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16 Sep The Penguin Lessons
Peter Cattaneo / UK, Spain 2024 / 111 min / Cert 12 / Some subtitles
Steve Coogan stars in this enjoyable comedy-drama, based on a true story. In the 1970s, disillusioned with life, Tom Mitchell accepts a teaching post in an exclusive boys’ school in authoritarian Argentina. After rescuing a penguin from an oil spill, he ends up smuggling it into the school, little realising the effect his unusual friendship will have on the unruly students and all who meet the endearing creature. Ultimately it also helps Tom get out of his comfort zone and face up to the harsh realities of a military regime. “The Penguin Lessons is a work of surprising depth and subtle, irresistible impact.” Rex Reed, Observer.
30 Sep The Count of Monte Cristo
Alexandre de La Patellière, Matthew Delaporte / France 2024 / 178 min /Cert 12 / Subtitles
In this latest adaptation of the epic tale, Pierre Niney (Yves St Laurent, 2014) plays the role of Edmond Dantes who becomes the target of a sinister plot. He is arrested on his wedding day for a crime he did not commit. After 14 years in the island prison of Château d'If, he manages a daring escape. Now rich beyond his dreams, he assumes the identity of the Count of Monte-Cristo and exacts his revenge on the three men who betrayed him. This visually stunning and fast-moving period drama, with its energetic script and action sequences keeps the audience engaged throughout.
14 Oct The Salt Path
Marianne Elliott / UK 2024 / 115 min / Cert 12A
The glorious scenery of the South West Coast Path forms the backdrop to this profound true story of a 630-mile trek along the Cornish, Devon and Dorset coastline. After being forcibly removed from their home, husband and wife, Raynor and Moth Winn make the desperate decision to walk in the hope that, in nature, they will find solace. With only a tent and very few resources, every step along the path is a testament to their growing strength and determination. A portrayal of home, how it can be lost and rediscovered in the most unexpected ways.
28 Oct Cottontail
Patrick Dickinson / UK, Japan 2023 / 94 min / Cert 12A
In Tokyo a widower receives a posthumous letter conveying a special request. His wife wants her cremated remains to be scattered in the Lake District, the place that she loved growing up on the stories of Beatrix Potter. On arriving in the UK, Kenzaburo (Lilly Franky) falls out with his son. After various misadventures in his attempts to get to the Lake District he is helped by John (Ciaran Hinds) who has experienced a bereavement of his own. With a mesmerising central performance from Franky, the film relies on facial expressions rather than dialogue to tell its story. This award-winning directorial debut is beautiful shot on widescreen.
11 Nov Black Bag
Steven Soderbergh / USA 2025 / 93 min / Cert 15
This gripping and witty spy thriller features two legendary British intelligence agents – George Woodhouse (Michael Fassbender) and his beloved wife Kathryn (Cate Blanchett). When Kathryn is suspected of betraying the nation, George faces the ultimate test, loyalty to his country or his wife and marriage. He has just one week to find the source of a huge security leak within the organisation. Fassbender and Blanchett give stellar performances in this fast-paced film. “This movie is Smooth Soderbergh. It’s brisk, engaging, humorous, well-directed, written and acted.” The Australian
13 Jan The Ballad of Wallis Island
James Griffiths / UK 2024 / 100 min / Cert 12A
Musician Herb (Tom Bassot) formerly half of a successful folk duo arrives on the remote Wallis Island to play a very lucrative show for super fan Charles (Tim Key) a reclusive lottery winner. Herb is surprised when his former musical and romantic partner Nell (Carrie Mulligan) arrives on the island to play the gig too. After an almost inevitable row, Herb attempts to leave the island but stays because he needs the money, the show must go on. The film mines a great deal of warmth and humour from its humble premise and has been described by Richard Curtis as “one of the ten greatest films of all time”.
