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Category Archives: 2019
Peterloo
Esteemed British director Mike Leigh brings to life one of the bloodiest and darkest episodes in British social history, the infamous Peterloo Massacre of August 16, 1819. Representatives of the Tory government ordered a regiment of regular cavalry, abetted by local mounted militia and hundreds of infantry and special constables, to charge, sabers drawn, into a working-class crowd of 60,000 who had gathered for an entirely peaceful rally—calling for parliamentary reform—in St Peter’s Field, Manchester, England. Bands played “Rule Britannia” and “God Save the King.” Banners spoke of “Liberty and Fraternity”. But the authorities feared an outbreak of violence that might foment bloody revolution. The storming of the Bastille that sparked the French Revolution and the ensuing “Terror” and the American Revolutionary War were all within living memory. Eighteen people killed; more than 650 severely injured. The brutal “Peterloo Massacre”—named by a local newspaper, to echo Britain’s defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo — triggered a national outcry that proved to be a turning point in the slow, but inexorable evolution of British democracy. This is Mike Leigh’s largest cinematic canvas to date, and he uses a notable ensemble cast headed by Maxine Peake (in person at the festival) and Rory Kinnear. Immersive, impassioned, meticulously crafted, the film brims with contemporary relevance. Why is Peterloo important? Because people died there simply for asking for the right to vote. UK 2018 (154 minutes)
Introduced by Maxine Peake and Board Member Tony Broadbent. Miss Peake will be interviewed following the screening by Mostly British Senior Programmer Maxine Einhorn.
GUEST OF HONOR: MAXINE PEAKE
English actress Maxine Peake will join us at the festival with two of her new films, which she will introduce and participate in a Q & A following the screenings. She stars in “Peterloo,” as the mother of a young British conscript in this story of the infamous 1819 massacre at Peterloo. In “Funny Cow” she plays a female comic attempting in the 1970s to find a place in England’s comedy circuit. The Guardian wrote of her performance “Peake rises magnificently to the challenge of the role, her face flickering between a practical smile and a silent scream.” She is a regular on the Hulu show “The Bisexual” and is known in the UK for lead roles in the TV series “Dinnerladies” and “Shameless.” She has also appeared in “Black Mirror” and the movie “The Theory of Everything.” Her stage work includes the title characters in “Hamlet” and “Miss Julie” and as Blanche in “A Streetcar Named Desire,” a performance The Guardian described as “exquisite” and “breathtaking.” Introduced by star Maxine Peake and Board Member Tony Broadbent. Miss Peake will be interviewed following the screening by Mostly British Senior Programmer Maxine Einhorn.
Number 37
This South African crime thriller, set in a notoriously dangerous area outside Cape Town, stars Irshaad Ally as Randal, a bitter paraplegic crook desperate to pay off a sadistic loan shark (Danny Ross). A wonderful Monique Rockman is Randal’s long-suffering girlfriend. Co-directed by first-time feature director Nosipho Dumisa, the film is cheerfully derivative of Hitchcock’s “Rear Window” emphasizing Randal’s immobility and use of binoculars. Although focused on lives shaped by chronic poverty, “Number 37” avoids social commentary. Cinematographer Zenn van Zyl draws richness from the grungy setting, resulting in a film the New York Times calls “crackling with its own lowlife energy.”
South Africa 2018 (100 minutes)
Funny Cow
Maxine Peake (appearing in person at Mostly British) kills as they say in the comedy trade, playing the title character with unflinching boldness and grit that absolutely mesmerizes. As a female standup comic trying to make it in the northern working men’s clubs of the 70s, she confronts the unrelenting sexism and violence surrounding working class women in Northern England. Through a collage of flashbacks, we learn how resilience was knocked into her by an abusive father, husband, and broken alcoholic mother. Funny Cow stands a vibrant, firebrand dressed in red with corkscrew blonde hair and bright red lips, using comedy as her lifeline, amid a dreary, harsh, grimy cityscape. She has a fur coat and fancy sports car for comfort but they can’t erase the deep hurt in her soul. This film makes us uncomfortable. We may not laugh but we will think. Remember Archie Rice in The Entertainer – he was “dead behind the eyes”. Funny Cow calls herself “a monster behind the eyes”. But no, she is just trying to survive and we applaud her for it. Miss Peake and board member Tony Broadbent will introduce the film and participate in a Q & A following the screening.
2017 UK (92 mins)
GUEST OF HONOR: MAXINE PEAKE
English actress Maxine Peake will join us at the festival with two of her new films, which she will introduce and participate in a Q & A following the screenings. She stars in “Peterloo,” as the mother of a young British conscript in this story of the infamous 1819 massacre at Peterloo. In “Funny Cow” she plays a female comic attempting in the 1970s to find a place in England’s comedy circuit. The Guardian wrote of her performance “Peake rises magnificently to the challenge of the role, her face flickering between a practical smile and a silent scream.” She is a regular on the Hulu show “The Bisexual” and is known in the UK for lead roles in the TV series “Dinnerladies” and “Shameless.” She has also appeared in “Black Mirror” and the movie “The Theory of Everything.” Her stage work includes the title characters in “Hamlet” and “Miss Julie” and as Blanche in “A Streetcar Named Desire,” a performance The Guardian described as “exquisite” and “breathtaking.”
