Heckle 'n Jeckle review of "Band's Visit"

Hello Film Buffs

Poor Jeckle was ill so it's down to Heckle to go it alone with thoughts about The Band's Visit. It took a little while for me to "get into" this film but once there I was hooked. It was a simple story about a situation which occurs all the time - two disparate groups of people accidentally thrown together. The relationship between some of the band members and their hosts, during their short time together brought some of their life choices to the fore with varying degrees of regret. However their self discovery left me feeling that all would be well for them. The film was both poignant and funny. The band members were rediculous, but dignified - very likeable. I loved the bleak, but beautiful landscape, contrasting with the blue uniforms. It was a 3 1/2 star rating for me.

Goodbye Lenin - seen by Heckle and Jeckle at the Nova - but we'll be there with bells on to see it again. Don't miss it!! Once again a sad but funny film. It's about a loving family protecting their dying mother from the truth about the fact that Lenin is no longer.

Next screening "Good Bye Lenin!" Thursday 23 July 2009

"This Award-winning and audience-pleasing film - it stunned the box office in Germany - has impressive performances and a lovely premise."Margaret Pomeranz, The Movie Show

**** David Stratton, The Movie Show

"one of the most original and brilliant films this year." The Observer/BBC

"A heart-warming German blockbuster, Good Bye, Lenin!, dominated the European Film Awards, taking six top prizes at the 16th annual competition" Sydney Morning Herald

Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJb4efZcFUM

Synopsis (courtesy Madman films)
The German Democratic Republic lives on -- in 79 square meters!

The year is 1989 and East and West Germany are still divided. Alex (Daniel Bruhl) and his sister Ariane (Maria Simon) live in East Germany with their single mother, Christiane (Katrin Sass) who is a staunch Socialist. When Alex's mother witnesses his arrest on a protest march, she suffers a heart attack and falls into a coma for eight months, just enough time for the Berlin wall to come tumbling down along with all of East Germany's ideals.When Chrisiane wakes up - things have changed. The doctors warn Alex that any shock could bring on a fatal heart attack, so Alex devises a plan to convince his mother that her beloved Communism has not been overthrown but is in fact triumphing over Capitalism. Alex sets out to recreate every detail of the old East inside the four walls of their tiny council flat. What begins as a little white lie, soon turns into a major deception with hilarious consequences.

Rated M
In German with English subtitles

Director: Wolfgang Becker
Cast: Daniel Brühl, Katrin Sas, Chulpan Khamatova, Chulpan Khamatova, Chulpan Khamatova

Trivia from IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0301357/trivia

Reminder - our AGM is just before the film at 5.30pm

Next screening “Bikur Ha-Tizmoret (The Band’s Visit)” from Israel

Thursday 25th June 2009

6.30pm pre-screening drink
7.00pm film commences

*****1/2 David **** Margaret

"I'm giving it four and a half. I love this film" David Stratton

A Egyptian police band arrives in Israel to perform at the Arab Arts Cultural Centre, only to find themselves in the wrong town...

The eight members of the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Band, led by Toofik, (SASSON GABAI), arrive at an airport in Israel and find no-one is there to meet them.They are here to play at the Arab Culture Centre in a provincial town, but the town they arrive at, by bus, is the wrong one – a dot in the desert where culture of any kind is non-existent. However there IS Dina, (RONIT ELKABETZ), who runs a local café.Dina invites Toofik and Khaled, (SALEH BAKRI), who is a bit of a ladies’ man, to stay at her place; the others find friendly locals who accommodate them. (courtesy ABC 'At the Movie's review)

Rated M
Written (in Arabic, English and Hebrew, with English subtitles) and directed by Eran Kolirin;

Filmed at Yeruham, Negev Desert, Israel

Trailer and ABC's At The Movies review http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s2265615.htm

Director’s interview
http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s2265627.htm

“Sukkar Banat (Caramel)” Thursday 14th May 2009

**** David ***1/2 Margaret

Thursday 14th May
6.30pm pre-screening drink
7.00pm film commences

“Caramel” has an optimism born not of dreamy romanticism but of resilience and a degree of hard-headedness. Life for these women is not easy or especially fair, and each of them faces moments of humiliation, loneliness and potential heartbreak. But in the best melodramatic tradition, their toughness, good humor and loyalty see them through. Those qualities, and Ms. Labaki’s evident affection for the battered panache of her native city, make “Caramel” hard to resist. A O Scott, New York Times

Synopsis
A Beirut beauty salon is the setting for the ups and downs of romantic life for a group of Lebanese women in CARAMEL. Layale is the owner of the salon who is unsatisfactorily involved with a married man. Her salon colleagues Nisrine and Rima are sympathetic and supportive, while local policeman Youssef is secretly besotted by her.Nisrine has problems of her own, she’s about to get married and is worried that her husband will find out she’s not a v_rg_n and Rima is ambivalent about her own s__uality. Meanwhile salon clients Jamale and Rose are concerned about aging and lost opportunities.

