’ve never sailed before. From day one, the voyage is a fight for their lives in the teeth of hurricanes and ice floes in a 25-year-old yacht, which is falling more and more apart and has no engine, because the latter only works when the sun is shining. Panic and bitter conflicts erupt among the crew, but escape is impossible. Berserk in the Antarctic shocks through its frank portrayal of three young men who set themselves inhuman challenges and yet manage to record the whole voyage on video. But there are also idyllic moments – and funny ones, too. The rich fauna of Antarctica and its fabulous natural beauty are seen through youthful eyes and minds before the yacht sets sail for civilisation once more.
(From: production company TV 2 Norway's website: http://tv2world.com/programmes/show/30 )

Three men in a boat – as never seen before… “This is suicide!” Manuel screamed frantically.  So begins David Mercy’s amazing true story of his journey to Antarctica in a 27-foot sailing boat. After a year travelling through South America to Tierra del Fuego, the only continent he had never visited beckoned to him across treacherous waters. Ships booked for scientific expeditions wouldn’t take him, and tourist cruises didn’t appeal. Then he saw a little boat in the harbour, its name inscribed on the hull with short lengths of black electrical tape: Berserk. Joined by the boat’s young Norwegian owner and an Argentinian newlywed, he set sail with little idea of the tumultuous storms, mishaps and emergencies that loomed on a Shackleton-style voyage to the world’s coldest, most dangerous and inaccessible continent. He brilliantly recounts their experience of the endless pounding of wind and waves, the bleak darkness, and the delicate balance of personalities where a mutiny was always in the air.
(From www.extremedreams.co.uk synopsis of the book)

THE LADY AND THE TRAMP

1955; Certificate U; 76min
 

Saturday 21st April 2007

Saturday Film Club

Rusland Reading Rooms - afternoon showing, 16:00

Sponsored by Awards for All

&

Director: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson

There is nothing as wonderful as the wag of a dog's tale. The writers, actors and animators, together with Disney magic, capture the unique and limitless variety of personalities that exist in the canine world. This film takes these wonderful canine characters and shows the world from their perspective. The adorable footage of Lady as a puppy reminds me of the behavior of my own hounds when they were pups. The beautiful "Park Avenue" Lady grows up and falls for the happy-go-lucky, vagabond, Tramp. Add a dog-hating aunt, a baby, some cats, some rats and the adventure is complete. The songs sung from the dog pound together with those sung by the wicked Siamese cats are the most purely fun of any Disney animation. The song sung at the lover's romantic Italian dinner brings a tear to the eye. Finally, Lady and the Tramp share a spaghetti noodle that leads to one of the most memorable kisses in Hollywood history. This is a wonderful film that will be enjoyed for generations.

(from http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0048280/#comment )

L'ENFANT

2005; Certificate 12A; 95min
 

Tuesday 3rd April 2007

Bouth Village Hall

Evening showing, 19:30

Sponsored by Esthwaite Water Trout Fishery

Starring: Jérémie Renier, Déborah François
Director: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne

Bruno and Sonia, a young couple living off her benefit and the thefts committed by his gang, have a new source of money: their newborn son.

While most movies have become formatted and soulless products that get ruthlessly promoted and marketed or else are tedious and insufferable exercises in navel-gazing, only seldom does one come across a genuine work of art, a moving expression of the human mind. This film is the jewel in the crown of the Dardenne brothers and the towering achievement of their artistic endeavour. Bruno and Sonia are the main characters in this movie. They have a kid, he sells it (no spoiler, you get as much from the trailer), she... Find for yourself what happens next. The movie is fast-paced, it'll hit you like a punch in the stomach. It's very basic : love, betrayal, money, a redemption of sorts and cellphones or GSMs as they are called in Belgium. The actors are wonderful. Bruno is raw, forceful and energetic, a bit like a child, whereas Sonia's character makes for one of the best female parts I have seen as far as I can recall, a far cry from the usual dull and stereotypical fare that is dished out these days in movie theatres.

(From: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0456396/#comment )

LASSIE

2005; Certificate PG; 100min
 

Saturday 17th March 2007

Saturday Film Club

Colton Village Hall - afternoon showing, 16:00

Sponsored by Awards for All

&

Starring: Robert Carr, Peter Dinklage, Peter O'Toole, Edward Fox
Director: Charles Sturridge

A family in financial crisis is forced to sell Lassie, their beloved dog. Hundreds of miles away from her true family, Lassie escapes and sets out on a journey home.

(from http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0431213/ )

THE WIND THAT SHAKES
THE BARLEY

2006; Certificate 15: 127 mins

Tuesday 6th March 2007

Rusland Reading Rooms

Evening showing, 19:30

Sponsored by The Tinners' Rabbit

Starring: Cillian Murphy, Padraic Delaney, ....
Director: Ken Loach

THE INNOCENTS

1961: Certificate 12A: 100 mins
 

Wednesday 7th February 2007

Ulverston Coronation Hall Supper Room

Evening showing, 19:30

A 'book and film' event, shown in association with the Word Market Festival

Sponsored by :
The Bookshop at the Tinner's Rabbit
and The Good Living Bookshop

Starring: Deborah Kerr, Michael Redgrave
Director: Jack Clayton
Screenplay: William Archibald, Truman Capote

Henry James's The Turn of the Screw has inspired novels, an opera and several films - including The Innocents, which Pauline Kael called the best ghost movie she'd ever seen. How did he make such a simple story so chilling? (Colm Tóibín -  see his review at http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,,1789303,00.html )

An impressively creepy adaptation of Henry James' The Turn of the Screw, with Deborah Kerr the quintessence of corseted English repression as a governess hired to look after two apparently-sweet children on an isolated country estate. Filmed with a luminous brilliance by cinematographer Freddie Francis, The Innocents is the apotheosis of old-school Brit spookiness (fondly referenced in Alejandro Amenábar's The Others). As a ghost story, it works perfectly - through its restraint as much as anything else - even if it politely sidesteps much of the original story's sexual undertones. Andrew Pulver, The Guardian

MADAGASCAR

2005: Certificate U: 86 mins
 

Saturday 24th February 2007

Saturday Film Club

Rusland Reading Rooms

Afternoon showing, 16:00

Sponsored by Awards for All

& Rusland Valley Community Trust

Director: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath

At New York's Central Park Zoo, a lion (Stiller), a zebra (Rock), a giraffe (Schwimmer), and a hippo (Smith) are best friends and stars of the show. But when one of the animals goes missing from their cage, the other three break free to look for him, only to find themselves reunited ... on a ship en route to Africa. When their vessel is hijacked, however, the friends, who have all been raised in captivity, learn first-hand what life can be like in the wild.

THE QUIET AMERICAN

2002: Certificate 15: 101 mins
 

Tuesday 6th February 2007

Finsthwaite Village Hall

Evening showing, 19:30

Sponsored by the Neighbourhood Forum

Starring: Michael Caine, Brendan Fraser
Director: Phillip Noyce

Love, politics and intrigue intermingle in this taut retelling of Graham Greene's classic tale of a disillusioned British journalist, an idealistic young American and the beautiful Vietnamese woman that comes between them in 1950s Saigon.

