WELL, DEAR MEMBERS, we made it – welcome to LRFS’s 35th season. It has been an epic journey since we showed our first film, Good Morning Babylon, all those years ago. Our core aspirations have remained constant ever since: to present some of the best releases from around the world and to showcase new creative talent. We have survived early financial hardship, the loss of our cinema and, of course, a pandemic. The film landscape has changed dramatically post Covid-19, titles are more difficult to book, and now we must rise to this challenge. Hopefully, you will think we have done so by the end of the season. We have arranged a celebratory event for 3 December: a silent classic with live music provided by Sonic Silents. I saw them play to two Frank Borzage westerns in January 2016 and it was a superb evening! Finally, the committee would like to thank everyone who has supported us over the years. David
Please note: not all the performance dates are fortnightly in the first half of the season.
Please note: not all the performance dates are fortnightly in the first half of the season.
Programme 2023-24
SOME PRESS COMMENTS
LIVING
‘As profoundly and deeply felt as the original and as heartbreakingly tender’ The Spectator
‘A director rising into the highest ranks and an actor at the peak of his powers’ Times
LUNANA: A YAK IN THE CLASSROOM
‘The sort of film that the word charmer was made for’ Eye for Film
‘An irresistible delight from start to finish’ Radio Times
SHE SAID
‘The year’s most gripping detective story’ ABC News
‘A tense, fraught and absorbing movie’ Variety
THE QUIET GIRL
‘A truly remarkable new Irish Film’ The Irish Times
‘A genuine work of art by a genuinely empathetic artist’ Rolling Stone
THE DROVER’S WIFE
‘Purcell [gives] a heartrending lead performance’ LA Times
‘Magnetism in front of the camera and widescreen confidence behind it’ Financial Times
CLOSE
'An exceptional film of empathy and vision’ BBC
‘Sensitive, graceful and impeccably restrained’ Total Film
BEGGARS OF LIFE
'Loaded with stunning visuals and one of the great late-silent-era features’ Leonard Maltin
‘Strong atmosphere and Brooks is beguiling’ Radio Times Guide
1976
‘Demonstrates remarkable skill in reconstructing the time period’ New York Times
‘An outstanding performance from Aline Küppenheim is the driving force’ Guardian
AFTERSUN
‘The subtle aftershocks of this intimate, beautifully wrought picture linger long after’ Time
‘What a pleasure . . . Ripples and shimmers like a swimming pool of mystery’ Guardian
THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
‘Arguably the finest work from this major filmmaker’ LFF
‘Deeply affecting, warmly humorous, beautifully acted’ The Australian
TORI AND LOKITA
‘Remarkably assured material, impeccably played’ Times
‘It is impossible not to be moved by the youngsters’ struggle’ Sight & Sound
RYE LANE
'A rom-com with heart, wit and style’ LA Times
‘Sweet, down-to-earth and thoughtful rom-com’ Associated Press
EMPIRE OF LIGHT
'It is the actors who shine in this intimate and poignant film’ Times of India
‘At its best, it is genuinely evocative’ Empire
LIVING
‘As profoundly and deeply felt as the original and as heartbreakingly tender’ The Spectator
‘A director rising into the highest ranks and an actor at the peak of his powers’ Times
LUNANA: A YAK IN THE CLASSROOM
‘The sort of film that the word charmer was made for’ Eye for Film
‘An irresistible delight from start to finish’ Radio Times
SHE SAID
‘The year’s most gripping detective story’ ABC News
‘A tense, fraught and absorbing movie’ Variety
THE QUIET GIRL
‘A truly remarkable new Irish Film’ The Irish Times
‘A genuine work of art by a genuinely empathetic artist’ Rolling Stone
THE DROVER’S WIFE
‘Purcell [gives] a heartrending lead performance’ LA Times
‘Magnetism in front of the camera and widescreen confidence behind it’ Financial Times
CLOSE
'An exceptional film of empathy and vision’ BBC
‘Sensitive, graceful and impeccably restrained’ Total Film
BEGGARS OF LIFE
