Fri Jan 2nd    Happy go Lucky            Directed by Mike Leigh (see below)

Fri Jan 23rd   Persepolis                     Iranian animated film of teenage girl’s life

Sat Feb 14th  Eat, drink, man, woman   + meal        

Fri Mar 13th    Michael Clayton           USA legal drama starring George Clooney

Fri Apr 17th    Garage                           Irish comedy drama

Fri May 15th  There will be blood                       

CAFS  Report for Jan 2009

Firstly I would like to wish all CAFS members a Happy New Year 2009. Then I would like to draw attention to a last minute change in our programme for 2nd Jan 2009 at 7.30pm. Because of technical problems that we could not resolve, the film showing will be Happy go Lucky, directed by Mike Leigh instead of Bergman’s Fanny and Alexander.

Released in 2008 and lasting118 mins, this is unlike most of Mike Leigh’s films. It is cheerful, life affirming and possibly whimsical. Poppy is a 30 year old primary school teacher who is relentlessly happy and optimistic. She loves her life, is dedicated to her job and has good friends and family. We follow her over a few weeks in London, as she goes out with her friends, goes to a flamenco class, meets her pregnant sister and embarks on a new romance. All is not sweetness and light- she has to contact social services over a child who is being bullied and abused and she has her bike stolen. She shrugs off the bike theft and starts driving lessons with Scott, played by Eddie Marsan. Poppy has to deal with his racism, anger, repression and controlling attitude. He is her polar opposite. By the end of the film we understand that Poppy is not the blinkered soul she appears to be and she realises that her compassionate nature could put her in harm’s way.

Don’t forget we have a second film in January on Fri 23rd at 7.30pm. Persepolis is an animated film made in 2007 in colour and black and white by an Iranian/French partnership of Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud and lasts for 96 mins. It is based on Marjane’s autobiographical graphic novel charting growing up in Iran at the end of the Shah’s rule and overthrow and the upheaval of the Ayatollah’s Islamic revolution. Marjane is shown as a feisty and smart girl who is supported by her parents and strong grandmother. But they realise that such qualities will bring her into conflict with the authorities. The warmth of her family is contrasted with the claustrophobia of the regime. Marjane is sent to school in Vienna, where she discovers music and men. She struggles with the bourgeois apathy of her schoolmates, feeling herself an outsider. This feeling persists through an unsuccessful marriage and when she lives in Paris or returns to Iran. The tale is not self-pitying or sentimental and perhaps we should recall and compare it with our first film, Juno.

The presentation on Fri Jan 2 at 7.00pm is Fanny and Alexander directed by Ingmar Bergman. It will keep us in the spirit of Christmas, at least for the first part of the film. It was made in 1982, has English subtitles, is one of Bergman’s most accessible films and I have
to warn you- it is 188mins long. So you might want to bring your own cushion and we will have a break halfway through for coffee. The photography is wonderful, as Bergman uses his regular cameraman, the Oscar winning Sven Nyquvist.

This turn of the 19th century family drama begins with the exuberant Christmas celebrations of the extended Ekdahl family. All is seen through the eyes of the young Alexander and his sister Fanny, as family and servants ignore social restraints and have a riotous time together. Later on, Alexander’s actor/manager father dies suddenly and this shatters their warm and loving family life. Their mother, who is a God- fearing woman, is comforted by the local bishop and eventually marries him. Fanny and Alexander have to move into a colder, stricter household and we see how they are affected by these oppressive changes. Alexander in particular bears the brunt of the harsh stepfather’s regime.

Bergman based this scenario on his own family history and we can only guess how this might have coloured his subsequent film-making career. The film makes a strong statement against religious zealotry without being wordy or heavy-handed.

Have a Happy Christmas and a good New Year- see you all in 2009 for the rest of our season of films.

CAFS Report for Nov 2008

There were 29 hardy people who braved the weather for the October presentation of The lives of others. It was a very powerful film which provoked a great deal of discussion and a high satisfaction rating. So, for something more light-hearted, on Sat Nov 8th there is a supper at 6.30pm and a presentation of Son of Rambow at approx 7.45pm.

To go with a small-scale English comedy, we are offering Cumberland sausages+2 veg, a variety of fruit crumbles+ cream followed by coffee. Wine or juice is an optional extra. Tickets cost £8 and are available from Caldbeck Store, Hesket Newmarket Store or can be reserved by ringing Sally Vaux on 016974 78626 and collected at the door. Please let the stores or Sally know by Nov 5th if you require a vegetarian meal. Film prices are £3 for members, £4for non-members or you may use your season ticket.

Son of Rambow was made in 2007, written and directed by Garth Jennings and was well received at several indie film festivals in 2008. It runs for 96 mins and has been described as a comedy drama or a coming of age movie. Set in the early 1980s, it tells the story of two boys from very different backgrounds. Will is quiet and shy and belongs to a Plymouth Brethren family, who insist he does not watch films or TV at school. Leaving a classroom where a film is being shown, he meets Lee, who has been sent out of class yet again for bad behaviour and they become unlikely friends.

During the summer, they watch Rambo:First blood and are inspired to make their own action adventure film for a competition. They use a video camera belonging to Lee’s brother, who has a video pirating operation. As they struggle to make the film and keep it secret from Will’s family, the enterprise changes their lives and their relationships with families and friends. There are several sterling British actors that you will recognise : Neil Dudgeon, Jessica Hynes, Adam Godley, Anna Wing and a cameo from the veteran Eric Sykes.

So if the night is black and credit crunchy, come and join us for an enjoyable and light-hearted evening.