Saigon, 1952, a beautiful, exotic, and mysterious city caught in the grips of the Vietnamese war of liberation from the French colonial powers. New arrival Alden Pyle (Brendan Fraser), an idealistic American aid worker, befriends London Times correspondent Thomas Fowler (Michael Caine). When Fowler introduces Pyle to his beautiful young Vietnamese mistress Phuong (Hai Yen) the three become swept up in a tempestuous love triangle that leads to a series of startling revelations and finally - murder. Nothing, and no one, is as it seems, in this adaptation of Graham Greene's classic and prophetic story of love, betrayal, murder and the origin of the American war in Vietnam.

(From: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0258068/ )

SHARK TALE

2004: Certificate 12a: 96 mins
 

Saturday 13th January 2007

Saturday Film Club

Colton Village Hall

Afternoon showing, 16:00

Sponsored by Awards for All

& Rusland Valley Community Trust

Director: Bibo Bergeron, Vicky Jenson

This mafia movie, set in the world of saltwater fish, is the story of what happens when the son of the shark boss (De Niro) of a fish crime family is killed by a dropped anchor, and a bottom-feeder named Oscar (Smith) is found at the scene of the crime. Hoping to win favor with the enemies of the ganglord, the fast-talking hustler poses as the killer known as the "sharkslayer", but soon learns it's a dangerous game in a world where the big fish generally eat the little fish....

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

2005; Certificate U; 127 mins
 

Tuesday 2nd January 2007

Rusland Reading Rooms

Evening showing, 19:30

Sponsored by:

Manor House, Oxen Park

Starring: Keira Knightly, Matthew Macfadyen
Director: Joe Wright

The story is based on Jane Austen's novel about five sisters - Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty and Lydia Bennet - in Georgian England. Their lives are turned upside down when a wealthy young man (Mr. Bingley) and his best friend (Mr. Darcy) arrive in their neighbourhood.

A collective groan of "not again!" went up throughout Britain's green and pleasant land when news got out that there was another adaptation of Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice' in the works. After all, the memory of Colin Firth's Darcy getting hot and bothered over Jennifer Ehle's Elizabeth Bennet in the BBC version of the book is still fresh in many minds. What an enormous relief it is to find the 2005 version of Pride & Prejudice has turned out to be one of the best British films of the year. It's a smart, elegant but exuberant version that's in every way faithful to the spirit of a book that was first written by a 21-year-old woman. (The revised version familiar to us today was published when Austen was 38.)
(From: http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/film.jsp?id=149823 )
 

(From http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2005/08/19/pride_and_prejudice_2005_review.shtml )

THE POLAR EXPRESS

2004; Certificate U; 99 mins
 

Saturday 16th December 2006

Saturday Film Club

Rusland Reading Rooms - afternoon showing, 16:00

Sponsored by Awards for All

& Rusland Valley Community Trust

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Santa Claus does not exist. Or does he? For one doubting boy (voice of Daryl Sabara and Tom Hanks), an astonishing event occurs. Late on Christmas Eve night, he lies in bed hoping to hear the sound of reindeer bells from Santa's sleigh. When to his surprise, a steam engine's roar and whistle can be heard outside his window. The conductor (voice of Tom Hanks) invites him on board to take an extraordinary journey to the North Pole with many other pajama-clad children. There, he receives an extraordinary gift only those who still believe in Santa can experience.

PIERREPOINT
(The Last Hangman)

2005; Certificate 15: 90mins

Tuesday 5th December 2006

Rusland Reading Rooms

Evening showing, 19:30

Sponsored by Wilson Reclamation Services Ltd.

Starring: Timothy Spall, Juliet Stevenson
Director: Adrian Shergold

The life and times of Albert Pierrepoint - Britain's most prolific hangman.

Pierrepoint is a fascinating portrait of a man trying to maintain a decent, ordinary life while presiding over legally sanctioned death. We first meet Albert (Spall) being talked through the execution procedure at London's Pentonville Prison in 1932. Shortly afterwards, Pierrepoint, a grocery delivery man, receives a letter at his home in Oldham, Lancashire. He's been accepted onto "the list" to become an executioner, following in the footsteps of both his father and uncle. "It's just in me. I knew it'd come out one day," he tells his mother.

While continuing his day job in groceries and marrying local shopgirl Annie (Stevenson), Albert goes about his new work with professionalism, eager to prove himself, to better both his father and his peers. He soon breaks records and rises to become Britain's number one executioner. "I do try to take a pride in my work. I don't believe there's a quicker man on the list," he says.

He gets a further ego boost after the Second World War when he's selected by the Army to handle the execution of those convicted of war crimes. Monty (Francis) himself tells him, "I want the world to know our executions are the most efficient and the most humane." But in Germany, Albert is faced with huge batches of executions. Can he maintain his professionalism, and his mental wellbeing, in the face of such a production line of killing?
(Review by Danial Etherington, from http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/film.jsp?id=154926)

ROBOTS

2005; Certificate U: 91mins

Saturday 25th November 2006

Saturday Film Club

Colton Village Hall - afternoon showing, 16:00

Sponsored by Awards for All

& Whitestone Properties

Director: Chris Wedge, Carlos Saldanha

In a world of robots, the young Rodney decides to move to the metropolis of Robot City, to meet the powerful inventor and his idol Bigweld, trying to get a position in his corporation. However, the new president Ratchet manages the company for profit with new parts only, leaving the old robots fated to become scrap in the mill of Ratchet's mother. Rodney, with the support of his old robots friends, convinces Bigweld to fight for his position back.

THE CONSTANT GARDENER

2005; Certificate 15; 129 min

Tuesday 7th November 2006

Water Yeat Village Hall

Evening showing, 19:30

Sponsored by:

Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Wiesz
Director: Fernando Meirelles

Based on the best-selling John le Carré novel and from the Academy Award-nominated director of "City of God." In a remote area of Northern Kenya, activist Tessa Quayle (Rachel Weisz) is found brutally murdered. Tessa's companion, a doctor, appears to have fled the scene, and the evidence points to a crime of passion. Members of the British High Commission in Nairobi assume that Tessa's widower, their mild-mannered and unambitious colleague Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes), will leave the matter to them. They could not be more wrong. Haunted by remorse and jarred by rumors of his late wife's infidelities, Quayle surprises everyone by embarking on a personal odyssey that will take him across three continents. Using his privileged access to diplomatic secrets, he will risk his own life, stopping at nothing to uncover and expose the truth - a conspiracy more far-reaching and deadly than Quayle could ever have imagined.
(From http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0387131/ )