Trailer
http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s2350018.htm

Next screening "Lucky Miles" Thursday 19th March 2009

**** Margaret ***1/2 David

Rated MA

Thursday 19th March, 6pm pre-screening drink, 6.30pm film commences

Our first Australian movie the film society has screened. "Lucky Miles" opened the previous Adelaide Film Festival and was the winner of the Audience Award at the Sydney Film Festival. A bitter-sweet comedy was a daring approach by first time feature director, Michael James Rowland, to a phenomenon that many Australians take very seriously

SYNOPSIS:It's 1990 and an Indonesian fishing boat abandons a dozen Iraqi and Cambodian refugees on a remote Western Australian beach, promising them that a bus over the sandhills will soon come and take them to Perth. When the fishing boat sinks on its way home, the two people smugglers also end up in the empty outback. Most of the men are quickly caught, except for two of the asylum seekers and one of the fishermen. The three, Arun (Kenneth Moraleda), Youssif (Rodney Afif) and the fisherman Ramelan (Srisacd Sacdpraseuth), with nothing in common but their misfortune and determination, escape arrest and begin an epic journey through the deserted landscape. Laconically pursued by an army reservist unit, they bicker amongst themselves as they try to find a big town - like Broome or Perth - without the slightest idea of the distances involved.

Trailers
http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s1963611.htm

http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?a=13304&s=Reviews

Member review “Heckle and Jeckle”

We’ll be holidaying for the next film, LUCKY MILES, but don’t miss this little gem of an Aussie film. We saw it at the Nova in Adelaide and loved it. Full of poignancy and black humour, it is based on the true story of a small group of naive asylum seekers who are left on a remote West Australian shore by some unscrupulous people smugglers, who have promised them that civilisation is “just over the hill”. Their long and arduous journey to civilisation is funny and heart wrenching. We loved the characters for their tenacity, courage and optimism. The acting is fantastic, the scenery is magnificent as only the Australian wilderness can be and the 10 second final scene is an absolute corker
!

Nom de plume review

Two of our members - with a non-de plume of Heckle and Jeckle - are kindly reviewing our films screened.

FOREVER VESPA wasn’t the most riveting of documentaries, but learning about the history of this Italian icon was great. Judging by the general age of our fellow viewers, we suspect there was quite a bit of nostalgia wafting through the theatre. It was a real wander down memory lane for us. In the 60s, several of our fellow student nurses rode Vespa Scooters. During the interval we well recalled the night that 12 of us, having consumed a considerable amount of Barossa Pearl, crammed into and onto our friend Heather’s little red Fiat Bambino and drove around the block at the Sir Lyell McEwin hospital. Very irresponsible!!

Next Screening 'Piccolo Italian Film Festival'

Thursday 19th February - film screens 6.30pm sharp - doors close 6.35pm

Our members will be treated to two films for their February film! Our "Piccolo Italian Film Festival" will screen two films from the International Italian Film Festival that toured worldwide, including all Australian capital cities and is now screening in New Zealand. The first film to be screened is "Forever Vespa "and one TBA.

Screening night will be a little different - screening "Forever Vespa" at 6.30pm sharp, then intermission with complimentary glass of wine, nibbles and second screening. NB: Doors close 6.35pm.

Forever Vespa
The Vespa: an Italian symbol of a fresh start at the end of World War II; a picture of optimism and of growing wealth; an emblem of the family; and the witness of many love stories. Exactly 62 years after its arrival on the scene, the Vespa is still a cult object worldwide for young and old, a vehicle capable of changing its look while keeping its own familiar design. The Vespa, a mere scooter, has remained in vogue for no less than six decades. Its story runs parallel with the history of Italy and Europe from the end of the war until present day, step by step with the social and cultural changes that have taken place in the last 60 years.