Swimming with Men
This wonderfully daft comedy, based on a documentary about a real-life synchronized male swim team in Sweden, could be thought of as “The Full Monty” in Speedos. A motley crew of middle-aged men form a close friendship unusual for the male species when they decide to compete in a world championship–despite the fact that they will never be mistaken for bodybuilders. The Guardian describes their physiques as “unselfconscious moobs and guts, sagging thighs and fading tattoos.” Their unfashionable swimming caps and goggles make them look more like nerds than athletes. The team is led by the always humorous Rob Brydon as an accountant incapacitated by a midlife crisis and Rupert Graves as a smooth-talking real estate broker looking for some action after a divorce. Although he hadn’t imagined it would happen underwater, joining the team turns out for him as well as his teammates to be more gratifying than any of them could have imagined. UK 2018 (96 minutes).
Sponsored by Stratos Group LLC- Stuart Keirle
Ellipsis
This atmospheric drama set in a glittering Sydney is reminiscent of the Ethan Hawke-Julie Delpy “Before Sunrise” series in portraying two eminently likeable characters who are each willing to risk exploring where a chance encounter will lead them and the effects of fate. As Viv and Jasper, stars Emily Barclay (“The Light Between Oceans”) and Benedict Samuel (the TV series “Gotham”) literally collide in a busy intersection in Sydney, damaging Viv’s cellphone. The accident requires her to delay her return to her fiance in London while her phone is repaired. A contrite Jasper offers her use of his phone and company as the two share a series of adventures that lead them to shed their initial reserve. They happen upon numerous bizarre characters while roaming deeply into Sydney’s nightlife. Australia 2018 (85 minutes)
The King’s Speech
Greatness is thrust upon Britain’s Prince Albert after his brother abdicates and he is forced to ascend the throne as King George VI. He is not a natural for the role being timid, low in self-confidence and suffering from a debilitating stammer. 1936 was a critical time in Europe, threatened by the ambitions of Hitler and Mussolini, and Britain needed a strong, clear voice. The Queen Mother astutely hired Lionel Logue, an Australian actor and speech therapist, to help the King overcome his stammer. The film is the moving story of the relationship between these two men, a deep and often hilarious friendship. It is a superb film, a winner of a best picture Oscar and best actor for an extraordinary Colin Firth as the King. Directed by Tom Hooper with Geoffrey Rush as the speech therapist and Helena Bonham Carter and Guy Pearce.
UK 2010 (118 minutes)
Richard III
“Elizabeth” and “Richard III” will be introduced by Peter Robinson, movie reviewer for KALW91 FM and editor of San Francisco’s Books & Travel.
Laurence Olivier’s “Richard III,” from 1955 is considered the best of his efforts behind the camera. Directing himself, he gives a much heralded if undeniably campy performance as the malformed title character who methodically plots and murders his way to the throne. Olivier delivers Richard’s famous soliloquies directly facing the audience. Given a lavish budget estimated at several millions, he shot the film in color and Vista Vision, a super-sharp widescreen process that enhanced his own visual concepts. The Mostly British festival will screen a new eye-boggling digital restoration. The film also is notable for starring four actors who ultimately are knighted: Cedric Hardwicke, Ralph Richardson, John Gielgud and Olivier. UK 1955 (160 minutes)
Elizabeth
Directed by Shekar Kapur, this lush period extravaganza stars Cate Blanchett in the role that announced her as a star as Elizabeth 1 during the early years of her reign. She was a Protestant monarch in a Catholic country, reason enough for the instability surrounding her reign. Conspiracy and intrigue created her steely determination to survive and rule, with betrayal eventually causing her to relinquish the one man she loved, the dashing Joseph Fiennes as Sir Robert Dudley, and become “the Virgin Queen”. Fabulous sets and costumes combined with a stellar cast (including Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush, Christopher Eccleston and Richard Attenborough) led by Blanchett who enthralls as the passionate young princess adopting the merciless mantle of the Queen of England during a tumultuous period in British history. Rightly garnered 7 Oscar nominations.UK 1998 (124 minutes)
Pickups
Breezing onto the big screen like a small-screen observational comedy, complete with a deadpan voiceover, longtime collaborators director Jamie Thraves and actor Aiden Gillen’s (“Game of Thrones,” “The Wire”) latest is a not-exactly-documentary-not-really-fiction film– a low-fi, freewheeling, meta-riff on fame with Gillen playing an iteration of himself, an actor named Aidan who lives alone with a dog, struggles to connect with his (real-life) teenage daughter, and has mixed feelings about fame. He has a bad back, can’t sleep, and is playing a serial killer – the element which eventually lifts this good-natured Dublin-set charmer into pure fiction. One hopes. With a dark underpinning that repeatedly bubbles to the surface, a solid sense of humor, and a rollicking lens on the absurd, this is a uniquely entertaining film. Ireland 2017 (75 minutes)