'Loaded with stunning visuals and one of the great late-silent-era features’ Leonard Maltin
‘Strong atmosphere and Brooks is beguiling’ Radio Times Guide
1976
‘Demonstrates remarkable skill in reconstructing the time period’ New York Times
‘An outstanding performance from Aline Küppenheim is the driving force’ Guardian
AFTERSUN
‘The subtle aftershocks of this intimate, beautifully wrought picture linger long after’ Time
‘What a pleasure . . . Ripples and shimmers like a swimming pool of mystery’ Guardian
THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
‘Arguably the finest work from this major filmmaker’ LFF
‘Deeply affecting, warmly humorous, beautifully acted’ The Australian
TORI AND LOKITA
‘Remarkably assured material, impeccably played’ Times
‘It is impossible not to be moved by the youngsters’ struggle’ Sight & Sound
RYE LANE
'A rom-com with heart, wit and style’ LA Times
‘Sweet, down-to-earth and thoughtful rom-com’ Associated Press
EMPIRE OF LIGHT
'It is the actors who shine in this intimate and poignant film’ Times of India
‘At its best, it is genuinely evocative’ Empire
10 September
LIVING
UK/Swe/Fin/Jap, 2022, 102m, colr, 12A
Director: Oliver Hermanus
With Bill Nighy, Aimee Lou Wood, Alex Sharp
ONE OF THE best compliments paid by reviewers about Living was that it could stand alongside the original. Why? Well, the film in question was Kurosawa’s 1952 masterpiece Ikiru. The central character (in this version a superb Bill Nighy) discovers he has only months to live and looks to throw off the shackles of his rather mundane job in local government. The setting – London in 1953 – is different, of course, but novelist Kazuo Ishiguro, whose screenplay this is, has adapted the story quite brilliantly. He has managed to combine the spirit of the original with an incisive dissection of ‘stiff-upper-lip’ Britain in the 1950s.
72 members present, reactions 92%
24 September
LUNANA: A YAK IN THE CLASSROOM
Bhu/Chi, 2019, 109m, colr, PG, s/t
Director: Pawo Choyning Dorji
With Sherab Dorji, Ugyen Norbu Lhendup
UGYEN, a trainee teacher in his twenties, is far more focused on getting an Australian visa than engaging with such a noble vocation. Unfortunately for him, his superiors have other ideas and he is sent to the village of Lunana (population 56), where he cannot even find a blackboard . . . Occasionally, as with The Fencer and Monsieur Lazhar, a movie comes along that is an absolute charmer. This, the first film from Bhutan to be nominated for an Oscar, is one for sure – with the welcome bonus that the landscapes are breathtaking.
*** Note - 3-week gap between films! ***
15 October
SHE SAID
US/Jap, 2022, 129m, colr, 15,
Director: Maria Schrader
With Carey Mulligan, Zoe Kazan, Patricia Clarkson, Jennifer Ehle
WE ALL KNOW something about the Harvey Weinstein scandal and the #MeToo movement. She Said is an absorbing drama that shows us the exemplary investigative journalism that uncovered it. Quite properly, the film’s focus is on the victims and Megan Twohey (Mulligan) and Jodi Kantor (Kazan), whose efforts earned them a Pulitzer Prize. Newsroom dramas have always translated well to the big screen (The Post, our opening film of the 2018-2019 season, scored 90%) and this one, with Carey Mulligan on particularly good form, is another winner.
29 October
THE QUIET GIRL
Ireland, 2022, 95m, colr, 12A, s/t
Director: Colm Bairéad
With Carrie Crowley, Catherine Clinch, Andrew Bennett
IRELAND, 1981. Cáit is a young girl living in a restrictive and unhappy home environment. Her parents are in a continual struggle to make ends meet – her father is clearly not a role model for the ages – and so, one summer, she is sent to live with relatives. Initially shy and unresponsive, she grows and blossoms under their care and tutelage. Much of this we observe through so many delightful moments: running to the post-box; bringing water from the well; the gentle brushing of her hair. Catherine Clinch gives a remarkably assured debut performance as the girl.
12 November
THE DROVER’S WIFE: THE LEGEND OF MOLLY JOHNSON
Australia, 2020, 109m, colr, 15
Director: Leah Purcell
With Leah Purcell, Rob Collins, Sam Reid, Jessica De Gouw
NEW SOUTH WALES, 1893. A British policeman, accompanied by his wife, arrives at a remote outpost to take up his duties. They have already met the formidable Molly, and her children, en route; it is clear to all that their paths will cross again, especially after Molly’s husband is reported missing. Tackling issues of racism and misogyny with verve and a clear sense of purpose, Purcell has taken the original short story (written in 1892) and enhanced it considerably. It has been a labour of love for the director-star, who had already adapted Henry Lawson’s story first for the stage and then as a novelisation.
26 November
CLOSE
Bel/Fr/Neth, 2022, 104m, colr, 12A, s/t
Director: Lukas Dhont
With Eden Dhambrine, Gustave de Waele, Emilie Dequenne
WINNER OF the Grand Prix at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, Close is an excellent film that captures both the intimacy of true friendship and the destructive forces that can exist within a managed environment. Best friends Léo and Rémi, just 13-years-old, take such delight in each other’s company (bike rides, sleepovers, shared confidences) that life seems like one long, idyllic summer. Until, that is, they move up to secondary school, group dynamics take over and their friendship is called into question. The professional and non-professional actors meld superbly.
3 December
LIVE MUSIC SPECIAL EVENT with SONIC SILENTS
BEGGARS OF LIFE
US, 1928, 100m, b/w, 12A
Director: William A. Wellman
With Wallace Beery, Richard Arlen, Louise Brooks
AL JOLSON singing “My Mammy” in 1927 was not a guarantee that talkies were here to stay. Indeed, three silent masterpieces were released in the next twelve months: The Wind starring Lillian Gish; King Vidor’s superb The Crowd and tonight’s presentation. Icon-in-the-making Louise Brooks kills her abusive father, disguises herself as a man and goes on the run with Richard Arlen. Hobo Oklahoma Red (Beery) takes a shine to them and helps the fugitives to evade their pursuers. Silent movies rarely were, of course, and we are thrilled that Sonic Silents (musicians Kate Lissauer, Leon Hunt, Jason Titley and Alastair Goolden) are playing for us in the Marine theatre this evening.
7 January
1976
Chil/Mex/Arg/Qu, 2022, 106m, colr, 15, s/t
Director: Manuela Martelli
With Aline Küppenheim, Nicolas Sepülveda, Hugo Medina
CHILE and we are three years into Pinochet’s dictatorship. Carmen is a middle-aged grandmother who is contacted by the local priest, whilst organising the renovation of her seaside beach home. He asks her to shelter a wounded political activist as she used to be in the Red Cross; Carmen also has family members who can supply the necessary antibiotics. These are, however, increasingly dangerous times. Three things distinguish 1976 from other similar political thrillers: the clever use of pastel colours; the electronic score; the use of sound to create an omnipresent sense of dread. Unsurprisingly, it won the 2022 LFF First Feature Competition.
21 January
AFTERSUN
UK/US, 2022, 102m, colr, 12A,
Director: Charlotte Wells
With Paul Mescal, Frankie Corio, Celia Rowlson-Hall
IT HAS BEEN our pleasure to present many directorial debuts during the past 35 years, and this sensitive drama is one of the best. Now in her thirties, Sophie thinks back to the late 1990s, when she was just eleven, and her relationship with her father. In particular, what seemed then to be an idyllic, sun-filled holiday for both of them. An adult herself now, Sophie has come to realise that all was not as it seemed to be and her father, Calum, was carrying a burden he could not shed. Will she find her inner peace? The chemistry between Mescal and young Corio is tremendous.
