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Son Of A Lion (PG)
starts August 21
Director: Benjamin Gilmour
Pahtu dialogue with English subtitles
92mins
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In Pakistan’s tribal weapon-making village of Darra Adam Khel, a young Pashtun boy Niaz Afridi defines his father’s expectation that he will carry on the family’s business and demands an education instead. |
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The Edge Of Love (M)
starts August 21
Director: John Maybury (THE JACKET)
116mins
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A beautifully drawn love story, THE EDGE OF LOVE revolves around two feisty, free-spirited women: Caitlin Thomas (Sienna Miller) and Vera Killick (Keira Knightly). Caught in the spell Caitlin and Vera cast are two men involved in the British armed forces in very different ways: William Killick (Cillian Murphy) and the brilliant, charismatic poet Dylan Thomas (Matthew Rhys). Broken promises, passion, betrayal, the shadow of war and the constant threat of imminent death push the protagonists to THE EDGE OF LOVE. By no means a biopic in the traditional vein, Maybery’s film explores the bohemian underworld of war-torn London and the intimate complexities of two young couples whose lives and loves become dangerously intertwined. |
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Persepolis (M)
starts August 21
Directors: Vincent Paronnaud & Marjane Satrapi
102mins
website |
Marjane Satrapi's critically acclaimed memoir, "Persepolis," comes to life in the witty and heartfelt animated feature directed by Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud.
PERSEPOLIS is the poignant story of a young girl coming-of-age in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. It is through the eyes of precocious and outspoken nine-year-old Marjane that we see a people's hopes dashed as fundamentalists take power — forcing the veil on women and imprisoning thousands. Clever and fearless, she outsmarts the "social guardians" and discovers punk, ABBA and Iron Maiden. Yet when her uncle is senselessly executed and as bombs fall around Tehran in the Iran/Iraq war the daily fear that permeates life in Iran is palpable.
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Not Quite Hollywood (MA15+)
Starts August 28
Director: Mark Hartley
113mins
website |
As Australian Cinema was experiencing a cultural resurgence thanks to Peter Weir’s enigmatic PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK, it was a little-known fact that our local industry was already the toast of exploitation cinema the world-over. Mark Hartley’s NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD explores this enormous sub-genre of films including DEAD-END DRIVE-IN, LONG WEEKEND and TURKEY SHOOT as well as the successful local comedies that set Box Office records, including STORK, THE DANCING BUNYIP and the ALVIN PURPLE series.
Interviews with actors and directors, as well as fans of “Ozploitation” (including Quentin Tarantino), contribute to this fascinating film that is a must for any fan of Australian Cinema. |
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My Blueberry Nights (M)
Starts August 28
Director: Wong Kar Wai (IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE) |
Acclaimed music star, Norah Jones plays a sensual, alluring young woman who sets out on an unforgettable journey in pursuit of true love. In heartbreakingly beautiful locations and classic Route 66 atmospheric diners, Wong Kar Wai’s (2046) captivating heroine encounters a series of enigmatic characters that help her on her quest. The first English language film from this acclaimed director features an all star cast that included Jude Law, David Strathairn (GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK), Rachel Weisz (THE CONSTANT GARDENER) and Natalie Portman. |
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Welcome To The Sticks (M)
starts September 4
Director: Dany Bonn (MY BEST FRIEND)
French dialogue with English subtitles
112 minutes |
Dany Boon's hilarious comedy WELCOME TO THE STICKS was released in France in February to become the biggest success in French history. With over 17.4 million admissions and over $US200million at the box office to date, the film continues its triumphant run and has out-grossed TITANIC.
