Todo Sobre mi Madre

Come to the Wolfson College Seminar Room at 8pm this Sunday 7th of March, and to celebrate Women's day, we will be showing the Oscar winning film "All About my Mother" ("Todo Sobre mi Madre"), directed by internationally acclaimed Pedro Almodovar, and starring Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes and Penelope Cruz.


This is a poignant film about the strength of woman's heart, in all its shapes and sizes. Its story starts with Manuela, a nurse coordinating organ transplants in Madrid, and her son Esteban, an aspiring writer scribbling amongst his notes a tale for her: "All About my Mother". His tale is brutally cut short by a car accident as he tries to get an autograph from his favourite actress, Huma Rojo. In a sad twist of irony, she has to decide the fate of her son's heart, and unable to continue her job. Remembering her son's birthday wish she goes to Barcelona, to find all about Esteban's father: Lola.

Let the Right One In

Come to the Wolfson College Seminar Room at 8pm this Sunday 31st of January to see Let the Right One In (Låt den Rätte Komma In), a Swedish film based on the famous novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist. The film's direction transcends genres, going beyond artificial labels to "aim for the heart", as Clint Eastwood would say :)

The story begins when a young boy, Oskar, witnesses the arrival of a new neighbour in the depth of night. He soon meets the strange, pale skinned girl Eli, who seems to pay no heed to the bitter cold of the Swedish winter, and only comes out at night. A deep bond of affection soon develops between them, but Oskar's innocence soon gives way to experience as she teaches him how to deal with the tormentors he must face each day at school. But Oskar soon discovers the true bitterness of experience when he discovers Eli's secret...

the Double Life of Véronique

Come to the Gatsby Room in Wolfson College's this Sunday the 23rd of August around 21:00 to see one of the masterpieces of director Krzysztof Kieslowski - "the Double Life of Véronique":

Weronika lives in Poland, Véronique in Paris. Their lives run as parallel as lives can do, yet they are bound by links that stretch beyond mere space. Alike as Doppelgängers, they also share a passion for music. Yet as alike as they are, fate has different plans for each of them. Their lives represent a battle between free will and the dark puppeteer that is destiny...

Tango

Come to the Gatsby Room in Wolfson College's this Sunday the 2nd of August around 22:00 to see an exploration of the classic Argentine dance by Spanish director Carlos Saura - "Tango":

The film's narrative follows director Mario Suarez, who embarks in an over-ambitious project about Tango after being abandoned by his muse and lover Laura. One evening he meets Elena, the girlfriend of his investor Angelo. Mario and Elena fall in love, but have to reckon with Angelo's fiery jealousy. If that were not enough, Mario's dark portrayal of the political repression and violence of Argentina's past don't prove very popular amongst the rest of his investors...

in the Mood for Love

WAFS invites you this Friday 8th of May to see the screening of "In the Mood for Move" by Wong Kar Wai.

Synopsis:

Chow Mo-Wan, a journalist, and So Lai-Zhen move into adjacent rooms of an appartment. Their frequent aloneness draws them together, but their marriage bonds allow aught but friendship. As they confide in each other, they both admit their suspicions that their partners are cheating on them with each other. Chow suggests they act out their suspicions... but where does role-play end and love begin?


To help you make up your mind, here's a link to the trailer.

Days of Glory

WAFS invites you this Sunday 26th of April to see the screening of "Days of Glory" by Rachid Bouchareb.

Synopsis:

This film follows the fate of a handful of Algerian soldiers who have volunteered to liberate France from the hands of the Nazis. But Said, Yassir, Messaoud, Abdelkader and Martinez must fight not merely the Third Reich, but also the indignity of the French army, who sees them as cannon fodder rather than soldiers. As the tagline affirms, this is "the true story of World War II's forgotten heroes".


To help you make up your mind, here's a link to the trailer.

Burnt by the Sun

WAFS invites you this Sunday 22nd of March to see the screening of Oscar winning "Burnt by the Sun" by Nikita Mikhalkov.

Synopsis:

1936, Russia.
General Sergei Kotov, his wife Marusia and their young daughter Nadia are spending the summer in their villa. The idyllic atmosphere abruptly changes with the arrival of "uncle Mitya", whose charming manners, games and piano virtuosity hold Marusia and Nadia spellbound. Between Sergei and Mitya, now an NKVD official, past vendettas and present duties will ripen into a bitter summer fruit. Has Sergei been flying too close to the Sun?..


To help you make up your mind, here's a link to the trailer.

the Celebration

WAFS invites you this Sunday 15th of March to see the screening of "The Celebration" by Thomas Vinterberg.

Synopsis:

Helge, a respected and esteemed patriarch, turns 60. To celebrate, he invites family and guests to his hotel. What should have been a time of celebration turns into a family feud, when Helge's son Christian accuses him of sexually abusing him and his late sister, Linda, who has recently committed suicide. Fair truth or vile lies? Skeletons tumble in heaps out of the family closet and onto the dining table...


To help you make up your mind, here's a link to the trailer.

the Seventh Seal

WAFS invites you this Sunday 8th of March to see the screening of "The Seventh Seal", the classic film that brought Ingmar Bergman international acclaim.

Synopsis:

A Knight returns from the Crusades to Sweden only to find it ravaged by the Plague. Not only this, but Death has come for him too. The Knight challenges Death to a game of Chess, which they play out during their trip back to the Knight's castle, where his wife awaits. As the battle of wits progresses, the Knight must come to terms with not only his mortality, but with his broken faith and existential crisis...


To help you make up your mind, here's a link to the opening scene.

the Wave

WAFS invites you this Sunday 1st of March to see the screening of "The Wave" by Dennis Gansel.