20 Jan The Girl With the Needle
Magnus von Horn / Denmark, Poland, Sweden 2024 / 123min / Cert 15 / Subtitles
In post-World War 1 Copenhagen, Karoline, her husband missing in action, struggles to make ends meet working in a linen factory. After falling pregnant by the factory owner, she seeks help from a woman to have her baby adopted. What starts as a film about the aftermath of post-war living, develops into something else entirely: a Dickensian portrait of a world that is closer to ours than we may think. Stunningly photographed in high contrast black and white, and Oscar nominated for best international feature, this is “a film that lingers long in the mind after viewing”. 'Pure Cinema' AwardsWatch
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27 Jan Mr. Burton
Mark Evans / UK 2024 / 124min / Cert 12A
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Wales 1942. School teacher Philip Burton (Toby Jones) sees untapped potential in his 17-year-old student Richard Jenkins (Harry Lawtey). He takes the boy under his wing, teaching him acting craft and elocution, before officially becoming his legal guardian. Richard undergoes an astonishing Pygmalion-like transformation throughout the film and, having changed his name, becomes a recognisable Richard Burton for his RSC debut. Toby Jones gives a nuanced performance with quiet, sometimes troubled, determination, supported by Ma Smith (Lesley Manville), who exudes convincing Welsh charm, whilst we watch as a star is born. “A note-perfect screenplay” The Irish Times.
3 Feb I'm Still Here
Walter Salles / Brazil/France/USA 2024 / 138min / Cert 15 / Subtitles
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Brazil, the 1970s. The joyous beachside life of the Paiva family in Rio de Janeiro comes to an end when Rubens, the father, is taken away by thugs of the military dictatorship. After her own incarceration, his wife Eunice must reinvent herself to keep the family thriving together. Based on the real-life story and memoirs of a family's resilience and determination to find justice and peace, Fernanda Torres's performance as Eunice Paiva is brilliantly understated. The film received an Academy Award for best international feature of 2025. “Shining (and) thoroughly convincing” Sight and Sound.
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10 Feb Flow
Gints Zibalodis / Latvia 2024 / 85min / Cert U
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Animation. A black cat finds himself adrift in a post-apocalyptic world when a flood wipes out his forest home. Boarding a stray boat, he is joined by a needy dog, a mischievous ring-tailed lemur, a lazy capybara and a commanding secretary bird. Using the open-source 3-D creation suite Blender, director Zibalados has produced a totally immersive and exciting adventure film, whilst keeping the animal characters as themselves, with very little anthropomorphism and no voicework whatsoever. Quietly ruminating on the damage we've inflicted on the planet, this is a startlingly sophisticated work, deservedly winning the Oscar for best animated feature, 2025.
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17 Feb The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Mohammad Rasoulof / Iran 2024 / 167 min / Cert 12A
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A powerful and moving tale of morality, paranoia and resistance set against the backdrop of contemporary protests in Iran which combines deeply felt performances with real footage of the protests. Filmed secretly in Iran; the director and actors were forced to flee the country after the film’s release. Iman has just been promoted to state investigator in the revolutionary court. His wife is delighted with the rise in status, while their two teenage daughters are more interested in the growing protests. However, he soon finds that he is expected to rubber-stamp death penalties without even reading the evidence, and struggles to reconcile his own morality. When his gun goes missing, he suspects his wife and daughters, and the domestic drama gradually builds in intensity and paranoia to a violent and suspenseful climax.
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24 Feb The Marching Band (En Fanfare)
Emmanuel Corcel / France 2025 / 103 min / Cert 15 / Subtitles
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This French comedy-drama, ‘En Fanfare’ looks at nature versus nurture in a thoroughly engaging, even feel-good way. A renowned young classical conductor receives a shock cancer diagnosis and needs a bone marrow transplant. Learning that he is adopted, Thibault finds the brother he wasn’t aware of: Jimmy, who works in the canteen of a struggling northern factory — and plays trombone in the work’s marching band. Despite the initial class/ culture difficulties, and responses to their very different upbringings, they come to share a common purpose (musical, as well as medical!). Sometimes moving, sometimes painful, sometimes laugh-out-loud, this was the top-rated film at the recent ICO Screenings.
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