Post office manager Philippe Abrams (Merad) and his wife Julie (Felix) love the sunny South of France. But when Philippe gets caught trying to cheat his way into a transfer to a Riviera resort, the punishment could not be worse. Philippe must pay for his sins by spending three years at a post office in the dreaded Nord Pas de Calais, France's northernmost region, reputed for its heavy industry and cool climate. Leaving Julie and their son Raphael behind and braving the chilly North alone, Philippe soon finds himself having quite a good time with the friendly, fun-loving Northerners. He comes to appreciate the local cuisine and even learns to get by in ch'ti, their incomprehensible patois. But should he let on to the unbelieving Julie? Depressive by nature, she's never been happier than in her new role as the supportive wife of a man battling with adversity, it's a tricky call... |
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In Bruges (TBC)
starts September 4
Director: Martin McDonagh
107mins
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IN BRUGES was filmed on location; Bruges, the most well-preserved medieval city in the whole of Belgium, is a welcoming destination for travelers from all over the world. But for hit men Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson), it could be their final destination; a difficult job has resulted in the pair being ordered right before Christmas by their London boss Harry (two-time Academy Award nominee Ralph Fiennes) to go and cool their heels in the storybook Flemish city for a couple of weeks.
Very much out of place amidst the gothic architecture, canals, and cobbled streets, the two hit men fill their days living the lives of tourists. Ray, still haunted by the bloodshed in London, hates the place, while Ken, even as he keeps a fatherly eye on Ray's often profanely funny exploits, finds his mind and soul being expanded by the beauty and serenity of the city. But the longer they stay waiting for Harry's call, the more surreal their experience becomes, as they find themselves in weird encounters with locals, tourists, violent medieval art, a dwarf American actor (Jordan Prentice) shooting a European art film, Dutch prostitutes, and a potential romance for Ray in the form of Chloë (Clémence Poésy), who may have some dark secrets of her own.
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Son Of Rambow (PG)
starts September 4
Director: Garth Jennings
(THE HITCHHIKERS GUIDE TO THE GALAXY)
105mins |
SON OF RAMBOW is a hilariously fresh and visually inventive take on friendship, family, film heroes and the death-defying adventures of growing up in the video age. Filmed in a creatively mad-cap, homemade style with mostly amateur cast and a wry, comic-tinged nostalgia, creative visionaries Garth Jennings and Nick Goldsmith manage to capture both the agony and the giddy ecstasy of a camcorder childhood with humour, poignancy and a rousing dose of cinematic panache.
The story takes place in 1980s Britain, where young Will Proudfoot is raised in isolation among The Brethren, a puritanical religious sect in which music and TV are strictly forbidden. When Will encounters his first movie, a pirated copy of RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD his imagination is blown wide open. Now, Will sets out to join forces with the seemingly diabolical school bully, Lee Carter, to make their own action epic, devising wildly creative, on-the-fly stunts, all the while hiding out from The Brethren. When school popularity finally descends on Will and Lee Carter in the form of, oui, the supercool French exchange student, Didier Revol, their remarkable new friendship and previous film are pushed, quite literally, to breaking point. |
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Funny Games (TBC)
starts September 11
Director: Michael Haneke (HIDDEN)
112mins
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At their lakeside holiday home, Ann (Naomi Watts), George (Tim Roth) and their young son have unexpected visitors: two well-spoken, seemingly well-bred young men wearing polite smiles and preppy sportswear (Michael Pitt & Brady Corbet). The visitors want to play a game: "You bet that you'll be alive tomorrow at 9:00,and we bet that you'll be dead. OK?"
