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London River A mother’s unconditional love is the theme of this haunting drama set against the backdrop of the 2005 London bomb attacks. Brenda Blethyn stars as a war widow who leaves her farm in Guernsey to travel to the big city in search of her daughter. She becomes unnerved by the multi-cultural streets of North London and by an elderly African forester also looking for a missing child, but perseveres driven by a primal instinct to protect. Blethyn, who’s made a career of playing mothers, notably in “Secrets & Lies’’ and “Pride & Prejudice,’’ gives a complex, nuanced performance and is matched by Malian actor Sotigui Kouyate as the distraught dad. Director Rachid Bouchareb, an Oscar nominee for “Days of Glory,’’ captures a kaleidoscope of the city’s sights and sounds. (87 min.) Sotigui Kouyate, Best Actor Berlin Film Festival Opening Night: Vogue Theatre - Thursday, February 4th, 2010, 8:00pm - Buy Tickets: Film Only | Film & Reception |
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Balibo This thriller derives its edge from being based on the true story of five Australian TV reporters who went missing in East Timor in 1975 just as Indonesia prepared to invade the tiny nation and the subsequent cover-up of the men’s fates. Anthony LaPaglia is riveting as a veteran foreign correspondent languishing as a public relations hack in Darwin who agrees to travel to East Timor to search for the journalists. The compelling story, co-scripted by David Williamson who wrote “Gallipoli,’’ delves into all manner of human affairs and explores the extreme lengths journalists go to for their work. (111 min.) “A tense, character-driven thriller with political comments on the side.’’ – Variety |
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Looking For Eric (UK / 116min.) Anyone who’s idolized a sports figure will get a special chuckle out of this disarming comedy about a sad sack postal worker in Manchester who slavishly follows the career of real-life soccer great Eric Cantona. One day Cantona materializes genie-like in his fan’s home and helps him sort out his messy life. Appearing as himself, Cantona is likeable and engaging. Veteran British director Ken Loach makes a winning departure from the social realism of films like “My Name is Joe’’ and “Bread and Roses.’’ (UK / 116 min.) “Funny, touching and cheerfully unlikely in every sense.’’– Channel 4 Film (London) Closing Night: Vogue Theatre - Thursday, February 11, 7:30pm - Buy Tickets: Film Only | Film & Reception |
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Bran Nue Dae (Australia / 88 min.) Based on one of Australia’s best loved stage shows, this delightful musical follows an Aboriginal teen on his journey to find himself and escape an oppressive boarding school. Geoffrey Rush is the priest who runs the school and, yes, he sings and dances along with the rest of the engaging cast. Vogue Theatre - Sunday February 7- 7:00PM [Buy Tickets] Smith Rafael Film Center - Tuesday, February 9 - 7:00PM |
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Broken Lines (UK / 112 min.) A torrid extramarital affair plays out against the backdrop of ethnically diverse North London. Doraly Rosa and Dan Fredenburgh wrote the script and star as the illicit lovers barely able to control their passion. Paul Bettany (“A Beautiful Mind’’) and Olivia Williams (“Rushmore’’) turn in tense performances as the mates being cheated on. Vogue Theatre - Thursday February 11- 2:30PM [Buy Tickets] |
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Candy (Australia / 108 min.) This is the last film Heath Ledger made in his native Australia. He acted in it right after “Brokeback Mountain’’ and the liberation he feels to express himself is apparent. Geoffrey Rush and Abbie Cornish co-star in this tale of drugs and obsessive love. Presented in its original 35 mm as a tribute to Ledger. Best Screenplay, Australian Film Institute |
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Crush (Australia / 82 min.) Fatal Attraction’’ for the college set. A university student finds himself stalked by an obsessed girl who may or may not have supernatural powers. Aussie star Emma Lung makes a sexy siren to the handsome Chris Egan (”Eragon”). Vogue Theatre - Saturday, February 6, 11:30PM [Buy Tickets] |
