Sun 8 Apr • Double bill

VENUS (15) 2.15

(UK 2006) dir. Roger Michell 95m.
Peter O'Toole, Leslie Phillips, Jodie Whitaker, Vanessa Redgrave, Richard Griffiths.

Maurice and Ian are old friends and fellow actors of the type who had decent careers while never breaking through to the big time. They spend their semi-retirement mulling over obituaries, snacking on their pills and bickering like husband and wife. Their routine is disturbed by the arrival of Jessie, Ian's great-niece, who arrives from the North to care for her relative while searching for work. Ian is immediately unimpressed, but Maurice the serial seducer welcomes the youthful breeze that blows into his life. What follows is a mutually dependent friendship between the raw, provincial youth and the ageing Lothario. This is a funny, saucy and surprising comedy, and a poignant reflection on mortality.

+ NOTES ON A SCANDAL (15) 4.10

(UK 2006) dir. Richard Eyre 92m.
Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett, Bill Nighy, Phil Davis, Michael Maloney, Andrew Simpson.

Barbara is a lonely, aging, spinster schoolteacher until the arrival of bohemian young art teacher Sheba Hart. Despite her marriage to an adoring husband with whom she has two children, Sheba embarks on an affair with one of her 15 year old students. When Barbara discovers this, she promises to keep the secret – but for a price. The teachers are brought to ferocious life by the two lead actresses, with Dench - so often the model of decorum and decency - a revelatory tour de force as the fearsome, acid-tongued Barbara. A compelling thriller.

BLOOD DIAMOND (15) 12.15

(US 2006) dir. Edward Zwick 143m.
Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly, Djimon Hounsou, Arnold Vosloo, Jimi Mistry, Michael Sheen.

Sierra Leone, 1999. Taken hostage, fisherman Solomon Vandy is forced to work in the mining camps where he finds a sizeable pink diamond which he stashes in the dirt. Soon enough, word of this find gets to Daniel Archer, a diamond smuggler. Hooking up with Vandy, Archer promises to help him find his family - now in a prison camp - in exchange for being led to the stone. Meanwhile an investigative reporter works to expose the diamond companies of the West for having blood on their hands. An epic with a political epicentre.

+ THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND (15) 2.55

(UK 2006) dir. Kevin Macdonald 123m.
Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy, Kerry Washington, Gillian Anderson, Simon McBurney.

1971, and young Scottish doctor Nicholas Garrigan is in Uganda, working in a small village practice – until he meets Idi Amin, who has recently come to power. Striking up an unusual friendship based on Amin’s love of Scotland, Garrigan goes on to become the leader’s personal physician. Through Nicholas’ eyes we watch as the fuse is lit on a powder keg, Amin revealing the bloodstains beneath the clown veneer in this fictionalised story of the very real dictator who killed 300,000 Ugandans. A tense and dramatic adventure with a fantastic Oscar-winning performance from Whittaker.

Sun 22 Apr • East End Film Festival

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Sun 29 Apr • Viva! Spanish & Latin American Film Festival on tour double bill

HONOUR OF THE KNIGHTS (12A) (Honor de cavalleria) 1.45

(Spain 2006) dir. Albert Serra 110m. Subtitles.
Lluís Carbó, Lluís Serrat, Albert Pla.

Following its premiere in the Director’s Fortnight at Cannes 2006, HONOUR has gone on to garner critical acclaim across the globe for its Beckett-tinged, pure cinematic distillation of Don Quixote. It follows Quixote and Sancho as they set off in search of adventures. At the heart of their journey is their relationship – affectionate, desperate, and solitary – which unwinds slowly against the natural beauty of the Catalan countryside. Exquisitely crafted and acted by non-professionals, this is a defiantly experimental slice of auteur cinema.

+ EL AURA (15) 3.50

(Argentina / France / Spain 2005) dir. Fabián Bielinsky 134m.. Subtitles.
Ricardo Darín, Dolores Fonzi, Pablo Cedrón, Nahuel Pérez Biscayart.

Esteban Espinoza is an epileptic taxidermist who is obsessed with hold ups and convinced he could commit the perfect crime. While hunting in the Patagonian forest an accidental meeting - and an accidental death - plunge him into the centre of a real-life heist. This, coupled with Esteban's tendency to suffer fits (preceded by an eerie "aura" moment when time stands still just before he collapses), means he is in up to his neck. EL AURA has a film noir heart as dark as the Patagonian woods. Tense and twisty, with clever direction and excellent characterisation, this is what thrillers should be about.