In this stark thriller based on his acclaimed 1997 film of the same title, director Michael Haneke recreates an ever-tightening sense of suspense that balances on a knife's edge between icy fear and satiric surprise. As the family fights to survive their every plan is thwarted, each option closed and each hour ticks closer to what could be their last. Want to come and play? |
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Waltz With Bashir (MA15+)
starts September 11
Director: Ari Folman
110 mins |
This beautiful and critically lauded animation feature film tells the story of director Ari Folman, whose old friend, in a bar one night, recounts his recurring nightmare in which he is chased by 26 vicious dogs. The two men conclude that there’s a connection to their Israeli Army mission in the Lebanon War of the early eighties. Ari is surprised that he can’t remember a thing anymore about that period of his life. Intrigued by this riddle, he decides to meet and interview old friends and comrades around the world. He needs to discover the truth about that time and about himself. As Ari delves deeper and deeper into the mystery, his memory begins to creep up in surreal images |
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Caramel (M)
starts September 18
Director: Nadine Labaki (SEVENTH DOG)
Arabic Dialogue with English Subtitles
102 minutes |
In Beirut, five women meet regularly in a beauty salon, a colourful and sensual microcosm of the city where several generations come into contact, talk and confide in each other. Layale loves Rabih, but Rabih is married. Nisrine is Muslim and her forthcoming marriage poses a problem: she is no longer a virgin. Rima is tormented by her attraction to women and especially to this lovely client with long hair. Jamale is refusing to grow old. Rose has sacrificed her life to take care of her elderly sister. In the salon, their intimate and liberated conversations revolve around men, sex and motherhood, between haircuts and sugar waxing with caramel. |
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Wall.E (G)
starts September 18
Director: Andrew Stanton
108mins
website |
From Walt Disney Studios and Pixar comes one of the year’s most acclaimed films. WALL-E is a robot built with one aim in life: to clean up the mess left behind by humans when they vacated Earth hundreds of years prior. Living in a space surrounded by the nostalgia that he has discovered amongst the refuse, WALL-E’s only companions are a cockroach and a VHS cassette of HELLO DOLLY. Dutifully going about his programmed business, he makes an unexpected discovery when he uncovers a small plant growing despite the odds.
Andrew Stanton’s new animated epic sets a new standard in feature animation. Creating a future that is as fantastical as it is prescient, this timely film is a film for all ages that is not to be missed. |
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Hunger (M)
starts date TBC
Director: Steve McQueen
92mins
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HUNGER is a challenging and unforgettable feature film by the multi award winning creative team of British artist film-maker Steve McQueen and Irish writer Enda Walsh. The film is a highly evocative and provocative interpretation of the real life story of I.R.A. volunteer Bobby Sands (Michael Fassbender, 300, Francois Ozon's ANGEL) who went on hunger strike as a political tactic in a long running battle over prison conditions. |
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The Grocer's Son (M)
starts October 9
Director:
French dialogue with English subtitles
105mins
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It is summer, and thirty-year-old Antoine is forced to leave the city to return to his family in Provençe. His father is sick, so he must assume the lifestyle he thought he had shed—driving the family grocery cart from hamlet to hamlet, delivering supplies to the few remaining inhabitants. Accompanied by Claire, a friend from Paris whom he has a secret crush on, Antoine gradually warms up to his experience in the country and his encounters with the villagers, who initially seem stubborn and gruff, but eventually prove to be funny and endearing. Ultimately, this surprise French box-office hit is about the coming-of-age of a man rediscovering life and love in the countryside. |
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The Lemon Tree (G)
starts October 9
Director: Eran Riklis (THE SYRIAN BRIDE)
Arabic and Hebrew
116mins
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Salma, a Palestinian widow, has to stand up against her new neighbour, the Israeli Defense Minister, when he moves into his new house opposite her lemon grove, on the green line border between Israel and the West Bank. The Israeli security forces are quick to declare that Salma’s trees pose a threat to the Minister’s safety and issue orders to uproot them. Together with Ziad Daud, her young Palestinian lawyer, Salma goes all the way to the Israeli Supreme Court to try and save her trees. Her struggle raises the interest of Mira Navon, the Defense minister's wife, who is trapped in her new home and in an unhappy life. Despite their differences and the borders between them the |
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Brideshead Revisited (TBC)
starts October 9
Director: Julian Jarrold (BECOMING JANE)
134 mins
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A provocative and suspenseful drama, BRIDESHEAD REVISITED tells an evocative story of forbidden love and the loss of innocence set in the pre-WWII era. In the film, Charles Ryder (Matthew Goode, MATCH POINT) becomes entranced with the noble Marchmain family, first thorough the charming and provocative Sebastian Flyte (Ben Whishaw, PERFUME) and then his sophisticated sister, Julia (Haley Atwell, CASSANDRA’S DREAM). The rise and fall of Charles’ infatuations reflect the decline of a decadent era in England between the wars. |
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Man On A Wire (TBC)
starts October 16
Director: James Marsh (THE KING)
English and French dialogue with English subtitles
102mins
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On August 7th 1974, a young Frenchman stepped out on a wire illegally rigged between New York's Twin Towers, then the world’s tallest buildings. After nearly an hour dancing on the wire, he was arrested, taken for psychological evaluation, then brought to jail and finally released.
