Feature Films

Disgrace

UK Premiere

120 mins, Australia/South Africa 2008   18
w. Anna Maria Monticelli, d. Steve Jacobs, p. Wouter Barendrecht. Adapted from the book by J.M. Coetzee

15 November 1215–1415, Phoenix Cinema 2

Winner of the International Critics’ Award last year in Toronto, this faithful screen adaptation of J.M. Coetzee’s 1999 Booker prize-winning novel stars John Malkovich as David Lurie, a South African professor of English descent who loses everything after seducing a student. Rife with post-apartheid politics, the story is both powerful and disturbing, while Lurie’s life personifies Coetzee’s recurring themes of exploitation, forgiveness and redemption. Co-starring South African newcomer Jessica Haines as Lurie’s daughter, Lucy.

A hard-headed allegorical meditation on the bestial side of human nature and its reflection in a poisoned social climate in the throes of change, “Disgrace” is all the more devastating for being so coolly dispassionate.’ – The New York Times

' . . . a rare movie . . . one of the year's best films.'  – Chicago Sun-Times

 

Disgrace will go on general release in the UK on 4 December.

Eraserhead

Late-night Screening Surrealist-Horror Cult Classic
89 mins, US 1977 15
w/d/p David Lynch
14 November 2215–2345, Phoenix Cinema 4

 

More than 30 years after its initial release, David Lynch’s sound-effects masterpiece of post-industrial (or is it post-apocalyptic?) surrealism continues to amaze and bewilder. Whether seen as a drug-induced nightmare or a grotesque take on the fear of fatherhood, this cult classic is a must-see for students of cinema, a unique and cTheatreenging film that took five years of intermittent shooting and postproduction editing. In 2000, Lynch himself cleaned up the original, frame by frame, and released a digitally remastered DVD that only became available for sale in the UK last year. A film that demands to be heard, not just seen, on a big screen.

The feelings of unease, even horror, that result from watching it and that only increase in intensity upon repeated viewings, are simply unforgettable.’ – Steven Jay Schneider

Fish Tank

123 mins, UK 2009 15
w/d Andrea Arnold, p. Kees Kasander

15 November 1430–1645, Phoenix Cinema 2

Andrea Arnold’s first film since the award-winning Red Road has received reviews and accolades most filmmakers can only dream of, including this year’s Jury Prize at Cannes and Best British Performance (for Katie Jarvis) at Edinburgh. Troubled 15-year-old Mia (Jarvis) is struggling with a future as bleak as the surrounding Essex countryside. When her equally unstable and volatile mother finds a new boyfriend, Mia’s world changes in ways both confusing and unsettling. A guest of the Cornwall Film Festival several years ago, writer-director Arnold is generally considered an heir apparent to the ‘Brit grit’ mantle of the great Ken Loach.

Another highly intelligent, involving film from one of the most powerful voices in British cinema.’ – Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

South West Premiere
Late-night Screening
152 mins, Sweden/Denmark/Germany 2009     15
w. Nikolaj Arcel, Rasmus Heisterberg, d. Niels Arden Oplev, p. Anni Faurbye Fernandez, Lone Korslund. Based on the book by Stieg Larsson
13 November 2130–0002 Phoenix Cinema 2
Based on the first book in Stieg Larsson’s posthumously published, best-selling Millennium trilogy, this crime thriller has broken box-office records across Scandinavia. A journalist is hired by a wealthy businessman to investigate the disappearance of his niece 40 years earlier. With the help of a tattooed, ruthless computer hacker, he links the disappearance to a number of grotesque murders and begins to unravel a dark and appalling family history. In Swedish, with English subtitles.
 
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo will go on general release in the UK in March 2010.

Glorious 39

South West Premiere

129 mins, UK 2009 12A
w/d Stephen Poliakoff, p. James Atherton

15 November 1645–1900, Phoenix Cinema 1

 

Dark family secrets abound in this World War II suspense story, Stephen Poliakoff’s return to the big screen after a 10-year absence. In this tense, psychological thriller, a young woman discovers evidence of British appeasement towards Nazi Germany in the run-up to the war. Beautifully photographed, Poliakoff’s sumptuous view of England in the sultry, innocent summer of 1939 is embellished by a stellar cast, including Bill Nighy, Romola Garai, Christopher Lee, David Tennant and Julie Christie.

 

Glorious 39 will go on general release in the UK on 20 November.

Marcello, Marcello

UK Premiere

Opening Night Screening
92 mins, Switzerland/Germany 2008    12A
w. Mark David Hatwood, d.Denis Rabaglia, p. Anne Walser
13 November 1930–2115 Phoenix Cinema 2, 1945–2145 Phoenix Cinema 1
Presented in association with University College Falmouth. Ticket price includes entry to opening reception with Cornish mead, canapés and live music by Cornish duo The Barveks.
 
We are delighted to have writer and Portscatho resident Mark David Hatwood introduce the film in both screens and provide a Q&A afterwards in Screen 1. He will also be signing copies of his book Marcello's Date.
When poor Marcello Romero falls for lovely Elena Gamboccini, he is forced to follow the tradition of his Italian coastal village: present a gift to her patrician father on her 16th birthday that will be chosen over the others, to earn a first date. But Marcello soon learns that he must trade favours with everyone in the village to obtain that perfect gift. Based on Mark David Hatwood’s book Marcello’s Date, this is a sun-splashed romantic comedy in the tradition of Il Postino. In Italian, with English subtitles.

The Men Who Stare at Goats

Cornwall Premiere

Saturday Night Gala Screening

90 mins, US/UK 2009               Rating TBC
w. Peter Straughan, d. Grant Heslov, p. George Clooney. Based on the book by Jon Ronson
14 November 2000–2215 Phoenix Cinema 1, 2015–2200 Phoenix Cinema 4 (sold out)
14 November 2200-2330
Phoenix Cinema 1 (Extra screening)
Ticket price includes entry to gala reception following the film, with music by Cornish band Dalla, film quiz, prizes and more.
 
We are honoured to have writer and documentary filmmaker Jon Ronson introduce the film in both screens and provide a Q&A afterwards in Screen 1.
 

More proof that reality, especially when influenced by politics, is stranger than fiction. A dark comedy based on Jon Ronson’s bestselling true story of New Age beliefs in the U.S. military during the height of George W. Bush’s misbegotten ‘war on terror.’ Did you know the New Earth Army’s paranormal strategies to defeat the enemy included forcing Iraqi POWs to repeatedly listen to Barney the Purple Dinosaur’s theme song? Didn’t think so. With George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey.

 

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