THE MARCH OF THE PENGUINS

2005; Certificate U; 85 min

Saturday Film Club

Saturday 14th October 2006

Rusland Reading Room

 Afternoon showing, 16:00

Narrator: Morgan Freeman 
Director: Luc Jaquet

Each winter, alone in the pitiless ice deserts of Antarctica, deep in the most inhospitable terrain on Earth, a truly remarkable journey takes place as it has done for millennia. Emperor penguins in their thousands abandon the deep blue security of their ocean home and clamber onto the frozen ice to begin their long journey into a region so bleak, so extreme, it supports no other wildlife at this time of year. In single file, the penguins march blinded by blizzards, buffeted by gale force winds. Guided by instinct, by the otherworldly radiance of the Southern Cross, they head unerringly for their traditional breeding ground where--after a ritual courtship of intricate dances and delicate maneuvering, accompanied by a cacophony of ecstatic song--they will pair off into monogamous couples and mate. The females remain long enough only to lay a single egg. Once this is accomplished, exhausted by weeks without nourishment, they begin their return journey across the ice-field to the fish-filled seas. The male emperors are left behind to guard and hatch the precious eggs, which they cradle at all times on top of their feet. After two long months during which the males eat nothing, the eggs begin to hatch. Once they have emerged into their ghostly white new world, the chicks can not survive for long on their fathers' limited food reserves. If their mothers are late returning from the ocean with food, the newly-hatched young will die. Once the families are reunited, the roles reverse, the mothers remaining with their new young while their mates head, exhausted and starved, for the sea, and food. While the adults fish, the chicks face the ever-present threat of attack by prowling giant petrels. As the weather grows warmer and the ice floes finally begin to crack and melt, the adults will repeat their arduous journey countless times, marching many hundreds of miles over some of the most treacherous territory on Earth, until the chicks are ready to take their first faltering dive into the deep blue waters of the Antarctic.
(From http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0428803/#comment )

CRASH

2004; Certificate 15; 113min

Tuesday 3rd October 2006

Rusland Reading Rooms

Evening showing, 19:30

Sponsored by local folk and blues duo

The Demix

Starring: Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon
Director: Paul Haggis

For two days in Los Angeles, a racially and economically diverse group of people pursue lives that collide with one another in unexpected ways. These interactions are interesting, and sometimes quite unsettling. The film explores and challenges your ability to judge books by their covers. There is good and bad in all of us. This movie explores this like no other. It will make you think about the nature of bigotry and stereotypes. The characters switch from heavy to hero in a way that is deeply moving and exhilarating.
(From http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0375679/ )

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

2005; Certificate 15; 134min

Tuesday 5th September 2006

Rusland Reading Rooms

Evening showing, 19:30

Sponsored by:

Starring: Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal
Director: Ang Lee

Based on the E. Annie Proulx story about a forbidden and secretive relationship between two cowboys and their lives over the years. In 1963,two young men hire on as ranch hands in the Wyoming mountains.During the long months of isolation,an unusual bond starts to develop between them, one which they are only vaguely aware of--until one night when it rises to the surface in a passionate encounter.When the season ends,they part ways,only to realize the true depth of their feelings.Thus begins a decades-long affair that the two of them desperately try to hide from those around them--one which will prove simultaneously beautiful and devastating.
(From http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0388795/ )

'Shorts' Evening

A selection of the best national and international short films (3-23 mins). A sociable final show of the season with plenty of intervals and ice cream breaks.
The programme is:

Part I
1. OPCC Pâté News (5 mins)
2. Sponsors Advert (5 mins max)
3. Ari & Bobby’s Animation (30 secs)
Made at the recent OPCC Workshop
4. Skywhales  Derek Hayes (11 mins)
Animated whales in the sky
5. Milk Peter Mackie Burns (8 mins)
Funded by UK Film Council and G-Mac see www.bestvbest.com Winner Golden Bear - Best Short Film, Berlin Film Festival 2005
6. Tiz Martin Talbot   8 mins
promoted by North West Vision.  A supermarket love story …and more.

Part II
7. Rhubarb & Roses  Ged Maguire 10 mins
Funded by UK Film Council
A heart warming  and heart breaking tale of love and understanding
8. Where Were We? Matt Smith (2 mins)
Funded by UK Film Council
About a beach, three people and a car and an absurd outcome
9. Binky & Boo  Derek Hayes (12 mins)
Channel 4 animation
10. Landmark  James Gibson (12 mins)
On the outskirts of Bradford …….

Part III
11. Thrill Seekers (2 mins)
Winner of Kendal Mountain Film Festival, extreme film school competition
12. Low Wood Gunpowder Works (15 mins)
OPCC Film Unit
 

Tuesday 2nd May 2006

Rusland Reading Rooms

Evening: 20:00

Sponsored by Wilson Reclamation Services Ltd.

THE SMALLEST SHOW
ON EARTH

1957: Certificate ?; 80 mins
 

Tuesday 4th April 2006

Finsthwaite Institute

Evening showing, 19:30

Sponsored by Barr Ecology

Starring: Virginia McKenna, Bill Travers, Peter Sellers
Director: Basil Dearden

Jean and Bill are a struggling married couple with Bill trying to scrape a living as a writer. Out of the blue they receive a telegram informing them that Bill's long-lost uncle has died and left them his business - a cinema in the town of Sloughborough. They pack their bags and travel to Sloughborough expecting to sell the cinema to gain a huge inheritance, however, they discover the cinema is falling apart and is run by a comically incompetent staff (including Peter Sellers as the drunken projectionist) who seem to have worked there forever. They set out with a plan to sell it but things don't quite go to plan.

Summary taken from the IMDB web pages written by Col Needham

BATA-VILLE: WE ARE NOT AFRAID OF THE FUTURE

2005: Certificate PG; 93 mins
 

Thursday 30th March 2006

Rusland Reading Rooms

Evening showing, 19:30

Introduced by Co-Director, Karen Guthrie

Starring: Karen Guthrie, Nina Pope
Director: Karen Guthrie, Nina Pope

Bata-ville is a bittersweet record of a coach trip to the origins of the Bata shoe empire in Zlín in the Czech Republic. Against the backdrop of regeneration in their local communities, former employees of the now-closed UK shoe factories in East Tilbury (Essex) and Maryport (Cumbria) are led on a journey that begins as a free holiday but soon becomes an opportunity for a collective imagining of what entrepreneur Tomas Bata's maxim "We are not afraid of the future" means for them in 21st century Britain. Inspired by the contrast between the idealism of Bata and the more recent industrial decline of East Tilbury and Maryport, host / directors Pope & Guthrie lead this unorthodox coach party on a journey through Bata's legacy.

Summary taken from the IMDB web pages written by Karen Guthrie

WALLACE & GROMIT IN THE
CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT

2005; Certificate U; 85 mins

Saturday 18th March 2006

Young people's animation workshop
Starting at 10 am

followed by film (for all)
 at  4 pm
 

Rusland Reading Rooms

Starring: the voices of a host of stars including Peter Sallis, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter and Peter Kay
Director: Steve Box and Nick Park

It's 'vege-mania' in Wallace and Gromit's neighbourhood, and our two enterprising chums are cashing in with their humane pest-control outfit, "Anti-Pesto." With only days to go before the annual Giant Vegetable Competition, business is booming, but Wallace & Gromit are finding out that running a "humane" pest control outfit has its drawbacks as their West Wallaby Street home fills to the brim with captive rabbits. Suddenly, a huge, mysterious, veg-ravaging "beast" begins attacking the town's sacred vegetable plots at night, and the competition hostess, Lady Tottington, commissions Anti-Pesto to catch it and save the day. Lying in wait, however, is Lady Tottington's snobby suitor, Victor Quartermaine, who'd rather shoot the beast and secure the position of local hero - not to mention Lady Tottingon's hand in marriage. With the fate of the competition in the balance, Lady Tottington is eventually forced to allow Victor to hunt down the vegetable chomping marauder. Little does she know that Victor's real intent could have dire consequences for her ...and our two heroes.
Summary taken from the IMDB web pages

