Sun 7 Dec • 14th London Turkish Film Festival

Sun 14 Dec • Terrence Malick double bill

DAYS OF HEAVEN (PG) 2.30

(US 1978) dir. Terrence Malick 98m.
Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, Sam Shepard, Linda Manz.

One of the great movies of the 1970s, a film of resonant beauty that is truly breathtaking. In the rural Midwest of a century ago, farm labourers Bill and Abby pretend to be brother and sister when they are really lovers. A proposal from their rich but dying boss offers a secure future but the emotional consequences become uncontrollable.

+ BADLANDS (15) 4.30

(US, 1973) dir. Terrence Malick 94m.
Martin Sheen, Sissy Spacek, Warren Oates, Alan Vint.

Malick's first feature remains as impressive and no less hard-hitting and powerful as it was 35 years ago. It's a startling account of teenager Holly's descent into violence as her boyfriend kills her disapproving father, and the couple take off across Montana leaving behind them a series of dispassionate and seemingly random murders.

Sun 21 Dec • Matinees

MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA (PG) 1.45, 4.00

(US 2008) dir. Eric Darnell & Tom McGrath 89m. Digital.
Voices of: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen.

The sequel to the worldwide smash hit sees all the original characters still stranded on the island of Madagascar. Deciding that they preferred the confines of Central Park Zoo they decide to steal a plane and try to find their way 'home', only to crash land on the African continent. Encountering species of their own for the very first time, how will our New Yorker friends survive out in the wild? Double the fun the second time round, this is Dreamworks best animation yet!

Sun 28 Dec • Matinees

MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA (PG) 1.45, 4.00

(US 2008) dir. Eric Darnell & Tom McGrath 89m. Digital.
Voices of: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen.

The sequel to the worldwide smash hit sees all the original characters still stranded on the island of Madagascar. Deciding that they preferred the confines of Central Park Zoo they decide to steal a plane and try to find their way 'home', only to crash land on the African continent. Encountering species of their own for the very first time, how will our New Yorker friends survive out in the wild? Double the fun the second time round, this is Dreamworks best animation yet!

Sun 4 Jan • Double bill

LETS TALK ABOUT THE RAIN (12A) 1.30

(France 2008) dir. Agnès Jaoui 99m. Subtitles.
Agnès Jaoui, Jean-Pierre Bacri, Jamel Debbouze, Pascale Arbillot.

Familial relationships are pushed to the limit as Parisian intellectual Agathe reluctantly returns to the family home to arrange her recently deceased mother's affairs. She quickly finds herself not only at odds with her sister, but the subject of a documentary by the amateur filmmaker son of the family maid. Very French and very funny.

+ I'VE LOVED YOU SO LONG (12A) 3.30

(France 2008) dir. Philippe Claudel 117m. Subtitles. Digital.
Kristin Scott Thomas, Elsa Zylberstein, Serge Hazanavicius, Laurent Grévill, Frédéric Pierrot.

The highly acclaimed drama about Juliette who, after 15 years in prison, attempts to rebuild a relationship with her estranged sister, Lea. Curiosity spreads in the sleepy French town about the arrival of this mysterious woman, causing unease for Lea and her husband and revealing familial divides and secrets – as well as the social prejudices of the local bourgeoisie.

Sun 11 Jan • Double bill

UNRELATED (15) 1.30

(UK 2007) dir. Joanna Hogg 100m.
Kathryn Worth, Tom Hiddleston, Mary Roscoe, David Rintoul, Henry Lloyd Hughes, Harry Kershaw.

A poignant study of loneliness and desperation set in the idyllic surroundings of the Italian countryside. Forty-something Anna arrives in Tuscany to visit an old school friend. It soon becomes clear that appearances can be deceptive, as Anna finds the affluent upper middle-class life of the group masks darker truths.

+ QUIET CHAOS (15) 3.30

(Italy 2008) dir. Antonello Grimaldi 112m. Subtitles.
Nanni Moretti, Valeria Golino, Isabella Ferrari, Alessandro Gassman, Blu Yoshimi, Hippolyte Girardot.

A terrible tragedy forces film executive Pietro to re-evaluate his life, come to terms with his grief, and adapt into his new role as a single parent to his ten year old daughter. The great Italian director Nanni Moretti gives a magnificent central performance as a man bewildered by loss and sorrow, yet refusing to fall foul of self-pity.

Sun 18 Jan • Double bill

OF TIME AND THE CITY (12A) 1.15

(UK 2008) dir. Terence Davies 74m.

Outstanding filmmaker and National Treasure Terence Davies looks at the history and transformation of his birthplace, Liverpool, in a riveting and personal documentary. Davies' own experiences of an oppressive Catholic upbringing are examined against archive footage of landmark events as diverse as the Royal Wedding and the coming of Rock 'n' Roll. A mini masterpiece.

+ HUNGER (15) 2.50

(UK/Ireland 2008) dir. Steve McQueen 90m.
Michael Fassbender, Liam Cunningham, Stuart Graham, Brian Milligan, Liam McMahon.

Turner Prize-winning artist Steve McQueen directs a compelling account of the 66 day hunger strike that ended the life of convicted IRA member Bobby Sands in Belfast's Maze Prison. With a devastating performance by Michael Fassbender, this key moment in modern British and Irish history is recreated in a visually striking film of blistering power and troubling questions.

Sun 25 Jan • Double bill

PERSEPOLIS (12A) 2.00

(France 2007) dirs. Vincent Paronnaud & Marjane Satrapi 96m. Subtitles. Digital.

Voices of Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve, Danielle Darrieux, Simon Abkarian.
Making a welcome return to the Rio, but this time in its superior original language (French) version. Artist and novelist Marjane Satrapi's autobiographical tale of a young girl's coming-of-age in Iran during the Islamic revolution is a brilliantly imaginative, visually extraordinary piece of animation.

+ WALTZ WITH BASHIR (18) 4.00

(Israel/Germany/France 2008) dir. Ari Folman 90m. Digital.
Voices of: Ari Folman, Boaz Rein Buskila, Ori Sivan, Ron Ben-Yishari, Ronny Dayag.

Cutting edge animation that is as visually bold and original as it is politically explosive and rewarding. Director Ari Folman, triggered by an old Army colleague's recurring nightmare, attempts to remember his experiences in the Israeli army during the 1982 invasion of Lebanon. This is a world of clouded visions, uncertain memories and tortured dreams.

Sun 1 Feb • Double bill

LA ZONA (15) 1.30

(Mexico 2007) dir. Rodrigo Plá 95m. Subtitles. Digital.
Daniel Gimenez Cacho, Maribel Verdu, Carlos Bardem, Daniel Tovar, Alan Chavez, Mario Zaragoza, Marina De Tavira.

Rodrigo Pla's explosive directorial debut is a scarcely disguised portrait of Mexico now. There's tension from the very beginning as a storm disables the security systems of one of Mexico City's exclusive gated communities and three youngsters seize the moment with devastating consequences. Modern Mexican cinema at its most challenging and groundbreaking.

+ BLINDNESS (18) 3.30

(Canada/Brazil/Japan 2008) dir. Fernando Meirelles 121m. Digital.
Julianna Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Alice Braga, Maury Chaykin, Danny Glover, Gael Garcia Bernal.

An intelligent and thoughtful adaptation of Jose Saramago's award-winning novel. When an epidemic blindness begins to ravage an undisclosed city, casualties are quarantined in an abandoned asylum where chaos soon ensues. One inhabitant seems immune to the plague, and becomes the sole witness to the physical and moral decay of those around her.