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The Daisy Chain (Ireland / 89 min) In this haunting Irish dramatic thriller, two-time best Oscar-nominee Samantha Morton plays an emotionally fragile mother who moves to her husband’s home village in the wind-swept Irish countryside after the tragic death of their first child. Barely settled in and pregnant again, she decides to take in an uncommunicative orphan named Daisy, but questions about the child’s odd behavior lead the couple to believe something otherworldly might be at display. otherworldly might be at play. Vogue Theatre - Friday February 5 - 2:15PM [Buy Tickets] |
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Dean Spanley (UK / 100 min.) A sterling cast led by Peter O’Toole, Jeremy Northam and Sam Neill breathes life into this gentle Edwardian comedy about spiritualism and reincarnation. Northam is a publisher who becomes enthralled by Neill’s clergyman and gradually buys his claim that he is a reincarnated dog. O’Toole appears as the publisher’s curmudgeon father, who has no affection for his offspring until an Indian Swami takes the pair on a journey. Audience Prize, Portland International Film Festival |
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Disgrace (South Africa / 114 min.) The Booker Prize-winning novel by Nobel Prize winner J.M. Coetzee has been masterfully brought to the screen. John Malkovich gives an unsparing performance as a Cape Town professor who resigns his post in disgrace over an affair with a student. Moving in with his daughter in the hinterlands, he witnesses a horrible act of violence. Vogue Theatre - Wednesday, February 10 - 7:15PM [Buy Tickets] |
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Don't Look Now (UK / 110 min.) This gripping 1973 occult thriller is being presented as a complement to the number of thrillers in the festival-- particularly those with supernatural overtones. Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland are parents struggling with the loss of a child. They move to Venice for a change of scenery where they encounter a psychic who claims to see their daughter’s spirit and leads them on a spooky journey into the unknown. Directed by the underappreciated Nicolas Roeg. Vogue Theatre - Wednesday, February 10, 12:00pm [Buy Tickets] |
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Eamon (Ireland / 86 min.) Filmed on location off the rugged coast of County Wicklow, this is a portrait of a troubled young family and the tensions that arise due to the close relationship between mother and son and the exclusion and humiliating rejection of the father. Directed by Margaret Corkery, it is the first finished work made under the auspices of Ireland’s Catalyst project which offers talented new filmmakers creative control and a modest budget to get going. “Plays like the most expensive low-budget film you've ever seen.” – Variety. Vogue Theatre - Tuesday, February 9, 5:00PM [Buy Tickets] |
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The Eclipse (Ireland / 99 min.) A picturesque Irish seaport town makes an ideal backdrop for this combination romance and ghost story. You can see why famed Irish dramatist Conor McPherson was drawn to direct—his plays like “The Weir’’ deal with ghostly matters. Ciaran Hinds stars as a widowed teacher who volunteers to chauffeur writers at a literary festival and is assigned to an author of ghost tales, who happens to be an attractive blonde. The two feel a connection marred by the appearance of a blustering famous writer (Aidan Quinn, channeling Norman Mailer) who seeks to reignite his affair with the authoress. Ciaran Hinds, Best Actor Tribeca Film Festival Vogue Theatre - Tuesday, February 9, 7:15pm [Buy Tickets] |
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The End of the Line (UK / 85 min.) This eye-opening documentary alters our view of the ocean as an inexhaustible resource and exposes the damage that is being done to the seas by industrial food production, unchecked capitalism and rising consumer demand. Breathtaking cinematography of the limitless seas reveals creatures of stunning variety. Narrated by Ted Danson “An apocalyptic documentary that is as beautiful as it is damning’’ – Los Angeles Times. Vogue Theatre - Wednesday, February 10, 4:45pm [Buy Tickets] |
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Helen (UK / 79 min.) This beautifully filmed debut by directors Joe Lawlor and Christine Malloy focuses on a college coed selected to play a missing girl in a police reconstruction retracing her last known movements. The title character immerses herself in her new role, seeking her own information about the missing girl and learning something about her own identity in the process. Grand Jury Prize, European First Film Festival Vogue Theatre - Saturday, February 6, 3:15pm [Buy Tickets] |
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Hush (UK / 91min.) While driving with his sleeping girlfriend at his side, a tired and irritable young man swerves, barely avoiding an accident with a white truck. Its back door opens, briefly revealing a woman caged up inside. Or is it something else? Before he can get a second look, the door slams shut. He wakes up his girlfriend, and the two embark on a riveting cat and mouse chase that plays upon our most primal fears. “An exhilarating thriller.’’ – Leicester Mercury Vogue Theatre - Wednesday, February 10, 9:45PM [Buy Tickets] |
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The Jammed (Australia / 89 min.) This engrossing social thriller takes an unflinching look at human trafficking and the sex slave industry in Melbourne. Inspired by court transcripts and actual events, the tight and riveting screenplay introduces us to five women brought to Melbourne illegally, all linked by a bored, single insurance clerk who unwittingly becomes involved in the search for the missing women. Best Feature Film, Inside Film Awards Vogue Theatre - Monday, February 8, 5:00pm [Buy Tickets] |
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Kings (Ireland / 88 min.) Five men reunite for a friend’s wake 30 years after they all left Ireland. As they reminisce, they come to terms with the harsh reality of their lives. Famed Irish actor Colm Meaney (“The Commitments,’’ “The Damned United’’) stars as the one who became successful but still has his own problems. The men speak in Gaelic (subtitles provided), which gives their conversation a timeless quality. Winner 5 Irish Academy Awards Vogue Theatre - Tuesday, February 9, 12:15pm [Buy Tickets] |
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Lantana (Australia / 121 min.) Anthony LaPaglia’s role as a cop who investigates the disappearance of a famous psychiatrist while his marriage is falling apart brought him to the attention of the creators of “Without a Trace,’’ who cast him as the head of a FBI missing persons bureau. Geoffrey Rush and Barbara Hershey round out the film’s superb cast. Anthony LaPaglia, Best Actor Australian Film Institute Vogue Theatre - Monday, February 8, 2:30pm [Buy Tickets] |
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Mary and Max (Australia / 92 min.) The opening night choice of the Sundance Film Festival, this delightfully bizarre animated movie springs from the fertile imagination of Oscar-winning director Adam Elliot. Using distinctive claymation, Elliot tells the story of an unlikely pen pal relationship between a lonely girl in Melbourne and an obese New Yorker. Voicing the title characters, Toni Collette and Philip Seymour Hoffman make you feel the gamut of the pair’s emotions. “Remarkable and poignant.’’ – Los Angeles Times Vogue Theatre - Monday, February 8, 12:15pm [Buy Tickets] |
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Men's Group (Australia / 104 min.) Six men from varying walks of life get together weekly to lament their predicaments. This heartfelt drama offers glimpses into their everyday existence, especially their attempts at personal relationships and makes you care intensely about of their fate. Q & A with John L. Simpson, co-writer and producer Vogue Theatre - Sunday, February 7, 3:45PM [Buy Tickets] |
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Our Wonderful Home (Ireland / 80 min.) In Ireland, a husband struggles to keep his family in a comfortable lifestyle as he faces financial ruin. Unknown to him, his wife has taken a lover and his daughter is on drugs to keep her weight down. Refused a car on her 18th birthday, she makes a decision that will have dire consequences. Vogue Theatre - Friday, February 5, 12:15pm [Buy Tickets] |
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Peter & The Wolf (UK / 35 min.) This exquisitely animated new version of the 1936 classic is sure to delight children and adults alike. The familiar story of a boy who belatedly discovers the world can be dangerous is set to London’s Philharmonia Orchestra’s new recording of Prokofiev’s composition. With the absence of dialogue the film relies on the familiar music and action to tell the much-loved tale, which has been enhanced by director Suzie Templeton. Oscar, Best Short Animated Film Vogue Theatre - Sunday, February 7, 11:00am [Buy Tickets] |