INSIDE I'M DANCING

2004: Certificate 15; 104 mins
 

Tuesday 7th March 2006

Rusland Reading Rooms

Evening showing, 19:30

Sponsored by The Tinners' Rabbit

Starring: James McAvoy, Steven Robertson
Director: Damien O'Donnell

Michael is a 24-year-old who has cerebral palsy and long-term resident of the Carrigmore Residential Home for the Disabled, run by the formidable Eileen. His life is transformed when the maverick Rory O'Shea moves in. Michael is stunned to discover that fast talking Rory, who can move only his right hand, can understand his almost unintelligible speech. Rory's dynamic and rebellious nature soon sparks a flame in Michael, introducing him to a whole new world outside of Carrigmore.
Summary taken from the IMDB web pages by Sujit R. Varma

MY SUMMER OF LOVE

2004: Certificate 15; 86 mins
 

Tuesday 7th February 2006

Bouth Village Hall

Evening showing, 19:30

Sponsored by Dane Stone Cards
 

Starring: Nathalie Press, Emily Blunt
Director: Pawel Pawlikowski

My Summer of Love is this summer's most intoxicating and intriguing romance. From Pawel Pawlikowski, the award-winning director of "Last Resort", comes a tale of obsession and deception, and the struggle for love and faith in a world where both seem impossible. The passionate, droll, and mysterious drama features striking performances from its two lead actresses, both of whom are movie newcomers. The film vibrantly charts the emotional and physical hothouse effects that bloom one summer for two young women (Natalie Press and Emily Blunt). Mona (played by Ms. Press), behind a spiky exterior, hides an untapped intelligence and a yearning for something beyond the emptiness of her daily life. Tamsin (Ms. Blunt) is well-educated, spoiled and cynical. As they are complete opposites, each is wary of the other's differences when they first meet, but this coolness soon melts into mutual fascination, amusement and attraction. Adding further volatility is Mona's older brother Phil (Paddy Considine), who has renounced his criminal past for religious fervor - which he tries to impose upon his sister. Mona, however, is experiencing her own rapture. "We must never be parted," Tamsin intones to Mona but can Mona completely trust her?
Summary taken from the IMDB web pages

ENDURING LOVE

2004: Certificate 15; 100 mins
 

Saturday 4th February 2006

Ulverston Victoria High School

Evening showing, 19:30

 ...part of the  Word Market Festival 2006
 'Film and book' event....

Starring: Daniel Craig, Rhys Ifans, Samantha Morton
Director: Roger Michell
Writing credits: Ian McEwan (novel), Joe Penhall (screenplay)

On a beautiful cloudless day a young couple celebrate their reunion with a picnic. Joe has planned a postcard-perfect afternoon in the English countryside with his partner, Claire. But as Joe and Claire prepare to open a bottle of champagne, their idyll comes to an abrupt end. A hot air balloon drifts into the field, obviously in trouble. The pilot catches his leg in the anchor rope, while the only passenger, a boy, is too scared to jump down. Joe and three other men rush to secure the basket. Just as they secure the balloon, the wind rushes into the field, and at once the rescuers are airborne. Joe manages to drop to the ground, as do most of his companions, but one man is lifted skywards. As Joe, Claire and the other rescuers watch this strangely beautiful sight, they see the man fall to his death. Recalling the day's events at dinner with his friends Robin and Rachel, Joe reveals the impact the accident has had on his battered psyche. Ironically the balloon eventually lands safely, the boy unscathed. But fate has far more unpleasant things in store for Joe. Going to retrieve the body of the fallen man with fellow rescuer Jed Parry, for example, turns out to be a very bad move. Jed feels an instant connection with Joe--one that, as the weeks go by, becomes ever more intense.

CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY

2005; Certificate PG; 115 mins
 

Children's Saturday Film Club

Saturday 21st January 2006

Rusland Reading Rooms

Afternoon showing, 16:00

Starring: Johnny Depp
Director: Tim Burton

Charlie Bucket comes from a poor family, and spends most of his time dreaming about the chocolate that he loves but usually can't afford. Things change when Willy Wonka, head of the very popular Wonka Chocolate empire, announces a contest in which five gold tickets have been hidden in chocolate bars and sent throughout the country. The kids who find the tickets will be taken on a tour of Wonka's chocolate factory and get a special glimpse of the wonders within. Charlie miraculously finds a ticket, along with four other children much naughtier than him. The tour of the factory will hold more than a few surprises for this bunch...
Summary taken from the IMDB web pages

VERA DRAKE

2004: Certificate 12A; 125mins
 

Tuesday 3rd January 2006

Rusland Reading Rooms

Evening showing, 19:30

Starring: Imelda Staunton
Director: Mike Leigh

Mike Leigh and won a BAFTA award for Best Director, and Imelda Staunton for Best Actress for this outstanding film.
 (As a big Mike Leigh fan - I urge you to come along  ... .Web Ed.)

Vera Drake is a selfless woman who is completely devoted to, and loved by, her working class family. She spends her days doting on them and caring for her sick neighbour and elderly mother. However, she also secretly visits women and helps them induce miscarriages for unwanted pregnancies. While the practice itself was illegal in 1950s England, Vera sees herself as simply helping women in need, and always does so with a smile and kind words of encouragement. When the authorities finally find her out, Vera's world and family life rapidly unravel.
Summary taken from the IMDB web pages- written by Sujit R. Varma

"Vera Drake" is one of those movies that takes you right in and does not release you until long after the movie is over. Come to think of it, most of Mike Leigh's movies do this. Imelda Staunton is flawless as Vera Drake, a kind-hearted simple soul who believes in compassion and the caring for others along with her own family. Part of this compassion is exemplified in a skill she has - she is a back street abortionist. She does not do it for financial gain, but out of sympathy for the helpless women who cannot afford the psychiatric evaluations given to the rich who are then sent to private nursing homes. Through a series of circumstances she is caught and convicted and we observe the effects on her family and those about her. Everything is flawless about this film. We really are in the cramped little flat where Vera lives, in the near slum environment. Her cheerful domestic work in the wealthy homes of London is in stark contrast to the poverty of her own post war rationed existence.
Summary taken from the IMDB web pages- written by Brigid O'Sullivan

Mike Leigh has a unique method of filmmaking and directing. The following is taken from Guardian Unlimited Film Features:
"Perhaps the most noted aspect of Leigh's work is the manner in which it is produced. Instead of writing on paper at a desk, Leigh works in the rehearsal space using the live medium of his actors. The actor and Leigh regular Timothy Spall says, "You create the character on the basis of someone you know, and you build an entire reservoir of information about that character. What you don't know you invent. And through a painstaking moment-by-moment creation of this person's life - where they went to school, what their preoccupations are - you produce a character." Leigh fashions this raw material into a plot, issuing simple commands, such as "Character A meets Character B in the pub" or "C sleeps with Character D". "He may not be sitting at a typewriter," says Alison Steadman, star of numerous Leigh projects, and his former wife, "but he is creating, moulding, writing and distilling all the information." As a result, a Mike Leigh film is something of an act of faith. During a shoot, each scene is rehearsed right up to the moment it is ready for shooting (there is rarely any improvisation in front of camera). "I often don't get to see any scene until I arrive on set," says Dick Pope, Leigh's director of photography, "and like Mike, the actors, and everybody else involved, I have no idea where this journey of discovery will take us. It's a bit of a magical mystery tour but with Mike very firmly in the driving seat."

THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW

2004: Certificate 12A; 124mins
 

Tuesday 6th December 2005

Rusland Reading Rooms

Evening showing, 19:30

Sponsored by Esthwaite Water Trout Fishery

Starring: 
Director: Roland Emmerich

This movie takes a big-budget, special-effects-filled look at what the world would look like if the greenhouse effect and global warming continued at such levels that they resulted in worldwide catastrophe and disaster, including multiple hurricanes, tornadoes, tidal waves, floods and the beginning of the next Ice Age. At the centre of the story is a paleoclimatologist (a scientist who studies the ways weather patterns changed in the past), Professor Jack Hall (Quaid), who tries to save the world from the effects of global warming while also trying to get to his son, Sam (Gyllenhaal), who was in New York City as part of a scholastic competition, when the city was overwhelmed by the chilling beginnings of the new Ice Age. In addition to all of the other challenges Dr. Hall faces, he's also going against the flow as humanity races south to warmer climes, and he's nearly the only one going north...
Summary taken from the IMDB web pages

THE MAGIC ROUNDABOUT

2005: Certificate U; 85 mins
 

Children's Saturday Film Club

Saturday 3rd December 2005

Colton Parish Hall

Afternoon showing, 16:00

Starring: Tom Baker, Jim Broadbent, Joanna Lumley, Bill Nighy
Director: Dave Borthwick, Jean Duval, Frank Passingham

"The evil Zeebad has risen and he's ready to reclaim the Enchanted Village as his own icy realm. It's up to a group of unlikely heroes, a snail called Brian, a cow called Ermintrude, a rabbit called Dylan and, unlikeliest of them all, a dog called Dougal to find three magical stones scattered throughout the land and restore them to Magic Roundabout so that the flowers will bloom and the grass will grow once again."
Summary from Film Focus Cinema Review

SUNRISE: A SONG OF TWO HUMANS

1927; Certificate A* (original certification); 95 mins
* see BBFC pages, History

Silent film, with accompaniment by local pianist,
Tony Milledge
 

Friday 25th November 2005

Ulverston Victoria High School

Evening showing, 19:30

Starring: George O'Brian, Janey Gaynor, Margaret Livingston
Director: F.W. Murnau

Contrasting the rolling hills of the countryside with the hustle and bustle of the big city, Sunrise takes us on a journey between two worlds as George O'Brien and Janet Gaynor rediscover their love in the sprawling metropolis. Wandering through busy barbershops, funfairs and posh restaurants, these two country bumpkins confront the terrors and wonders of city life. Full of humour (slapstick sequences with a drunken piglet and a lady's shoulder straps have stood the test of time), this proves a testament not just to the power of cinema to make us laugh, cry and gasp, but also to the compassionate gaze of the camera lens as Murnau follows two humans who discover that the ups and downs of everyday life can't tarnish the melodic perfection of true love.
Jamie Russell (bbc.co.uk/films)

LADIES IN LAVENDER

2004: Certificate 12A; 103mins
 

Tuesday 1st November 2005

Water Yeat Village Hall

Evening showing, 19:30

Sponsored by:

Starring: Judi Dench, Maggie Smith
Director: Charles Dance

Two aging spinster sisters have their peaceable Cornwall existence disrupted in 1936 when they take a young Polish violinist into their care. After a particularly violent storm, Ursula and Janet Widington awake to find young man Andrea half-drowned and badly injured on the beach. They slowly discover that he is Polish with a gift for music as an accomplished violinist, hoping to find his way to America. But the village isn't used to visitors and everyone, with the exception of the sisters, is full of suspicions, especially when Andrea develops a friendship with a beautiful Russian woman vacationing nearby. Eventually, the two must make a choice between trying to keep their new charge for themselves or setting him free in the world.
Summary taken from the IMDB web pages - written by Sujit R. Varma

THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES

2004: Certificate 15; 128mins
 

Tuesday 4th October 2005

Rusland Reading Rooms

Evening showing, 19:30

Sponsored by local folk and blues duo

The Demix

Starring: Gael García Bernal, Rodrigo De la Serna
Director: Walter Salles

"The Motorcycle Diaries" is based on the journals of Che Guevara, leader of the Cuban Revolution. In his memoirs, Guevara recounts adventures he, and best friend Alberto Granado, had while crossing South America by motorcycle in the early 1950s.

The Motorcycle Diaries is an adaptation of a journal written by Ernesto "Che" Guevara (Bernal) when he was 23 years old. He and his friend, Alberto Granado (de la Serna) are typical college students who, seeking fun and adventure before graduation, decide to travel across Argentina, Chile, Brazil and Peru in order to do their medical residency at a leper colony. Beginning as a buddy/road movie in which Ernesto and Alberto are looking for chicks, fun and adventure before they must grow up and have a more serious life. As is said in the film itself, it's about "two lives running parallel for a while." The two best friends start off with the same goals and aspirations, but by the time the film is over, it's clear what each man's destiny has become.
Summary taken from the IMDB web pages

HARRY POTTER AND THE
PRISONER OF AZKABAN

2004; Certificate PG; 141 mins

Children's Saturday Film Club

Saturday 1st October 2005

Rusland Reading Rooms

Afternoon showing, 16:00

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe
Director: Alfonso Cuarón

Approaching his third year at Hogwarts, Harry Potter has had enough of his muggle relatives. He runs away from them (finally) and enters his third term facing trouble from more than one side: for using magic outside the school and from the news that a notorious criminal, serial killer Sirius Black, has escaped the wizard's prison at Azkaban and apparently is headed for Harry. The school calls in supernatural help against Black in the form of Dementors, but unusual things continue to put Harry in peril. He is thrown into a confusing panoply of shifting allegiances and shifting shapes where nobody is who or what they seem. Who is the real criminal? What is the real crime? Who is telling or knows the truth?
Summary taken from the IMDB web pages

FROZEN

Locally made film, by 'Shoreline Films',
not yet on general release, to be introduced by
Juliet McKoen, Director.
 

Tuesday 6th September 2005

Rusland Reading Rooms

Evening showing, 19:30

Free admission!

Refreshments

Starring: Shirley Henderson
Director: Juliet McKoen

This locally made film is set in Fleetwood and Morecambe Bay. Supported by Shoreline Films with North West Vision and UK Film Council. This showing is part of Shoreline Film's 'Making Movies' programme. Find out more...
 

