PAST PRODUCTIONS 2019/20

Director: Kenneth Branagh
Cast: Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench and Ian McKellen

The year is 1613 and William Shakespeare is acknowledged as the greatest playwright of the age. But, disaster strikes when his renowned Globe Theatre in London burns to the ground. A devastated Shakespeare returns to his home in Stratford-upon-Avon to face his neglected family. He is haunted by the untimely death of his only son, Hamnet, and struggles to mend the broken relationships with his wife and daughters. In doing so he is forced to examine his own failings as a husband and a father.

“Impressively cast and beautifully filmed” (Rotten Tomatoes)

“I envy the Japanese”  Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo. In the exhibition on which this film is based – VAN GOGH & JAPAN at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam – one can see why. Though Vincent van Gogh never visited Japan it is the country that had the most profound influence on him and his art.

One cannot understand Van Gogh without understanding how Japanese art arrived in Paris in the middle of the 19th century and the profound impact it had on artists like Monet, Degas and, above all, Van Gogh. Visiting the new galleries of Japanese art in Paris – Van Gogh’s encounter with Japanese artworks gave his work a new and exciting direction.

In this little known story of Van Gogh’s art we see just how important his study of Japan was. The film travels not only to France and the Netherlands but also to Japan to further explore the remarkable heritage that so affected Van Gogh and made him the artist we know of today.

Director: Aneesh Chaganty
Cast: John Cho, Debra Messing, Joseph Lee

After David Kim’s daughter, Margot, goes missing a local investigation is opened and a detective assigned to the case. But when, after 36 hours, there are still no leads David decides to search in the one place no one has yet thought of looking – his daughter’s laptop.

This is a taut modern mystery-thriller with a powerful emotional content told via the technology that most of use every day to communicate with others. David must trace his daughter’s digital footprint if has any hope of finding her.

“An ingenious drama” (London Evening Standard)

Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Cast: Lily Franky, Sakura Andô, Kirin Kiki

Osamu and his family are a dysfunctional band of outsiders living ‘below the radar’ on the fringes of Japanese society, supplementing their income with some petty thieving.

After one of their shoplifting sessions Osama and his son come across a little girl, apparently abandoned, and decide to take her home to join the chaotic household.  They appear to be one big happy family living in a tiny house belonging to the grandmother, but when the son is arrested secrets are revealed testing the bonds that unite them.

Runner-up as best foreign film at 2019 Oscars.

“A satisfying and devastating gem” (Peter Bradshaw)

Leonardo da Vinci is acclaimed as the world’s favourite artist. Many television shows and feature films have showcased this extraordinary genius but often not examined closely enough is the most crucial element of all: his art. Leonardo’s peerless paintings and drawings are the focus of Leonardo: The Works, as EXHIBITION ON SCREEN presents every single attributed painting, in Ultra HD quality, never seen before on the cinema screen.

Key works include The Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, Lady with an Ermine, Ginevra de’ Benci, Madonna Litta, Virgin of the Rocks and more than a dozen others.

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Cast: Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz

It is the early 18th century and England is at war with France. A frail and overweight Queen Anne (Olivia Coleman) occupies the throne but it is her close friend and lover Lady Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz) who is really running the country while at the same time tending to Anne’s ill health and mercurial temper.

Abigail, a young and attractive servant girl (Emma Stone) arrives at court and as Sarah becomes ever more preoccupied with matters of state the ambitious Abigail replaces her as the queen’s favourite and intimate companion.

Both Olivia Colman and Rachel Weisz won Oscars for their performances.

“Savagely funny” (The Spectator)

For the first time ever the Royal Academy of Arts in London, in collaboration with the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, has brought together Lucian Freud’s self-portraits.

The exhibition displays more than 50 paintings, prints and drawings in which this modern master of British art turned his unflinching eye firmly on himself. One of the most celebrated painters of our time, Lucian Freud is also one of very few 20th-century artists who portrayed themselves with such consistency.

Spanning nearly seven decades his self-portraits give a fascinating insight into both his psyche and his development as a painter, from his earliest portrait painted in 1939 to the final one executed 64 years later. When seen together, his portraits represent an engrossing study into the dynamic of ageing and the process of self-representation. This intensely compelling exhibition creates a unique opportunity to reveal the life’s work of a master in one show.

Director: Dexter Fletcher
Cast: Taron Egerton, Richard Madden

This musical fantasy, with a script by Lee Hall, is a biopic of the flamboyant, legendary singer song-writer Elton John. It follows the wild-ride transformation of the shy piano prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music, Reg Dwight, into the international superstar Elton John.

This inspirational story is set to Elton’s favourite songs and impressively performed by Taron Egerton, who does all his own vocals. The story of how a small-town boy from Essex became one of the most iconic figures in pop culture.

“A dazzling rock opera” (Mark Kermode- Guardian)

Director: Adrian Noble
Cast: Vanessa Redgrave, Timothy Spall

This is a sympathetic portrayal, by the theatre director Adrian Noble, of the much loved British painter L.S. Lowry who lived all his life with his bitter, overbearing and bed-ridden mother, Elizabeth (superbly played by Vanessa Redgrave).

