Tues 15th Jan
Vincere
Dir: Marco Bellocchio, Italy, 2009, 128mins.
A gorgeously shot, extravagantly melodramatic historical drama, Vincere tells the little-known story of how fascist dictator Benito Mussolini (Filippo Timi), before his rise to power, conceived an illegitimate son by a woman called Ida Dalser (Giovanna Mezzogiorno), a son he denied for the rest of his life. A passionate look at power, paranoia and betrayal in a little-known corner of history, Vincere is full of visual poetry and political unrest, recreating the rise of fascism with real newsreel footage, on-screen slogans and Futurist art.
Tues 29th Jan
L'Enfant
Dir: Dardenne Bros, Belgium, 2005, 95mins.
Anyone who saw the Dardenne brothers’ superb Kid With A Bike at the recent Subtitled Film Festival will relish the chance to see L’Enfant, their 2005 Palme D’Or winner. Young lovers Sonia and Bruno find themselves strapped for cash when Sonia gets pregnant. Once the baby is born Bruno promptly sells it on the black market. L’Enfant is a gritty, humane slice of real life, emotionally and intellectually complex, uncompromising and unforgettable, using documentary-style camerawork to create gripping immediacy and a haunting sense of place.
Tues 12th Feb
Poetry
Dir: Chang-Dong Lee, South Korea, 2010, 139mins.
A woman in her sixties, faced with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and the discovery of a family crime, finds strength and purpose when she enrols in a poetry class. Lee Chang-dong's follow-up to his acclaimed Secret Sunshine is a masterful study of the empowerment of an elderly woman, beautifully shot and deeply moving, with a terrifically intense and poignant
Tues 26th Feb
My Man Godfrey
Dir: Gregory La Cava, USA, 1936, 94mins.
William Powell is homeless bum Godfrey Smith, living at the city dump and minding his own business when snobby rich girl Cornelia Bullock turns up and offers him five dollars to be her 'forgotten man' for a scavenger hunt. Godfrey ends up the Bullock family butler falling for Cornelia’s scatty younger sister Irene (Lombard). The prototype '30s film, a Depression-fuelled screwball romance full of blithe wit and contempt for the rich, blessed with that mysterious light touch the best directors of the era seemed to have in abundance. It's a classic.
Tues 12th March
About Elly
Dir: Asghar Farhadi, Iran, 2009, 119mins.
Another gripping drama from A Separation writer/director Asghar Farhadi, About Elly follows a group of friends, well-to-do professionals, who go on holiday together to the Caspian Sea with their young children. But one of them, Sepideh, has invited someone they barely know, a young woman called Elly, their children's teacher, hoping to set her up with the recently divorced Ahmad. What follows is a superbly acted, morally challenging drama about how a simple, well-meaning lie can open up a Pandora's Box of problems.
Tues 26th March
The Imposter
Dir: Bart Layton, UK, 2012, 99mins.
Bart Layton’s highly-regarded documentary begins in 1994 when a 13-year-old boy disappears without a trace from San Antonio, Texas. Over three years later he is found alive, thousands of miles away in a village in southern Spain with a story of kidnap and torture. His family is overjoyed to bring him home. But all is not quite as it seems. The Imposter is not only an astonishing true story but also a mesmerizing, superbly crafted mix of documentary, mystery and thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat throughout.
Tues 9th April
Sin Nombre
Dir: Cary Fukunaga, Mexico/USA, 2009, 96mins.
Cary Fukunaga’s epic and stunningly-shot thriller follows two young Hondurans as they cross the gauntlet of Central America in their attempt to get to the USA to start a new life. Sin Nombre is pure filmmaking, a great story told in beautiful images, borrowing from road movies and crime thrillers but vibrating with authenticity. At once drama, romance and thriller, Sin Nombre delivers a raw, powerful film that shrugs aside genre convention.
Tues 23rd April
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Dir: Benh Zeitlin, USA, 2012, 93mins
In a forgotten bayou community cut off from the rest of the world by a sprawling levee, six-year-old Hushpuppy (Wallis) lives a semi-feral life of freedom. When a storm floods the area she sets off with her sick father on a mission to reclaim their land. Beasts of the Southern Wild is an extraordinary film, a wondrously weird slice of Cajun magic realism, exploding with energy and colour. One of the cinematic highlights of 2012, beautiful, funny and tender.
All films are shown in The Set Theatre, John St, Kilkenny
Membership (inc 8 films)...€48
Single film admission...€8
Membership and tickets are available at the venue from 7:30pm on the evening.
Kilkenny Film Club is a non-profit organisation assisted by Access Cinema, The Arts Council and Langtons House Hotel.
For further enquiries contact Steve Cullen on 0861217211
.jpg)
