Friday 17th May – Past Lives (2023: 12A: 106 mins)
Following the resounding success of our April screening, One Life, we are delighted to present to you Past Lives (2023: 12A: 106 mins) on Friday 17th May at the Chorleywood War Memorial Hall (doors open 7.30pm, film starts at 8pm). This 2023 American romantic drama film was written and directed by Celine Song in her feature directorial debut. Starring Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, and John Magaro, it follows two childhood friends over the course of 24 years while they contemplate the nature of their relationship as they grow apart, living different lives. The plot is semi-autobiographical and inspired by real events from Song’s life.
Past Lives premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2023, and was released theatrically in the United States on June 2, 2023. The film received critical acclaim and was named one of the top ten films of 2023 by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute and received various accolades including five nominations at the 81st Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama (for Lee). At the 96th Academy Awards, it received nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture.
“The movie’s modesty — its intimacy, human scale, humble locations and lack of visual oomph — is one of its strengths. The characters live in homes that are pleasant yet ordinary, the kind that you can imagine hanging out in, the kind you want to hang out in. There are few big, look-at-me details, though you might notice a poster for Jacques Rivette’s 1974 classic Céline and Julie Go Boating in Nora’s father’s home office in Seoul.” (Manola Darghis, The New York Times)
“Past Lives is a glorious date movie, and a movie for every occasion, too. As ever with films like this, there is an auxiliary pleasure in wondering how much of her own past life Song has used. It’s a must-see.” (Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian)
Tickets: £7 (Under 15s: £4) available here, in person at Chorleywood Bookshop or on the door on the night (if still available).
Standard tickets
Under 15s tickets
* If you are buying tickets online please be aware that your PayPal transaction confirmation counts as your proof of purchase which you will need to show at the Registration Desk when you arrive on the evening. We do not send out tickets to you in advance.
** Please note we operate a ‘cash only’ policy for reserved tickets picked up on the night, tickets sold on the door…. and for all items purchased at the Bar.
Coming Next: Friday 21st June: Anatomy of a Fall (2023: 15A: 151 mins: strong language, bloody images) starring: Sandra Hüller, Swann Arlaud, Milo Machado-Graner.. Chorleywood War Memorial Hall, Common Road. Doors open 7.30 p.m. Programme starts 8 p.m.
Friday 19th April – One Life (2023: 12A: 109 mins)
Our film for April, ONE LIFE tells the true story of Sir Nicholas ‘Nicky’ Winton, a young London broker who, in the months leading up to World War II, rescued over 650 predominantly Jewish children from the Nazis. Nicky visited Prague in December 1938 and found families who had fled the rise of the Nazis in Germany and Austria, living in desperate conditions with little or no shelter and food, and under threat of Nazi invasion. He immediately realised it was a race against time. How many children could he and the team rescue before the borders closed?
Fifty years on, Nicky is still haunted by the fate of the children he wasn’t able to bring to safety in England, blaming himself for not doing more. Only when a live BBC television show, ‘That’s Life’, surprises him by introducing him to some surviving children, now adults, he finally begins to come to terms with the guilt and grief he has carried for decades.
Directed by James Hawes, the film stars Sir Anthony Hopkins, Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Flynn
Lena Olin, Jonathan Pryce, Romola Garai, Marthe Keller and Alex Sharp.
“The film does justice to this overwhelmingly moving event in British public life in a quietly affecting drama.” Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
“[A] handsome and soberly stirring period piece..”. Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph
Friday 15th March – Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom (2022: PG: 110 mins)
On Friday 15th March showed the charming and irresistible, Lunana: A Yak In The Classroom (2022: PG: 110mins) which was Oscar nominated for Best International Feature Film in 2022.
When a daydreaming but discontented young teacher is posted to a school in a remote village high in the Himalayan mountains, he is disheartened to find a simple herding community lacking even the most basic amenities. But the enthusiasm of his young students and the unassuming warmth of the village folk lift his spirits and he must decide whether to return to the city before the gruelling winter sets in, or remain in this strange and captivating land.
Beautifully photographed in extraordinary mountain locations, this poetic and enchanting drama gives a fascinating insight into a region largely uncharted on screen.
“…an irresistible delight from start to finish.”
David Parkinson, Radio Times
“This leisurely, quietly euphoric film lets you breathe the visual and sonic fresh air of its setting…”
Jonathan Romney, Financial Times
Friday 16th February 2024 – The Great Escaper (12A: 2023: 96 mins)
We continue this season’s films with the recently released The Great Escaper (12A) – which is based on the true story of Bernard Jordan and his wife Irene. In 2014, the then 89 year-old Bernard made headlines around the world when he left his care home in Hove, without anyone knowing, and made his way to Dover and then to Normandy, to join his comrades-in-arms for the 70th anniversary of D-Day.
Michael Caine and the late Glenda Jackson bring their ‘A’ games and some real grit to this bittersweet heartwarmer, written by William Ivory and directed by Oliver Parker.