4 February
THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
UK/US/Ire, 2022, 114m, colr, 15,
Director: Martin McDonagh
With Brendan Gleeson, Colin Farrell, Kerry Condon, Barry Keoghan
A SMALL ISLAND off the coast of Ireland. The year is 1923 and the Irish Civil War rages on the mainland. Here on Inisherin, it is but a distant rumble – the real conflict is between Colm (Gleeson) and Pádraic (Farrell), after the former declares that their friendship is over. Martin McDonagh proves that it is possible for one person to write a brilliant script and then direct it. He is aided immeasurably by a quartet of outstanding performances and the clear result is that Banshees is one of the best films of the year. The mordant vein of black humour that runs through it is typical of the director and raises the story to another level.
18 February
TORI AND LOKITA
Bel/Fr, 2021, 89m, colr, 15, s/t
Directors: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
With Pablo Schils, Joely Mbundu, Alban Ukaj
IT HAS TAKEN us a while to programme a Dardenne brothers’ film, but here we are. Politically active, their commitment is always to the vulnerable and marginalised and this is a fine example of their work. Tori and Lokita are a young boy and teenage girl – refugees from West Africa – trying to make their way in a European world that seems to be as unforgiving as the one they left. What they have, however, is a determination to be more than victims of the system and a bond that will not be broken easily. Incidentally, the directors refuse to milk the subject for its pathos – they just give us a proper film.
3 March
RYE LANE
UK, 2023, 82m, colr, 15
Director: Raine Allen-Miller
With David Jonsson, Vivian Oparah, Poppy Allen-Quarmby
CRITICS ON both sides of the Atlantic have lavished praise on this refreshing romantic comedy. Undoubtedly, the first film we have shown that opens in a WC (A Very Long Engagement opened in no-man’s-land, if memory serves) the two young leads are a delight. Dom (Jonsson) is still pining for his ex-girlfriend; Yas (Oparah) offers her support and isn’t one for taking prisoners. Filmed on actual locations, Rye Lane has a vibrancy that is engaging and infectious. If all that is still not enough to win you over, look out for an absolutely priceless cameo!
17 March
EMPIRE OF LIGHT
UK/US, 2022, 115m, colr, 15
Director: Sam Mendes
With Olivia Colman, Michael Ward, Colin Firth, Toby Jones
IT IS appropriate that we conclude our 35th season with the story of a small town cinema and the staff who work there. Hilary (Colman) is the duty manager of a crumbling seaside picture palace, where pigeons roost in the upper floor, at the onset of cinema’s worst decade: the 1980s. Barely able to function between mood swings, she becomes attracted to Stephen (Ward) – the young man who has just joined the staff – and they begin a relationship. He hopes to go to university; in the meantime, a premiere of Chariots of Fire is pending, Hilary suffers sexual harassment from her boss and Stephen has a very close encounter with a group of skinheads.
LIVING
UK/Swe/Fin/Jap, 2022, 102m, colr, 12A
Director: Oliver Hermanus
With Bill Nighy, Aimee Lou Wood, Alex Sharp
ONE OF THE best compliments paid by reviewers about Living was that it could stand alongside the original. Why? Well, the film in question was Kurosawa’s 1952 masterpiece Ikiru. The central character (in this version a superb Bill Nighy) discovers he has only months to live and looks to throw off the shackles of his rather mundane job in local government. The setting – London in 1953 – is different, of course, but novelist Kazuo Ishiguro, whose screenplay this is, has adapted the story quite brilliantly. He has managed to combine the spirit of the original with an incisive dissection of ‘stiff-upper-lip’ Britain in the 1950s.
72 members present, reactions 92%
24 September
LUNANA: A YAK IN THE CLASSROOM
Bhu/Chi, 2019, 109m, colr, PG, s/t
Director: Pawo Choyning Dorji
With Sherab Dorji, Ugyen Norbu Lhendup
UGYEN, a trainee teacher in his twenties, is far more focused on getting an Australian visa than engaging with such a noble vocation. Unfortunately for him, his superiors have other ideas and he is sent to the village of Lunana (population 56), where he cannot even find a blackboard . . . Occasionally, as with The Fencer and Monsieur Lazhar, a movie comes along that is an absolute charmer. This, the first film from Bhutan to be nominated for an Oscar, is one for sure – with the welcome bonus that the landscapes are breathtaking.
*** Note - 3-week gap between films! ***
15 October
SHE SAID
US/Jap, 2022, 129m, colr, 15,
Director: Maria Schrader
With Carey Mulligan, Zoe Kazan, Patricia Clarkson, Jennifer Ehle
WE ALL KNOW something about the Harvey Weinstein scandal and the #MeToo movement. She Said is an absorbing drama that shows us the exemplary investigative journalism that uncovered it. Quite properly, the film’s focus is on the victims and Megan Twohey (Mulligan) and Jodi Kantor (Kazan), whose efforts earned them a Pulitzer Prize. Newsroom dramas have always translated well to the big screen (The Post, our opening film of the 2018-2019 season, scored 90%) and this one, with Carey Mulligan on particularly good form, is another winner.
29 October
THE QUIET GIRL
Ireland, 2022, 95m, colr, 12A, s/t
Director: Colm Bairéad
With Carrie Crowley, Catherine Clinch, Andrew Bennett
IRELAND, 1981. Cáit is a young girl living in a restrictive and unhappy home environment. Her parents are in a continual struggle to make ends meet – her father is clearly not a role model for the ages – and so, one summer, she is sent to live with relatives. Initially shy and unresponsive, she grows and blossoms under their care and tutelage. Much of this we observe through so many delightful moments: running to the post-box; bringing water from the well; the gentle brushing of her hair. Catherine Clinch gives a remarkably assured debut performance as the girl.
12 November
THE DROVER’S WIFE: THE LEGEND OF MOLLY JOHNSON
Australia, 2020, 109m, colr, 15
Director: Leah Purcell
With Leah Purcell, Rob Collins, Sam Reid, Jessica De Gouw
NEW SOUTH WALES, 1893. A British policeman, accompanied by his wife, arrives at a remote outpost to take up his duties. They have already met the formidable Molly, and her children, en route; it is clear to all that their paths will cross again, especially after Molly’s husband is reported missing. Tackling issues of racism and misogyny with verve and a clear sense of purpose, Purcell has taken the original short story (written in 1892) and enhanced it considerably. It has been a labour of love for the director-star, who had already adapted Henry Lawson’s story first for the stage and then as a novelisation.
26 November
CLOSE
Bel/Fr/Neth, 2022, 104m, colr, 12A, s/t
Director: Lukas Dhont
With Eden Dhambrine, Gustave de Waele, Emilie Dequenne
WINNER OF the Grand Prix at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, Close is an excellent film that captures both the intimacy of true friendship and the destructive forces that can exist within a managed environment. Best friends Léo and Rémi, just 13-years-old, take such delight in each other’s company (bike rides, sleepovers, shared confidences) that life seems like one long, idyllic summer. Until, that is, they move up to secondary school, group dynamics take over and their friendship is called into question. The professional and non-professional actors meld superbly.
3 December
LIVE MUSIC SPECIAL EVENT with SONIC SILENTS
BEGGARS OF LIFE
US, 1928, 100m, b/w, 12A
Director: William A. Wellman
With Wallace Beery, Richard Arlen, Louise Brooks
AL JOLSON singing “My Mammy” in 1927 was not a guarantee that talkies were here to stay. Indeed, three silent masterpieces were released in the next twelve months: The Wind starring Lillian Gish; King Vidor’s superb The Crowd and tonight’s presentation. Icon-in-the-making Louise Brooks kills her abusive father, disguises herself as a man and goes on the run with Richard Arlen. Hobo Oklahoma Red (Beery) takes a shine to them and helps the fugitives to evade their pursuers. Silent movies rarely were, of course, and we are thrilled that Sonic Silents (musicians Kate Lissauer, Leon Hunt, Jason Titley and Alastair Goolden) are playing for us in the Marine theatre this evening.
