SEASON 8 of Cranleigh Film Club welcomes you to the Band Room for a season of 12 international films.
TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT: Friday Sept 14th (open evening, free entry) A working Two Days, One Night (15) (Friday 14 September) is a tense, human drama starring Marion Cotillard, a film about removal of the dignity that meaningful work confers and about one woman’s personal growth, made by the Dardenne brothers. A wife and mother in a small town near Liège needs the income from her factory job. After taking time off for depression she finds management has offered her colleagues a bonus in return for making her redundant. In desperation she visits all 14 over a weekend to persuade them to reject the offer. On the Monday, after the two days and one night, her colleagues vote.
Xan Brooks in the Guardian called it “the Dardennes’ most accomplished work to date; an epic in miniature, heartfelt and humane, with a rousing performance from Cotillard. The harder Sandra toils the more she gains strength. With each visit she rediscovers her fire and reconnects to the world. All credit to the Dardennes for finding an intimate tragedy that shouts so loud, with a plot that plays as a palm-sweating thriller and an Oscar-winning actor bestriding centre stage. Cotillard is never less than superb.” Nicholas Barber of the BBC said, “Cotillard conveys a tremendous amount with the smallest, quietest gestures. She is one of the finest actors we have.” It played to sustained applause when shown at Cannes.
SERAPHINE: In Séraphine (PG) (Thursday 27 September) director Martin Provost shows us that art comes from the most unexpected places. It’s the true story of a simple housemaid discovered by a reputed German art critic on the eve of the First World War, just before the Germans invaded. Séraphine (Belgian actress Yolande Moreau) has a self-taught talent for painting: in her free time she finds beauty in nature, makes her own paint from materials to hand, and paints secretly in her room. The German critic sees promise in her work, starts talking about exhibitions, and tells her to follow her gift. But as he starts to lift her horizons the war comes and he has to flee. Later, in 1927, he encounters Séraphine again and encourages her further, but, unused to fame and fortune, she starts losing her mental balance. How she finds her stability and inspiration is the subject of the rest of this fascinating film.
AQUARIUS: Thursday October 25th The last resident of a building refuses to leave. The tension racks up as the film progresses. Don’t blink towards the end. Brazil 2016. Kleber Mendonça Filho. 143 mins, cert 18
GRADUATION: Thursday November 29th A physician’s daughter is assaulted just before important exams in which she expected high marks. Her father can pull strings but she baulks at receiving such graft. Romania 2016. Cristian Mungiu. 125 minutes, cert 15
CAVE OF THE YELLOW DOG: Thursday December 27th A delightful gentle fable of nomadic family life, a little girl, a little dog, and life’s lessons. Mongolia 2005. Byambasuren Davaa. 91 mins, cert U.
LADY MACBETH: Thursday January 31st 2019 Teenage bride sold into a loveless marriage begins an affair. Smart sexy Victorian noire. “Florence Pugh is lethally charismatic”, Guardian. UK 2016. William Oldroyd. 85 mins, cert 15
PATERSON: Thursday February 28th A routine-loving bus driver – and poet – is married to a girl who likes his poetry, change, guitars, black and white, and cupcakes. Then the dog intervenes…
USA 2016. Jim Jarmusch. 115 mins, cert 15
*SUNSET SONG: Friday March 8th Film adaptation of Gibbon’s intimate epic of the ups and downs of hope at the start of world war 1. Stars Agyness Deyn. UK 2015. Terence Davies. 133 mins, cert 15
AFTER THE STORM: Thursday March 28th A private detective with gambling problems tries to reconnect with his wife and take control of his life in an understated family drama. Japan 2016. Hirokazu Koreeda. 115 mins, cert PG.
*A MAN CALLED OVE: Thursday April 25th Swedish black comedy in which a bad-tempered old widower learns from, and is befriended by, his neighbours. Sweden 2015. Hannes Holm. 113 mins, cert 15
INVERSION: Thursday May 30th In this strong drama an unmarried woman in a patriarchal society seeks the courage to stand up for herself against her traditional but self-interested family.
Iran 2016. Behnam Behzadi. 83 mins, cert PG.
PARADISE NOW: Thursday June 27th Two friends become suicide bombers in a realistic and personal portrayal intercut with everyday details which show us their human qualities. Palestine 2005. Hany Abu-Assad. 89 mins, cert 15
*Signifies members’ choices
CRANLEIGH FILM CLUB is a members-only club. Annual Membership Fee is £30 per person. Members’ guests are welcome at £5 each. To join, visit our website and fill in the membership application form or contact the Membership Secretary, Sara Lock at
Films are shown in The Bandroom, Village Way, Cranleigh GU6 8AF. Doors open at 7.00pm; films start at 7.30pm. Refreshments are on sale. Film notes at all shows and members’ views researched. Please refer to the website: www.cranleighfilmclub.org.uk