“A moving and surprisingly nuanced drama offering far more than flag-waving nostalgia. Superb performances from Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson” Lou Thomas, Empire Magazine
“….it’s a wonderful last hurrah for Jackson and there is something moving and even awe-inspiring in seeing these two British icons together.” Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
Friday 19th January 2024 – Blind Ambition (12A: 2021: 94 mins)
We resume our own screenings on Friday 19th January with Blind Ambition which tells the heart-warming, true story of four refugees who having escaped starvation and tyranny in their homeland of Zimbabwe – and who had previously never even tasted wine – conquer the odds to become South Africa’s top sommeliers.
Driven by relentless optimism, a passion for their craft and unshakeable national pride, they form Zimbabwe’s first ever wine tasting team and set their sights on the coveted title of World Wine Tasting Champions. When the team finally arrives in France to compete, they find an establishment of privilege and tradition…and turn it on its head!
Written and directed by Robert Coe and Warwick Ross.
“It’s the ‘Cool Runnings’ of the wine tasting world.” Kevin Maher, The Times
“It’s impossible not to smile along with this feelgood documentary” – Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
“..one of the most impressive, enlightening, vital things he (Spielberg)’s ever done.” – David Fear, Rolling Stone magazine
ed tickets picked up on the night, tickets sold on the door…. and for all items purchased at the Bar.
Friday 17th November 2023 – The Fabelmans (cert 12A : 151 mns)
Our next film, THE FABELMANS (12A) is being shown at Chorleywood War Memorial Hall on Friday 17th November. It was inspired by its’ director and co-writer Steven Spielberg’s own childhood. Doors open at 7.30 pm and the programme starts at 8.00 pm.
Growing up in post-World War II Arizona, young Sammy Fabelman falls in love with movies after his parents take him to see “The Greatest Show on Earth.” As he reaches adolescence, Sammy aspires to become a filmmaker – much to the delight of his supportive mother. Armed with a camera, he starts making his own films at home but soon discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him see the truth.
This bittersweet coming-of-age drama stars Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogan, Gabriel LaBelle and Judd Hirsch.
“It’s about family and the complexity of family and it’s intensely personal, moving, absorbing and full of love.” Deborah Ross, The Spectator
“..one of the most impressive, enlightening, vital things he (Spielberg)’s ever done.”
David Fear, Rolling Stone magazine
* If you are buying tickets online please be aware that your PayPal transaction confirmation counts as your proof of purchase which you will need to show at the Registration Desk when you arrive on the evening. We do not send out tickets to you in advance.
** Unfortunately PayPal have recently removed the option allowing you to change the number of tickets you wish to buy in a single transaction. We are pressuring them to fix this problem but should you encounter any difficulties purchasing tickets online, please e-mail us at cwfilmclub@mail.com so that we can reserve tickets for you to pick up on the evening.
*** Finally, please note we operate a ‘cash only’ policy for reserved tickets picked up on the night, tickets sold on the door…. and for all items purchased at the Bar.
Friday 13th October 2023 – Parallel Mothers (Cert. 15 : 123 mins)
This moving story about two single women who meet and give birth on the same day in the same Spanish hospital was written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar and stars Penelope Cruz, Milena Smit, Israel Elejaide, Aitana Sanchez-Gijon, Rossy de Palma and Julieta Serrano.
For both women being pregnant was an accident. Janis, a successful commercial photographer, is in her 40’s and happy with having a child. Ana, on the other hand is barely out of her teens and isn’t at all pleased about becoming a mother. The few words they exchange whilst awaiting the births creates a very close link between them, which will develop and change their lives in ways they would never have imagined.
The film is in Spanish with English subtitles. Chorleywood War Memorial Hall, doors open at 7.30pm, screening at 8pm.
Friday 22nd September 2023 – What’s love got to do with it
(Cert. 12A : 109 mins)
For documentary-maker and dating app addict Zoe, swiping right has only delivered an endless stream of Mr Wrongs to her eccentric mother’s dismay. For Zoe’s childhood friend and next-door neighbour Kaz, the answer is to follow his parents’ example and opt for an arranged / ’assisted’ marriage to a bright and beautiful bride from Pakistan.
As Zoe films his hopeful journey from London to Lahore to marry a stranger, chosen by his parents, she begins to wonder if she might have something to learn from a profoundly different approach to finding love.
Directed by Shekhar Kapur (The Bandit Queen, Elizabeth, The Four Feathers, Elizabeth – The Golden Age), written and produced by Jemima Khan, the film stars Lily James, Shazid Latif, Emma Thompson, Oliver Chris, Shabana Azmi, Sajal Ali and Asim Chaudhry.
“A charming cross-cultural comedy that can be ranked alongside British classics like Bend It Like Beckham, and has the confidence of a Richard Curtis classic.”
Jessie Thompson The Independent (UK)
“Likeable and warm-hearted”
Brian Viner, Daily Mail
The Chorleywood Film Club 