7 January
1976
Chil/Mex/Arg/Qu, 2022, 106m, colr, 15, s/t
Director: Manuela Martelli
With Aline Küppenheim, Nicolas Sepülveda, Hugo Medina
CHILE and we are three years into Pinochet’s dictatorship. Carmen is a middle-aged grandmother who is contacted by the local priest, whilst organising the renovation of her seaside beach home. He asks her to shelter a wounded political activist as she used to be in the Red Cross; Carmen also has family members who can supply the necessary antibiotics. These are, however, increasingly dangerous times. Three things distinguish 1976 from other similar political thrillers: the clever use of pastel colours; the electronic score; the use of sound to create an omnipresent sense of dread. Unsurprisingly, it won the 2022 LFF First Feature Competition.
21 January
AFTERSUN
UK/US, 2022, 102m, colr, 12A,
Director: Charlotte Wells
With Paul Mescal, Frankie Corio, Celia Rowlson-Hall
IT HAS BEEN our pleasure to present many directorial debuts during the past 35 years, and this sensitive drama is one of the best. Now in her thirties, Sophie thinks back to the late 1990s, when she was just eleven, and her relationship with her father. In particular, what seemed then to be an idyllic, sun-filled holiday for both of them. An adult herself now, Sophie has come to realise that all was not as it seemed to be and her father, Calum, was carrying a burden he could not shed. Will she find her inner peace? The chemistry between Mescal and young Corio is tremendous.
4 February
THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
UK/US/Ire, 2022, 114m, colr, 15,
Director: Martin McDonagh
With Brendan Gleeson, Colin Farrell, Kerry Condon, Barry Keoghan
A SMALL ISLAND off the coast of Ireland. The year is 1923 and the Irish Civil War rages on the mainland. Here on Inisherin, it is but a distant rumble – the real conflict is between Colm (Gleeson) and Pádraic (Farrell), after the former declares that their friendship is over. Martin McDonagh proves that it is possible for one person to write a brilliant script and then direct it. He is aided immeasurably by a quartet of outstanding performances and the clear result is that Banshees is one of the best films of the year. The mordant vein of black humour that runs through it is typical of the director and raises the story to another level.
18 February
TORI AND LOKITA
Bel/Fr, 2021, 89m, colr, 15, s/t
Directors: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
With Pablo Schils, Joely Mbundu, Alban Ukaj
IT HAS TAKEN us a while to programme a Dardenne brothers’ film, but here we are. Politically active, their commitment is always to the vulnerable and marginalised and this is a fine example of their work. Tori and Lokita are a young boy and teenage girl – refugees from West Africa – trying to make their way in a European world that seems to be as unforgiving as the one they left. What they have, however, is a determination to be more than victims of the system and a bond that will not be broken easily. Incidentally, the directors refuse to milk the subject for its pathos – they just give us a proper film.
3 March
RYE LANE
UK, 2023, 82m, colr, 15
Director: Raine Allen-Miller
With David Jonsson, Vivian Oparah, Poppy Allen-Quarmby
CRITICS ON both sides of the Atlantic have lavished praise on this refreshing romantic comedy. Undoubtedly, the first film we have shown that opens in a WC (A Very Long Engagement opened in no-man’s-land, if memory serves) the two young leads are a delight. Dom (Jonsson) is still pining for his ex-girlfriend; Yas (Oparah) offers her support and isn’t one for taking prisoners. Filmed on actual locations, Rye Lane has a vibrancy that is engaging and infectious. If all that is still not enough to win you over, look out for an absolutely priceless cameo!
17 March
EMPIRE OF LIGHT
UK/US, 2022, 115m, colr, 15
Director: Sam Mendes
With Olivia Colman, Michael Ward, Colin Firth, Toby Jones
IT IS appropriate that we conclude our 35th season with the story of a small town cinema and the staff who work there. Hilary (Colman) is the duty manager of a crumbling seaside picture palace, where pigeons roost in the upper floor, at the onset of cinema’s worst decade: the 1980s. Barely able to function between mood swings, she becomes attracted to Stephen (Ward) – the young man who has just joined the staff – and they begin a relationship. He hopes to go to university; in the meantime, a premiere of Chariots of Fire is pending, Hilary suffers sexual harassment from her boss and Stephen has a very close encounter with a group of skinheads.
Tea and cakes downstairs each Sunday from 4:45pm
Film on-screen 5:30pm