Synopsis:

25 years after the fall of Hitler's Germany, no student believes that fascism could grip the world again. Rainer Wegner, a history teacher, decides to challenge his student's arrogance and boredom with a self-made experiment. Starting by instilling discipline into the classroom, Rainer's experiment, "The Wave", soon spirals down into the very heart of fascism itself and out of his very control...

Based on a true story.


To help you make up your mind, here's a link to the trailer.

Dekalog (Sins 5 and 6)

WAFS invites you this Sunday 8th of February to see the screening of two episodes of the legendary "Dekalog" by Krzysztof Kieślowski.

Synopsis:

The premise of the Dekalog is to take the 10 commandments and narrate a short story based on each of them. Rather than plainly exploring the consequences of breaching each commandment, the stories explore the many aspects of the human condition with a humane eye.

The following episodes are based on the commandments: "Thou shalt not Kill" and "Thou shalt not commit Adultery". Both were made into feature films: "A short film about Killing" and "A short film about Love".


To help you make up your mind, here's a link to the trailer.

Tsotsi

WAFS invites you this Sunday to see the screening of "Tsotsi", a film by Gavin Hood and based on the famous novel by Athol Fugard. This Oscar winning film treads on the topics of poverty, choice and redemption...

Synopsis:

Tsotsi is a poor young man living in a South African slum. Surviving by stealing and mugging, his existence comes to a turning point during a thieving expedition to the suburbs. As he tries to steal a car, a woman tries to stop him with little regard for her own life. In the struggle, he shoots her and drives off, only later to realise that the woman was not fighting for a possession, but for the little babe crying in the back seat...


To help you make up your mind, here's a link to the trailer and our poster:

Solaris

WAFS invites you this Sunday to see the screening of "Solaris", a science-fiction classic by Andrei Tarkovsky. Psychological and captivating, layered with meaning through and through, this blends pure cinematographic art and pure storytelling.

Synopsis:

A space station orbits the ocean-covered planet Solaris, an entity thought by some to be conscious. After contact is abruptly lost with the station, psychologist Kris Kelvin is sent to survey the station. He is welcomed by deserted corridors and silent halls; the few scientists aboard secluded in their own rooms, suffering from nervous breakdowns. Exhaused from his trip and contact with the demented men, he falls asleep only to wake up to find his wife, whose suicide still weighs heavy on his conscience, sleeping on the same bed...

Can love survive death? What does it mean to be human? What is reality and what is purely manufactured by our mind? Solaris will keep you wondering throughout.


To help you make up your mind, here's a link to the trailer and our poster:

Three Colours: Red

WAFS invites you this Sunday to see the screening of "Red", concluding Krzysztof Kieslowski's "Three Colours" trilogy. This cinematic tour de force stars Irène Jacob and Jean-Louis Trintignant.

Synopsis:

"Red" relates the story of Valentine (Jacob), a naive student, whose tale centers about her meeting with a retired judge, Joseph Kern (Trintingnant), unknowingly to her an eavesdropper on the phone conversations of his neighbours. As his emotional seclusion and cynicism is thawed by Valentine's kindness, he reveals his secrets to her.

The vicious cyclicity of Kern's pain is mirrored in the story of one of his other neighbours, the young Auguste, a student about to embark on his law exams. As his academic dedication starts to alienate his girlfriend, Auguste, fate recreates Kern path in his own and erects a the very same wall about himself.

In turn, the lives of Valentine and Auguste zig-zag about each other, coming ever so close, yet never touching until...


To help you make up your mind, here's a link to the trailer and our poster:

Yojimbo

WAFS invites you this Sunday to see the screening of "Yojimbo", a film by the legendary Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, starring Toshiro Mifune. This classic film, whose title means "Bodyguard", has been the main inspiration to the famous Western "A fistful of Dollars" and has influenced a host of other films including, funnily enough, "The Bodyguard".

Synopsis:

"Yojimbo" tells the story of Sanjuro Kuwabatake, a Ronin - masterless samurai - who comes across a town corrupted and decimated by the civil strife of two criminal families. Using his sharp katana, and sharper mind, he tries to restore peace to the village, but this task proves to be far from easy, as he is outnumbered and outgunned.

This skillfully blended mix of dramatic action and dark comedy has an atmosphere seldom seen in either of these genres. The characterisation of the Ronin shows a deep departure from modern action heroes, marking a sharp denial of mindless violence and an affirmation of compassion.


To help you make up your mind, here's a link to the trailer and our poster:

Three Colours: White

WAFS invites you this Sunday to see the screening of "White", part of the "Three Colours" trilogy by Krzysztof Kieslowski, and starring Zbigniew Zamachowski and Julie Delpy.

Synopsis:

The second film in the "Three Colours" pertains equality - dealing with relationships, immigration and "an eye for an eye"... The main protagonist, Karol (Zamachowski), is an immigrant married to Dominique (Delpy), who meets him in court to demand a divorce because of Karol's inability to consummate the marriage. The divorce leaves Karol on the street, a vagrant without home or love, alone to fend for himself. As misfortune follows misfortune, one thing brews in Karol's mind, to get even. Don't miss this White, a black comedy of the highest calibre!

To help you make up your mind, here's a link to the trailer and our poster:

Three Colours: Blue

WAFS invites you this Sunday to see the screening of "Blue", from the "Three Colours" trilogy by Krzysztof Kieslowski, and starring Juliette Binoche.

Synopsis:

Julie (Binoche) loses her composer husband and their child in a car crash and, though devastated, she tries to make a new start, away from her country house and a would-be lover. But she is haunted by the music that still surrounds her and by some unpleasant facts that she uncovers about her husband's life. Slowly Julie learns to live again, as music and the gift to create it prove to be a healing force.

To help you make up your mind, here's a link to the trailer and our poster: