Nowhere Boy: 8th June 2011

A biopic based on the early and informative years of John Lennon. It is the story of a troubled childhood and a determined and strong-minded young man who uses his love of music to overcome a bitter and uncomfortable domestic past. ‘Nowhere Boy’ is a joyful journey into the power of personality, the finding of friends and the start of an amazing life. Moving and emotional with outstanding individual performances. Hugely entertaining.

The White Ribbon: 11th May 2011

The White Ribbon is a stark, contemplative and hauntingly brilliant film set in a rural farming community in 1913. The film effectively utilizes tension and a bleak atmosphere to deliver a thought-provoking examination of nascent fascism. Unlike conventional thrillers, this film does not restore a moral order to the universe. Rather, it questions it. It must be seen.

Tulpan: 13th April 2011

The traditional lifestyle of nomadic sheep herders on the harsh Kazakh steppe provides quietly sensational drama in ‘Tulpan’. This engrossing tale of a 20-ish youth who can't achieve a long-cherished dream of tending his own flock without first acquiring a wife is both a lovely and unsentimental story. It's easy to see why Tulpan has been so well-received at film festivals. Superlatives are hard to avoid: original, raw, authentic, genuine, funny, joyous, honest. A must see.

Mugabe and The White African: 9th March 2011

An intimate and moving account of one family's extraordinary courage in the face of overwhelming injustice and brutality. This is a true story based on the experiences of Michael Campbell who faced with intimidation and aggression, chose to put up a fight for his land, taking the unprecedented step of challenging Mugabe before the South African Development Community's international court. Filmed covertly in a country where a press ban exists, Mugabe and the White African provides a valuable, unsettling insight into the reality of life under Mugabe's dictatorship.

Machan: 9th February 2011

This is a truly excellent Sri Lankan movie based on the true story of the not-so-real Sri Lankan National Handball Team. A group of troubled slum dwellers living on the margins of society under impossible pressures think their prayers have been answered in the form of an invitation to travel to Bavaria for the 2004 International Handball Championships but they find that the invitation was not intended as a one-way ticket into the Golden West. While Machan handles some delicate social issues, it is never overly-sentimental and never melodramatic, but brims with charm, compassion and ultimately hope.

Departures

Winner of the 2009 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, Departures tells the story of a concert cellist named Daigo who undergoes a transformation following the death of his father and the dissolution of his Tokyo orchestra. Daigo retreats to his picturesque hometown in northern Japan to look for work and responds to an ad for a company called “Departures,” thinking it’s a travel agency. ‘Departures’ is a tonally eccentric, lushly-scored, moving and funny drama that uses the rituals of death to foster a greater appreciation of life. Excellent film, really enjoyed by all members.

I am Love/ Lo Son L'Amore'.

Wednesday 8th December 2010 at 8pm Brogans Inn Bandon.

The next screening of the Bandon Film Society on the 8th December is the Italian Film 'I am Love / Lo Sono L’Amore'.

An melodrama about power, family, trust and self-discovery. Its a story about repression in relationships and breaking free. Set in Milan’s upper classes, in the Art Deco villa of a family of great wealth. A wonderfully absorbing film in the true classic Italian style offering magnificent cinematography, production design, costumes and score – by American opera composer John Adams.

The cast is led by the British Academy award winning actress Tilda Swinton as Emma Recchi. Co-producers Swinton and Guadagnino developed the movie together over an 11-year period. The film premiered in the United States at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, and premiered in both the Venice Film Festival and the Toronto Film Festival. Date 8th December, 8.15pm.

New members always welcome.