SUNRISE: A SONG OF TWO HUMANS

1927; Certificate A* (original certification); 95 mins
* see BBFC pages, History

Silent film, with accompaniment by local pianist,
Tony Milledge
 

Tuesday 23rd August 2005

Rusland Reading Rooms

Evening showing, 19:30

Followed by AGM

Starring: George O'Brian, Janey Gaynor, Margaret Livingston
Director: F.W. Murnau

Contrasting the rolling hills of the countryside with the hustle and bustle of the big city, Sunrise takes us on a journey between two worlds as George O'Brien and Janet Gaynor rediscover their love in the sprawling metropolis. Wandering through busy barbershops, funfairs and posh restaurants, these two country bumpkins confront the terrors and wonders of city life. Full of humour (slapstick sequences with a drunken piglet and a lady's shoulder straps have stood the test of time), this proves a testament not just to the power of cinema to make us laugh, cry and gasp, but also to the compassionate gaze of the camera lens as Murnau follows two humans who discover that the ups and downs of everyday life can't tarnish the melodic perfection of true love.
Jamie Russell (bbc.co.uk/films)

SPY KIDS

2001; Certificate U; 88 mins

Saturday 11th June 2005

C 
Under 12's Saturday Films Programme

Colton Village Hall

Afternoon showing 16:00

Starring:  Antonio Banderas, Ingrid Cortez
Director: Robert Rodriguez

Carmen and Juni think their parents are boring. Little do they know that in their day, Gregorio and Ingrid Cortez were the top secret agents from their respective countries. They gave up that life to raise their children. Now, the disappearances of several of their old colleagues forces the Cortez' return from retirement. What they didn't count on was Carmen and Juni joining the "family business." 
Summary written by David Stumme,  taken from the IMDB web pages

ONE FLEW OVER THE
CUCKOO'S NEST

1975; Certificate 18; 133 mins

3rd May 2005

Rusland Parish Rooms

Evening showing 19:30

Sponsored by:

"The Demix"

a folky duo from Danes Howe, Rusland -
Rod and Sarah Demick

Starring:  Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, William Redfield
Director: Milos Forman

McMurphy has been dating a fifteen year old (fifteen going on thirty-five) and is sentenced for a short term for contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Rather than spend his time in jail, he convinces the guards that he's crazy enough to need psychiatric care and is sent to a hospital. He fits in frighteningly well, and his different point of view actually begins to cause some of the patients to progress. Nurse Ratched becomes his personal cross to bear as his resistence to the hospital routine gets on her nerves.
Summary written by John Vogel - taken from the IMDB web pages

TOY STORY 2

1999; Certificate: U; 92 mins

Saturday 9th April 2005

C 
Under 12's Saturday Films Programme

Rusland Parish Rooms

Afternoon showing 16:00

Starring:  Tom Hanks (Woody), Tim Allen (Buzz Lightyear)
Director: John Lasseter

BELLEVILLE RENDEZ-VOUS
(aka Les Triplettes de Belleville)

2003; Certificate: 12A; 80 mins

5th April 2005

Finsthwaite Village Hall

Evening showing 19:30

Sponsored by Hawkshead Trout Farm

Starring: 
Director: Sylvain Chomet

An inventive, humorous French animation, Winner BBC 4 World Cinema Award 2003.
An orphaned boy, Champion, is raised by his grandmother, Madame Souza. Her gift of a tricycle starts a craze for cycle-racing that becomes the cornerstone of their life together. After years of relentless training, Champion makes it to the Tour de France, the toughest cycling event in the world. Alas, Champion and a handful of other top competitors are mysteriously kidnapped by a pair of sinister crooks with hangdog expressions. Supported by her faithful sidekick, her fat and flatulent dog Bruno, Madame Souza sets off to rescue her beloved Champion. An epic adventure leads them across the Atlantic to a vast seaport metropolis named Belleville, headquarters of the notorious French mafia. Lost and confused in the threatening darkness of the great city, Madame Souza and Bruno encounter the Belleville Triplettes, who, in their youth, were a glamorous close-harmony act. Now, these three batty old women are now a bizarre jazz combo. Mme Souza joins the band. At their very first gig, she discovers Champion is being held captive by the mafia Godfather himself! All hell breaks loose, and the chase is on! Do Mme Souza, her dim dog, and the Triplettes have what it takes to outsmart the ruthless French mafia and release poor Champion from its clutches?
Summary written by Laurens Koehoorn - taken from the IMDB web pages

THE TIGGER MOVIE

2000; Certificate: U; 77 mins

Saturday 12th March 2005

C 
Under 12's Saturday Films Programme

Colton Village Hall

Afternoon showing 16:00

Starring: 
Director: Jun Falkenstein

MASTER AND COMMANDER:
The Far Side of the World

2003; Certificate: 12A; 138 mins

1st March 2005

Rusland Parish Rooms

Evening showing 19:30

AND

2nd March 2005

at Coniston Institute

Evening Showing 19:30

Starring: Russel Crowe, Paul Bettany
Director:  Peter Weir

During the Napoleonic Wars, a British frigate, HMS Surprise, and a much larger French warship, the Acheron, with greater fire power, stalk each other off of the coast of South America. Russell Crowe brings great intensity to the role of Captain Jack Aubrey. Lucky Jack, as he is referred to by his crew, is well regarded by his men, who trust him implicitly, even after the first devastating battle and an apparent personal vendetta against the French captain. While the naval battle sequences are quite fantastic, the film is successful because director Weir chose to build the story to get to know the men who are locked aboard the tight quarters of a small ship and how they interact everyday. The officers and the mates are well-known by the time the final battle comes. Paul Bettany offers a strong performance as the surgeon and naturalist who balances the violence of his chosen life with the quiet demeanor of the scientist. He is the captain's friend and confidant, the two frequently playing violin and cello duets together. The horrors of the injuries from the war are frequently implied, but vividly depicted in the reactions of the characters.
Summary written by John Sacksteder - taken from the IMDB web pages

ELLING

2001; Certificate: 15; 89 mins; subtitles

Tuesday 1st February 2005

Water Yeat Village Hall

Evening showing 19:30

Sponsored by:

North Country Furniture Makers

Jenny and Peter Helme, Water Yeat

Starring:  Christian Ellefsen, Sven Nordin
Director: Petter Naess

A gentle comedy that celebrates eccentricity.   (Norwegian - subtitled). 40-year-old Elling--a sensitive, would-be poet, is sent to live in a state institution when his mother--who has sheltered him his entire life, dies. There he meets Kjell Bjarne, a gentle giant and female-obsessed virgin, also in his 40s. After two years, the men are released and provided with a state-funded apartment 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, but through a friendship born of desperate dependence, the skittish Elling and the boisterous Kjell discover they cannot only survive on the outside, they can thrive. As their courage grows, the two find oddball ways to cope with society, striking up the most peculiar friendships in the most unlikely places...
Summary written by Mike Patton - taken from the IMDB web pages

TOY STORY

1995; Certificate: PG; 81 mins

Saturday 15th January 2005

C 
Under 12's Saturday Films Programme

Rusland Parish Rooms

Afternoon showing 16:00

Starring:  Tom Hanks (as Woody), Tim Allen (Buzz Lightyear)
Director: John Lasseter, Peter Doctor

THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER

1955; Certificate: 12; 93 mins; b&w

Tuesday 4th January 2005

Haverthwaite Church Hall

Evening showing 19:30

Starring:  Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters
Director: Charles Laughton

A parable about good and evil set in rural America. Evil comes in the form of Robert Mitchum who plays the psychopathic pastor. Ben Harper has committed murder for $10,000. He hides the money and makes daughter Pearl and son John promise not to tell anyone where it is hidden, not even their mother Willa. In prison and awaiting hanging, Ben meets his cellmate, the Preacher, who tries unsuccessfully to get Ben to reveal where he stashed the money. When Preacher is released from prison he heads for the Harper home, intent on finding the money. Preacher charms Willa and wins her hand in marriage, only to kill her when she learns what he is really like. With only Pearl and John separating him from a small fortune, the Preacher unleashes the full force of his true, evil self.
Summary written by Rick Gregory - taken from the IMDB web pages

COLD MOUNTAIN

2003; Certificate: 15; 152 mins

Tuesday 7th December 2004

Rusland Parish Rooms

Evening showing 19:30

Sponsored by: The Tinners' Rabbit

Starring:  Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Renee Zellweger and Donald Sutherland
Director: Anthony Minghella

In the waning days of the American Civil War, a wounded soldier (Law) embarks on a perilous journey back home to Cold Mountain, North Carolina to reunite with his sweetheart (Kidman). Based on the novel by Charles Frazier. more....