She actively tried to dissuade her rather timid bachelor son from pursuing his artistic ambitions whilst never failing to voice her opinions at what a disappointment he was to her.

Timothy Spall is marvellous as the shy, lonely, rent-collector Lowry desperately eager to please his cantankerous mother.

“An entertaining show case for two first class performers” (Peter Bradshaw – Guardian)

Leonardo da Vinci is acclaimed as the world’s favourite artist. Many television shows and feature films have showcased this extraordinary genius but often not examined closely enough is the most crucial element of all: his art. Leonardo’s peerless paintings and drawings are the focus of Leonardo: The Works, in this film which presents every single attributed painting, in Ultra HD quality, never seen before on the cinema screen.

Key works include The Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, Lady with an Ermine, Ginevra de’ Benci, Madonna Litta, Virgin of the Rocks and more than a dozen others.

Director: Benedikt Erlingssson
Cast: Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir, Jóhann Sigurðarson, Juan Camillo Roman Estrada

Halla is a fifty year old independent Icelandic woman who appears to lead a quiet life, but behind the scenes she is a passionate environmental activist.

She is waging a one-woman war on the local aluminium industry and her actions grow steadily bolder, from petty vandalism to outright industrial sabotage.

Just as she is about to mount her biggest and boldest operation she hears that her lengthy attempt to adopt a child has been successful, and she plans one final attack before becoming a mother.

Selected for the International Critics' Week at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival

“..a moving and weirdly beautiful film” (Mark Kermode - Observer)

Director: Todd Douglas Miller
Cast: Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin

Featuring previously unseen footage this electrifying documentary marks 50 years since the first moon landing in 1969.

Although we all know how this mission turned out, the film generates and maintains a high level of suspense and wonder.

It is not a film about facts and statistics but how it feels to be in space and on the ground when history is being made. It captures the excitement and enormity of space exploration and somehow does not feel like something that happened 50 years ago.

“A stunning return to an incredible journey” (Peter Bradshaw – Guardian.)

Director: Armando Ianucci
Cast: Dev Patel, Hugh Laurie, Tilda Swinton

This sparkling adaptation puts a fresh and funny spin on Dicken’s classic.

The narrator/hero tells his story in two halves. First recounting being exiled from the family home by a wicked stepfather to labour in a grim bottling factory, and then telling how he climbed the social ladder to become a lawyer and a gentleman. He makes a glorious jumble of friends along the way.

Dev Patel makes a wonderful Copperfield, charismatic and funny, but this is very much an ensemble piece with many other fine performances.

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“Nimble, appealing and attuned to the nuances of Dickens' spirit” (Stephanie Zacharek - TIME Magazine)

Leonardo da Vinci’s peerless paintings and drawings are the focus of this film presenting every single one of Leonardo’s attributed paintings, in Ultra HD quality. The film also looks afresh at Leonardo’s life – his inventiveness, his sculptural skills, his military foresight and his ability to navigate the treacherous politics of the day. Released in recognition of the 500th anniversary of da Vinci’s death.

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Director: Ken Loach
Cast: Kris Hitchen, Debbie Honeywood, Rhys Mcgowan

Hoping that self-employment through the gig economy can solve their financial problems, a hard-up delivery driver and his wife struggle to raise a family.

This replaces THE DIG, the film originally advertised, due to licensing constraints.

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“A tactlessly passionate bulletin from the heart of modern Britain. This brilliant film will focus minds.” (Peter Bradshaw - Guardian)

Director: Benedikt Erlingsson
Cast: Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir, Jóhann Sigurðarson, Juan Camilo Román Estrada

This excellent Icelandic film is a jet-black comedy about a woman fighting to save the planet and adopt a child at the same time.

Amid the breath-taking scenery of rural Iceland Halla, a middle-aged eco-warrior is battling Big Industry, in particular government plans to build a new aluminium smelter.

When not secretly holding heartless industrialists to ransom and sabotaging their developments Halla leads a rather more peaceful life conducting the local choir, teaching tai chi. and eventually unexpectedly becoming a mother.

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“This is a weirdly beautiful film” (Mark Kermode – Observer)

The story of Christ’s death and resurrection has dominated western culture for the past 2000 years. It is perhaps the most significant historical event of all time, as recounted by the gospels but, equally, as depicted by the greatest artists in history.

From the triumphant to the savage, the ethereal to the tactile, some of western civilization’s greatest artworks focus on this pivotal moment. This beautifully crafted film explores the Easter story as depicted in art, from the time of the early Christians to the present day.

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Director: Dominic Cooke
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Merab Ninidze, Rachel Brosnahan

This is the true story of an unassuming British businessman (Greville Wynne) who is unwittingly recruited into one of the greatest international conflicts in history, the Cuban Missile Crisis. At the behest of MI6 and the CIA he forges a covert and dangerous partnership with a Soviet officer (Oleg Penkovsky) hoping to prevent a nuclear confrontation.

The two men work together to provide crucial intelligence used to defuse the stand-off between the United States and the Soviet Union, when the world came to the brink of nuclear war.

Benedict Cumberbatch is terrific as Greville Wynne.

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“There's real drama, and even thrills, to be found in this story of a very unlikely friendship that changed the course of history.” (Chris Hewitt - Empire Magazine)