Following six and a half years of dreaming, Petit spent eight months in NYC planning the execution of the coup. Aided by a team of friends and accomplices, Petit had to find a way to bypass the WTCs security; to smuggle the heavy steel cable and rigging equipment into the towers; to pass the wire between the two rooftops; to anchor the wire and tension it to withstand the winds and the swaying of the buildings. The rigging was done under cover of night in complete secrecy. At 7:15 AM, Philippe took his first step on the high wire 1,350 feet above the sidewalks of Manhattan.
James Marsh’s documentary brings Petit’s extraordinary adventure to life through the testimony of Philippe himself and some of the co-conspirators who helped him create the unique and magnificent spectacle that became known as the artistic crime of the century. |
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Young At Heart (TBC)
starts October 16
Director: Stephen Walker
110mins
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A group of elderly American choristers is coaxed and cajoled by their inspired conductor into gutsy performances from a repertoire of hipster favourites in this amazingly satisfying documentary. The singers' tenacious appetite for the life in these songs lingers long after the last note is sounded.
James Marsh’s documentary brings Petit’s extraordinary adventure to life through the testimony of Philippe himself and some of the co-conspirators who helped him create the unique and magnificent spectacle that became known as the artistic crime of the century. |
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Towelhead (MA15+)
starts October 23
Director: Alan Ball (SIX FEET UNDER)
126 minutes |
Jasira wants something she can’t define; attention, love, acceptance or a normal life. Unfortunately she doesn’t know the right way to find it. When Jasira’s mother exiles her to Houston to live with her stick, quick-to-anger Lebanese father, she quickly learns what aspects of herself to suppress in front of him. In private, however, she conducts her sexual awakening. The result is a funny, dark, bold and harrowing look at the confusion and misguided exploration of America’s youth.
From the Academy Award winning writer of AMERICAN BEAUTY and creator of SIX FEET UNDER TOWELHEAD is based upon the critically acclaimed novel by Alicia Erian and stars Aaron Eckhart (THANK YOU FOR SMOKING), Toni Collette and Maria Bello (A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE). |
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Choke (TBC)
starts October 30
Director: Clark Gregg (Scriptwriter WHAT LIES BENEATH)
92mins
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Actor-turned-director Clark Gregg shows he is as adept behind the camera as he is in front of it with CHOKE, a wickedly colorful dark comedy about mothers and sons, sexual compulsion, and the sordid underbelly of Colonial theme parks. Victor Mancini (Sam Rockwell, THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES), a sex-addicted med-school dropout, who keeps his increasingly deranged mother, Ida (Angelica Huston, THE DARJEELING LIMITED), in an expensive private medical hospital by working days as a historical reenactor at a Colonial Williamsburg theme park. At night Victor runs a scam by deliberately choking in upscale restaurants to form parasitic relationships with the wealthy patrons who “save” him. When, in a rare lucid movement, Ida reveals that she has withheld the shocking truth of his father’s identity, Victor enlists the aid of his best friend, Denny (Brad William Henke, THE ZODIAC) and his mother’s beautiful attending physician, Dr. Paige Marshall (Kelly Macdonald, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN), to solve the mystery before the truth of his possibly divine parentage is lost forever. |
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