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Red Riding (UK / 116 min.) The “Red Riding Trilogy’’ is a chilling neo-noir epic based on actual events. The first entry of the British crime drama introduces us to the Yorkshire Ripper, a serial killer who terrorized northwest England in the 1970s and 1980s. A rookie journalist is determined to uncover the truth in an ever deepening web of lies and deceit regarding police investigations into a series of child abductions. Introduced by film scholar David Thomson Vogue Theatre: |
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Red Riding 1980 (UK / 116 min.) In the second film of the trilogy set six long years later the Ripper has not yet been found and local police fail to make any headway in the case. A philandering Manchester detective is sent by the Home Office to review the investigation and stirs up strong resentment from other members of the force when his version of the events challenges the official line. Vogue Theatre: |
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Red Riding 1983 (UK / 93 min.) The final entry in this ambitious trilogy opens with another young girl having disappeared. This recent murder has some alarming similarities to the previous abductions. A chief detective is forced to come to terms with the fact that he may have helped convict the wrong man. A local solicitor trying to uncover the real perpetrator finds himself revealing a catalogue of cover ups. Each film can be viewed alone. Vogue Theatre: |
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The Red Shoes (UK / 133 min.) This 1948 classic remains the best film ever made about the ballet world. Moira Shearer is unforgettable as a young ballerina torn between her ascendant career and love for a composer. A masterfully restored print, which premiered to acclaim at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, enhances the lush Technicolor. Smith Rafael Film Center - Sunday, February 7, 4:00pm |
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Rough Aunties (South Africa / 103 min.) This stirring documentary follow an outspoken, fearless, compassionate group of women who work at Bobbi Bear, a non-profit advocacy organization based in South Africa. Directed by internationally acclaimed Kim Longinotto, the film follows staff members in their fight against a system of greed, corruption and apathy to help the most disenfranchised and vulnerable in their communities. World Cinema Jury Prize for Best Documentary Sundance Vogue Theatre - Wednesday, February 10, 2:30pm [Buy Tickets] |
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Salute (Australia / 120 min.) Most people remember the black power salute at the 1968 Mexico Olympics. Less well known is the story this poignant documentary tells of the white Australian sprinter Peter Norman who showed solidarity with his black competitors and the price he paid for his sympathetic response. Audience Award, Sydney Film Festival. Vogue Theatre - Sunday, February 7, 1:00pm [Buy Tickets] |
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The Secret of Kells (Ireland / 75 min.) This sweeping story about the power of the imagination told with dazzling animation and eye-popping colors will appeal to audiences of all ages. The hero is a young boy living in an abbey who is recruited to help complete an ancient book filled with secret wisdom and powers. It is of course the famed Book of Kells containing the four Gospels. The boy’s quest takes him to an enchanted forest where mythical creatures roam. “Absolutely luscious to behold.’’ – Variety Vogue Theatre - Saturday, February 6, 11:00am [Buy Tickets] |
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Shadows In The Sun (UK / 85 min.) Jean Simmons’ fans will be delighted to see her back on the big screen for the first time in 15 years in this gentle family drama. She stars as an ailing widow living along the Norfolk coast. When her young male caretaker brings her marijuana to soothe her ills, she’s happy as a clam but her son and grandkids are appalled. Best Film, WorldFest Houston Vogue Theatre - Saturday, February 6, 1:00pm [Buy Tickets] |
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The Square (Australia / 105 min.) The temptress is a familiar standby in film noir. The twist in this nifty contemporary example of the genre is that she comes from a working class background in Sydney. That doesn’t’ make her any less potent when she entices her married lover to arrange to have someone break into her house to steal a hefty bag of cash from her husband’s latest sordid crime. Noir fans can guess this leads nowhere good. Best Screenplay, Film Critics Circle of Australia Vogue Theatre - Monday, February 8, 7:15pm [Buy Tickets] |