Welcome to 2024, we hope it is a great year for all of our audience. For us at Newcastle West Film Club it means a new season of film. This was one of those seasons when we had so many strong contenders to pick between and also made us feel inspired to show films that feel a bit different to our usual selection. We look forward to your feedback on the season.
The housekeeping stuff: films start at 8pm though we have tea/coffee/wine refreshments available if you want to relax for a short while before the film starts. Entry is €8 and card payment is available. All films are for over 18. The venue is Desmond Complex. The venue is wheelchair accessible and we have a hearing loop installed. For further information you can phone/message 087 6877970 or email ncwfilmclub@gmail.com.
PAST LIVES. Friday 2nd Feb 2024. 8pm
Nora and Hae Sung, classmates at a primary school in Seoul, have their deep friendship ended abruptly when Nora’s family emigrates to Canada. Two decades later, they meet in New York and over one week address notions of chance and circumstance and the choices people make that create a life.
Past Lives is an authentically beautiful romantic debut feature from playwright Celine Song. Exploring “In Yun’’, a Korean notion of connection between people – the string of fate which tangles together across different lifetimes, it subtly addresses the tension between a life longed for and the life lived.
With spellbinding performances from Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, and John Magaro it brims with compassion for how complicated the human condition can be.
Quotes:
★★★★★ ”It’s a beautiful, transporting film but one made with both feet firmly on the ground.”
-Benjamin Lee, The Guardian
‘’It is a very tough thing indeed to make a film that is at once restrained and brimming with feeling, a movie that could be fairly described as both big and small.’’
-Peter Debruge, Variety
★★★★★ Celine Song’s tender, time-spanning romance is an exquisitely judged wonder. A directorial debut of remarkable poise and power.
-Matt Maytum, Total Film
ANATOMY OF A FALL. Friday 1st March 2024. 8pm
Sandra, a successful German writer, has been living in the French Alps with her husband Samuel and son Daniel. When Samuel’s dead body is found below one of their chalet’s windows, a police investigation raises many questions. One year later, Sandra is on trial for murder. As the trial proceeds, Sandra and her husband’s complex relationship comes under intense scrutiny. The conflicting evidence, inconsistent testimony and shocking truths that are revealed make Anatomy of a Fall a compelling and gripping drama.
Featuring an outstanding lead performance from Sandra Hüller, Justine Triet’s film scooped the top prize earlier this year at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, and became one of year’s most anticipated films.
Awards:
Winner – Palme d’Or, Cannes Film Festival 2023
Winner – Audience Award, Best International Feature, Sydney Film Festival 2023
Quotes:
“★ ★ ★ ★ ★ A sparkling intellectual thriller than lingers for days.”
– The Telegraph
“★ ★ ★ ★ ★ … a fascinating, knotty courtroom thriller.”
– The Irish Times
TYPIST ARTIST PIRATE KING. Friday 5th April 2024
From acclaimed British filmmaker, Carol Morley, inspired by the extensive archive of forgotten artist Audrey Amiss, Typist, Artist, Pirate King is a dark, funny road movie. Using Amiss’s diaries, letters and art, the film weaves real events into an imagined journey as Audrey goes on a road trip with her psychiatric nurse Sandra to a gallery in Sunderland to exhibit her art.
Exploring the growing friendship between these two very different women as they hit the road in an electric car looking for reconciliation, peace of mind and recognition Morleys latest feature is filled with adventure, humour and compassion
Quotes:
‘’ ★★★★ It is tremendously shot by Agnès Godard and the compassion of the film is palpable.’’ — Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
“A delight, and a film which cleverly picks apart the clichés of the timeworn artist biopic.” — David Jenkins, Little White Lies
NCW Film Club 