See also the imdb pages.

SHREK 2

2004; Certificate U; 92 mins

Sat 4th December 2004

C 
Under 12's Saturday Films Programme

Colton Village Hall

Afternoon showing 16:00

Starring: Voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and many more
Director: Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon

Right after their honeymoon the newly wed couple goes to Princess Fiona's parents for dinner. When a Fairy God Mother discovers Fiona and Shrek are married she reminds the king about a deal they agreed on years ago that Fiona should have married Prince Charming (her son). The king then hires a cat named Puss-in-Boots (a sword fighting cat and ogre slayer) to kill Shrek.
See the imdb pages.

MONSOON WEDDING

2001; Certificate 15; 120 min

Tuesday 2nd November 2004

Oxen Park Reading Room

Evening showing 19:30

Sponsored by Hawkshead Trout Farm

Starring: Naseeruddin Shah, Lilette Dubey
Director: Mira Nair
A stressed father, a bride-to-be with a secret, a smitten event planner, and relatives from around the world create much ado about the preparations for an arranged marriage in India.

A perceptive look at modern India society. A mixture of humour, drama and lively music. Winner Golden Lion award, Venice.
See the imdb pages.

OUT OF AFRICA

1985; Certificate PG; 150min

Tuesday 5th October 2004

Bouth Village Hall

Evening showing 19:30

Starring: Meryl Streep, Robert Redford
Director: Sydney Pollack

Oscar award-winning film (8 Oscars, and 'Best Film') that follows the life of Karen Blixen, who establishes a plantation in Africa. Her life is Complicated by a husband of convenience (Bror Blixen), a true love (Denys), troubles on the plantation, schooling of the natives, war, and catching VD from her husband.
See the imdb pages.

PHONE BOOTH

2002; Certificate 15; 81 min

Saturday 18th September 2004

Rusland Parish Rooms

Evening showing

Refreshments at 19:30; film start at 20:00

Entry only £1 - sponsored by the Rusland Valley Community Trust & Local Network Fund

Starring:  Colin Farrell, Keifer Sutherland, Forest Whitaker, Radha Mitchell, Kate Holmes
Director: Joel Schumacher

What do you do when you hear a ringing public phone? You know it's a wrong number, but instinct forces you to pick it up. A ringing phone demands to be answered, but when Stu Shepard takes the call, he finds himself hurtled into a tortuous game: "Hang up" says the caller (Keifer Sutherland) "and you're a dead man".
(Summary from Filmbank Distributors Ltd brochure). See also the imdb pages.

WHALE RIDER

2002; Certificate PG; 101 min

Tuesday 7th September 2004

Oxen Park Reading Room

Evening showing 19:30

Starring:  Keisha Castle-Hughes, Rawiri Paratone
Director: Niki Caro

On the east coast of New Zealand, the Whangara people believe their presence there dates back a thousand years or more to a single ancestor, Paikea, who escaped death when his canoe capsized by riding to shore on the back of a whale. From then on, Whangara chiefs, always the first-born, always male, have been considered Paikea's direct descendants. Pai, an 11-year-old girl in a patriarchal New Zealand tribe, believes she is destined to be the new chief. But her grandfather Koro is bound by tradition to pick a male leader. Pai loves Koro more than anyone in the world, but she must fight him and a thousand years of tradition to fulfill her destiny
(Summary written by berkeley - taken from the IMDB web pages).
 

BIG FISH

2003; Certificate PG13; 125 min

Saturday 4th September 2004

Oxen Park Reading Room

Evening showing

Refreshments at 19:30; film start at 20:00

Entry only £1 - sponsored by the Rusland Valley Community Trust & Local Network Fund

Starring:  Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham-Carter
Director: Tim Burton

Edward is a retired travelling salesman on his deathbed, who for years regaled friends with the surreal tales of his early life as one of nature's 'big fish'. His son however has become very weary of these fantasies of travelling with a giant, circus life, a one-eyed witch, parachuting into enemy territory during the Korean War and more. However, death does not stop the old man's fantasies, which unfold in a series of flash-backs.
(Summary from Filmbank Distributors Ltd brochure). See also the imdb pages.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN:
THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL

2003; Certificate 12A; 143 mins
 

Saturday 28th August 2004

Rusland Parish Rooms

Evening showing

Refreshments at 19:30; film start at 20:00

Entry only £1 - sponsored by the Rusland Valley Community Trust & Local Network Fund

Starring:  Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley
Director: Gore Verbinski

A sweeping action-adventure story set in an era when villainous pirates scavenged the Caribbean seas. This roller-coaster tale teams a young man, Will Turner, with an unlikely ally in rogue pirate Captain Jack Sparrow. Together, they must battle a band of the world's most treacherous pirates, led by the cursed Captain Barbossa, in order to save Elizabeth, the love of Will's life, as well as recover the 'Black Pearl', Jack's ship, which was stolen by Barbossa. Against improbable odds, they race towards a thrilling, climactic confrontation on the mysterious Isla de Muerta. Clashing their swords in fierce mortal combat, Will and Jack attempt to recapture the Black Pearl, save the British navy officers, and relinquish a fortune in forbidden treasure, thereby lifting the curse of the Pirates of the Caribbean.
(Summary from Filmbank Distributors Ltd brochure). See also the  imdb pages.

HABLE CON ELLA (TALK TO HER)

2002; Certificate 15; 112mins
Spanish with English sub-titles

Tuesday 4th May 2004

Oxen Park Reading Room

Evening showing at 19:30

Starring:  Javier Camara, Dario Grandinetti, Leonor Watling, Rosario Flores
Director: Pedro Almodovar

Marco, a journalist grieving for a love affair that ended ten years' ago, falls in love with Lydia, a bullfighter also on the rebound. Benigno, a nurse, dedicates his life to his only patient, a young dancer in a coma as a result of an accident four years' before; he talks to her, reads to her, holds photographs in front of her closed eyes. When Lydia is brought comatose to the hospital where Benigno works, he and Marco become friendly, and the nurse encourages the journalist to talk to her and hope for a miracle. Marco is Sancho to Benigno's Quixote, and as Benigno's hopes for his patient become fantasies, Marco tries to inject reality. Does a miracle await?

Amazing cinematography.