Sun 6 May • Double bill

STANDING IN THE SHADOWS OF MOTOWN (PG) 2.00

(US 2002) Paul Justman 108m.
Richard 'Pistol' Allen, Jack Ashford, Bob Babbitt, Benny 'Papa Zita' Benjamin, Eddie 'Bongo' Brown.

Shining light into forgotten dark corner of musical history, this documentary focuses on the Funk Brothers, the session musicians who played on virtually every Motown hit. Featuring interviews with the Funk Brothers as they reminisce about working with artists like Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and the Supremes, and a reunion where the musicians jam with contemporary vocalists, the material is exceptional. The dazzling music sucks us in, cleverly explaining how some of the signature tunes were constructed. This documentary is essential for fans of Motown, or those with an interest in music of any kind.

+ DREAMGIRLS (12A) 4.10

(US 2006) dir. Bill Condon 130m.
Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé Knowles, Eddie Murphy, Danny Glover, Jennifer Hudson, Anika Noni Rose.

Adapted from the award-winning Broadway musical, Dreamgirls follows an ambitious girl group from 1960s Detroit through a soaring career and personal crises. Based on the story of legendary label Motown and chart-topping girl group The Supremes, this is an eye-opener for anyone who thought pop was a white invention. As the world's first African-American-owned major media company, Tamla Motown Records broke down cultural barriers and conquered the white pop charts during a time of segregation and social upheaval. DREAMGIRLS is an appealing, touching and spectacular tribute to one of the most sensational stories in pop music.

FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS (15) 1.30

(US 2006) dir. Clint Eastwood 132m.
Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford, Adam Beach, Paul Walker, Jamie Bell, John Benjamin Hickey, Barry Pepper, Thomas McCarthy, John Slattery.

The flag in question is that raised by American soldiers on the highest point on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima, key battleground in the Pacific War. A powerful inspiration to war-sick Americans, the photo of the flag being raised becomes a symbol of the Allied cause. The three surviving flag raisers are whisked back to civilization to help raise funds for the war effort. But the accolades for heroism heaped upon the three men are at odds with their realisations that thousands of real heroes lie dead on Iwo Jima. A sombre film that makes a fascinating contrast to LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA.

+ LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA (15) 4.00

(US 2006) dir. Clint Eastwood 140 m.
Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryo Kase, Shidou Nakamura.

Clint Eastwood's companion piece to FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS charts the battle of Iwo Jima from the Japanese perspective. Inspired by the hundreds of letters found on the island after the war, written by the soldiers to their loved ones, this humane film avoids caricature and gives a compassionate view of the usually demonized Japanese military mindset. Watanabe's beautifully nuanced performance is key, his General an able man whose love of family and inherent decency are as strong as his patriotism. A subtle work and a resonant anti-war statement.

Sun 20 May • Double bill

AFTER THE WEDDING (Efter brylluppet) (15) 12.00

(Denmark 2006) dir. Susanne Bier 122m. Subtitles.
Mads Mikkelsen, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Rolf Lassgård, Stine Fischer Christensen

Jacob Petersen has dedicated his life to helping street children in India. When the orphanage he heads is threatened by closure, he receives an unusual offer. A Danish businessman, Jørgen, offers him a donation of $4 million dollars – on certain conditions. Not only must Jacob return to Denmark, he must also attend the wedding of Jørgen's daughter. The wedding proves to be a critical juncture between past and future and catapults Jacob into the most intense dilemma of his life. A poignant, intimate and enjoyable drama.

+ THE NAMESAKE (12A) 2.20

(US/India 2007) dir. Mira Nair 122m.
Kal Penn, Tabu, Irfran Khan, Jacinda Barrett, Zuleikha Robinson.

Following their arranged marriage, Ashoke and Ashima jet off from steamy Calcutta to wintry New York to begin their life together. They soon have a son and name him Gogol, after the famous Russian author. It’s a name with a link to a hidden past and, Ashoke hopes, a better future. But life isn’t as easy for Gogol as his parents might wish. As a first generation American, he must learn to tread a line between his Bengali heritage and his American birthright in the search for his own identity.  A sweeping, warm, heartfelt adaptation of the book by Jhumpa Lahiri.

Sun 27 May • No double bill

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END (*) 1.30

See Main features for info

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END (*) 1.30

See Main features for info