The story is narrated with the help of firsthand testimonials, exclusive interviews with those who first launched the Vespa on the market, designers of various models over the years, those who have analysed the Vespa phenomenon, as well as charming interviews with collectors and fans of Vespas worldwide. (Synopsis courtesy New Zealand Italian Film Festival 2008)

Voting now open for The Secret of the Grain

Well, that one made for some lively discussion over dinner and a few reds. What did you think? One of our member's went home to couscous tonight!

Go to the right of this page and have a vote and let us know what you thought.

Next movie 19th February - more details shortly. See you all then!

Next Screening '‘la graine et le mulet (The Secret of the Grain)’

Our next screening is "‘la graine et le mulet (The Secret of the Grain)" Thursday 8th January 2009, 6pm for 6.30pm start.

Rated M. French with English subtitles. Director: Abdellatif Kechiche.

This will be a good film to go out afterwards for a drink, something to eat and a chat, as the reviews are disparate and the conclusion ambiguous – which will only add to the liveliness of our discussions! See you next year ...


**** Margaret Pomeranz ABC's 'At the Movies'. David Stratton didn't agree ...

7.5/10 International Movie Database - 1,075 votes

**** Phillipa Hawker, The Age

Watch the Trailer and view Awards and watch Margaret Pomeranz talk with director, Abdellatif Kechiche

“This rewarding yet heartbreaking film explores a story of family and
individuality.”

“The conclusion … is ambiguous, but its emotional impact
is direct and painful.”

Winner Venice Film Festival 2007 Special Jury Award
Winner 2007 Cesar Awards (French Academy) Best Picture

"French director Adbellatif Kechiche’s film about the lives
of a North African Arab family in France is distinguished by Habib Boufares’s /deeply affecting performance as a retrenched dock worker seeking a new life in business. " *** by Evan Williams, The Weekend Australian

"At the port of Sète Mr. Slimani, a tired sixty year old, drags himself towards a shipyard job which has become more and more difficult to
cope with as the years go by. He is a divorced father who forces himself to stay close to his family despite the scissions and tensions which are easily sparked off and which financial difficulties make even more intense. He is going through a delicate period in his life and recently, everything seems to make him feel useless; a failure. He wants to escape from it all and set up his own restaurant. However it appears to be an unreachable dream given his meagre, irregular salary which is not anywhere near enough to supply what he needs to realise his ambition. But he can still dream and talk about it with his family in particular. A family which gradually recompacts around this project which comes to symbolise the means to a better life. Thanks to their ingeniousness and hard work this dream soon becomes a reality... Or almost...: Written by Venice Film Festival

Next Screening 'Lust Caution'

Our next screening is "Lust, Caution" Thursday 27th November, 6pm
Director: Ang Lee
Main Cast: Tony Leung Chiu Wai Wei Tang Joan Chen
Rated R for high level sex scenes and some violence.

**** from Margaret Pomeranz and ****1/2 stars from David Stratton (ABC's At the Movies)

Provocative, thrilling and passionate, Lust, Caution is the daring new film from acclaimed Academy Award®-winning director Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon).

Set against the backdrop of a transforming country, a young woman finds herself swept up in a radical plot to assassinate a ruthless and secretive intelligence agent. As she immerses herself in her role as a cosmopolitan seductress, she becomes entangled in a dangerous game that will ultimately determine her fate.

Excerpt from Margaret Pomeranz's review '.....LUST, CAUTION is set during the Japanese occupation of China during World War II when a young student, TANG WEI, becomes embroiled in patriotic politics.Her mission is to seduce a prominent collaborator Mr Yee, (TONY LEUNG CHIU-WAI) to set him up for ssassination.This languorous, beautiful film defies Asian convention with its explicit sex scenes. But they are the point of the film, an ode to passion and sensuality.'

Awards for Lust, Caution
*** Winner best film Golden Lion Venice 2007
*** Nominee best foreign film Golden Globe 2008
*** London film estival 2007
*** Toronto Film Festival 2007
*** BAFTA 2008

More quotes from Margaret Pomeranz, ABC's 'At The Movies'

"The performances are astounding"
"Every frame of this film is a work of art"
"This is a most sensual, satisfying, moving film"

Visit ABC's At The Movies for trailer and review
http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s2099620.htm

Village Roadshow site:
http://www.villagecinemas.com.au/Movies/Lust-Caution.htm

Official website:
http://www.bvi.com.tw/movies/lust_caution/main.html