TOUCHING THE VOID

2003; Certificate: 15; 106 mins
 

Saturday 10th April 2004

Ulverston Victoria High School
Events Centre/Main Hall

Evening showing at 19:30

Please note that rates for showing this film are:

Members: £3
Non-members: £4
Under 16's: £2

Directed by: Kevin Macdonald
Writing credits: Joe Simpson (book)
Starring: Nicholas Aaron as Simon Yates, and Brendon Mackey as Joe Simpson

The true story of two climbers and their perilous journey up the west face of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.  "... Go see this if you are a climber, but also if you are interested in the human condition. You won't be disappointed in either case."

See the Internet Movie Database for more information...

BRIEF ENCOUNTER

1945; Certificate: PG; 86 mins

Tuesday 6th April 2004

Rusland Village Hall

Evening showing at 19:30

Starring: Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard
Director: David Lean

On a cafe at a railway station (filmed at Carnforth!), housewife Laura Jesson meets doctor Alec Harvey. Although they are already married, they gradually fall in love with each other. They continue to meet every Thursday on the small cafe, although they know that their love is impossible.

FINDING NEMO

2003; Certificate: U; 100mins

Saturday 13th March 2004

(Rusland Reading Room)

Afternoon showing at 16:00

Starring: Albert Brooks as Marlin (voice), Ellen Degeneres as Dory (voice), Alexander Gould as Nemo (voice)
Director: Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich

A tale which follows the comedic and eventful journeys of two fish, the fretful Malin and his young son Nemo, who are separated from each another in the Great Barrier Reef when Nemo is unexpectedly taken from his home, and thrust into a fish tank in a dentist's office overlooking Sydney Harbor. Buoyed by the companionship of a friendly but forgetful fish named Dory, the overly cautious Malin embarks on in a dangerous trek and finds himself the unlikely hero of an epic journey to rescue his son. Meanwhile the young Nemo hatches a few daring plans of his own to return home safely.

CHARIOTS OF FIRE

1981; Certificate: U; 123 mins

Tuesday 2nd March 2004

Oxen Park Reading Room

Evening showing at 19:30

Starring: Nicholas Farrell, Nigel Havers, Ian Charleson
Director: Hugh Hudson

The true story of two British track athletes competing in the 1924 Summer Olympics. One is a devout Scottish missionary who runs for God, the other is a Jewish student at Cambridge who runs for fame and to escape prejudice.

THE PIANIST

2002; Certificate R; 150 mins

Tuesday 3rd February 2004

Finsthwaite Village Hall

Evening showing at 19:30

Come early and enjoy tea, coffee or a glass of wine provided by the Finsthwaite Hall committee - 50p

Film sponsored by Rosemary Dooley who runs a business selling Books on Music from her home at Witherslack. For a catalogue or information, email:
rd@booksonmusic.co.uk

Starring: Adrien Brody, Maureen Lipman, Thomas Kretschman
Director: Roman Polanski

The true story of Wladyslaw Szpilman who, in the 1930s, was known as the most accomplished piano player in all of Poland, if not Europe. At the outbreak of the Second World War, however, Szpilman becomes subject to the anti-Jewish laws imposed by the conquering Germans. By the start of the 1940s, Szpilman has seen his world go from piano concert halls to the Jewish Ghetto of Warsaw and then must suffer the tragedy of his family deported to a death camp, while Szpilman is conscripted into a forced German Labor Compound. At last deciding to escape, Szpilman goes into hiding as a Jewish refugee where he is witness to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and the Warsaw City Revolt in 1945.

THE THIRD MAN

1949; Certificate PG; 104 mins

Tuesday 6th January 2004

Bouth Village Hall

Evening showing at 19:30

MATILDA

1996; Certificate PG; 100mins;

Monday 5th January 2004

Colton Village Hall

Matinee at 16:00

A grouchy couple give birth to a very sweet girl they name Matilda. Unlike her bratty brother & mean parents, Matilda becomes a very sweet & extremely intelligent girl who is very anxious to go to school & read books. After a while, her parents send her to a school with the worst principal in the world, a very sweet teacher, & good friends. While trying to put up with her parent's & principal's cruelty, she starts to unwittingly unleash telekinetic powers that destroy a television & make a reptile fly on her teacher. With enough practice, Matilda starts to learn to control her telekinetic powers & soon using them on her principal so she can drive her away from the school. Read more....

THE KING AND I

1956; 133 mins

Tuesday 2nd December 2003

Greenodd Village Hall

Matinee at 14:00 and evening showing at 19:30

THE JUNGLE BOOK

1967; Certificate U; 78mins

Saturday 15th November 2003

Colton Church Hall

Matinee at 16:00

For under 16's, but all welcome.

£1 entry fee for everyone.

Disney Classic.
Disney animation inspired by Rudyard Kiplings "Mowgli" story. Mowgli is a boy who has been raised by wolves in the Indian jungle. When the wolves hear that the fierce tiger, Shere Kahn, is nearby, they decide to send Mowgli to a local "man tribe". On his way to the village, Mowgli meets many animal characters in this musical tale. When Shere Kahn learns of Mowgli's presence, he tracks him down.

ABOUT A BOY

2002; Certificate PG-13; 101 mins

Tuesday 4th November 2003

Oxen Park Reading Room

Matinee at 14:00 and evening showing at 19:30

Pie and peas supper at The Manor after the show -
book in advance through OPCC Secretary

RABBIT-PROOF FENCE

2002; Certificate PG; 94 mins

Tuesday 7th October 2003

Rusland Reading Room,19:30

Sponsored by The Tinners' Rabbit

Short film starter:   "The Rusland Show 2003"

Review: Philip French, Observer:
http://film.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/Critic_Review/Observer_review/0,4267,836966,00.html

THE SHIPPING NEWS 

2001; Certificate 15; 117 mins

Tuesday 2nd September 2003

Oxen Park Reading Room19:30.

Review: Philip French, Observer: http://film.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/Critic_Review/Observer_Film_of_the_week/0,4267,661084,00.html

Saturday 5th July 2003

SHREK

Greenodd Village Hall - 10.00 a.m.
Seat reservation preferred
Book through the OPCC Secretary.

Film show intended for under 12's; 1 adult accompanying up to 4 children is preferred.

Tuesday 27th May 2003

CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON

 The Manor House Marquee, Oxen Park  8pm   £3
Part of Terry and Lorraine's Anniversary Jamboree
Time to eat beforehand.
Book through the OPCC Secretary.

Amazing martial arts fighting sequences, stunning special effects, action, adventure and romance. Martial arts masters Li Mu Bai and Yu Shu Lien battle against evil forces to recover their stolen sward - the legendary 'Green Destiny'. Winner of over 40 Awards including Oscars for Music, Cinematography and Art Direction (2000). This critically acclaimed masterpiece is, according to the Evening Standard "a movie every man, woman and child on the face of the planet should see".
From the back of the video!

Thursday 1st May 2003

AMELIE

Bouth Village Hall - 7.30pm   £3
Bring your own cushion.      Raffle.
Seat reservation preferred
Book through the OPCC Secretary.

A tonic for the tired heart, Amelie is a beautiful story about a Parisian waitress who inventively but anonymously sorts out other people's lives. This works until she comes across Nimo who collects photo-booth pictures. Amelie is moved and intrigued but does she reveal herself to him?
From Ipswich Film Society Programme