Sun 3 Feb • Matinee

THE SARAGOSSA MANUSCRIPT (12A) 2.30

(Poland 1965) dir. Wojciech Has 182m. Subtitles.
Zbigniew Cybulski, Iga Cembrzynska, Elzbieta Czyzewska.

A dazzling, mysterious world of the supernatural is opened up when the magical text known as ‘The Saragossa Manuscript’ is discovered during the Napoleonic Wars. Captain Alphonse van Worden lives out the book's intricate, devilish story-lines as he embarks on a journey across landscapes populated with ghosts, alluring demons, debauched royalty and mystical priests. Spanning centuries and nations, the manuscript's reach encompasses a wide array of stories both humorous and horrifying, gleeful and grotesque. Applauded and embraced over the years by such admirers as Jerry Garcia, Francis Ford Coppola, and Martin Scorsese, this swirling tapestry, based on a classic Polish novel, has been restored to its original, full length director's cut with all of its labyrinthine riddles intact.

Sun 10 Feb • Heath Ledger double bill

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (15) 12.45

(US 2005) dir. Ang Lee 134m.
Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams, Anne Hathaway.

Heath Ledger gave a career-defining performance as Ennis Del Mar, a ranch hand who forms a strong and intense bond with rodeo cowboy Jack (Gyllenhaal) during one summer in the Wyoming mountains. Based on the E. Annie Proulx short story, Ang Lee's multi-award-winning masterpiece is beautiful, stunning and finally, indescribably moving.

+ I'M NOT THERE (15) 3.25

(US/Germany, 2007) dir. Todd Haynes 136m.
Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, Marcus Carl Franklin, Ben Wishaw.

It's not only the times that are a-changing in Todd Haynes’ audaciously brilliant portrait of the life of Bob Dylan. Six different actors play six different variations on the life of the music legend. Matching these exquisite performances is the movie's changing visual style, with both black-and-white and colour sections. A final, haunting close-up image of the 'real' Dylan in concert brings this extraordinary film to a close.

THE PRINCES’ QUEST (AZUR & ASMAR) (U) 1.45, 4.00

(Spain/Italy/Belgium/France 2006) dir. Michel Ocelot 99m. Digital.
Voices of Steven Kyman, Nigel Pilkington, Suzanna Nour, Nigel Lambert.

The story of two children brought up by the same woman. Azur, the son of a nobleman, and Asmar, the child of the nurse. As they grow up the nurse tells them many enchanting stories but their favourite is about the Djinn fairy waiting to be released from captivity by a good and heroic prince. One day Azur's father cruelly separates them, sending Azur to the city for a private education and banishing the nurse and Asmar from his home. Some years later Azur returns and sets out to a land far away to find the nurse and Asmar. Finally reunited, it soon becomes clear that Azur and Asmar will compete against each other to be the first one to rescue the fairy. A visually stunning film from the award-winning makers of KIRIKOU AND THE SORCERESS.

THE PRINCES’ QUEST (AZUR & ASMAR) (U) 1.45

(Spain/Italy/Belgium/France 2006) dir. Michel Ocelot 99m. Digital.
Voices of Steven Kyman, Nigel Pilkington, Suzanna Nour, Nigel Lambert.

The story of two children brought up by the same woman. Azur, the son of a nobleman, and Asmar, the child of the nurse. As they grow up the nurse tells them many enchanting stories but their favourite is about the Djinn fairy waiting to be released from captivity by a good and heroic prince. One day Azur's father cruelly separates them, sending Azur to the city for a private education and banishing the nurse and Asmar from his home. Some years later Azur returns and sets out to a land far away to find the nurse and Asmar. Finally reunited, it soon becomes clear that Azur and Asmar will compete against each other to be the first one to rescue the fairy. A visually stunning film from the award-winning makers of KIRIKOU AND THE SORCERESS.

BE KIND REWIND (12A) 4.00

(US 2008) dir. Michel Gondry 100m.Digital.
Jack Black, Moss Def, Mia Farrow, Marcus Carl Franklin.

An imaginative comedy from SCIENCE OF SLEEP director Michel Gondry. When Jerry’s (Black) brain is accidentally magnetised, he unintentionally destroys every tape in his friend’s (Mos Def) video store. In order to satisfy the store’s one loyal customer, an elderly lady (Farrow) suffering from the first signs of dementia, the pair set out to remake the lost films with themselves and local townsfolk as the stars. Soon their interpretations of films such as THE LION KING, RUSH HOUR, GHOSTBUSTERS, WHEN WE WERE KINGS, BACK TO THE FUTURE, DRIVING MISS DAISY and ROBOCOP, grow in popularity and make them the biggest stars in the neighbourhood. Gondry’s skillful direction, and the appealing comic duo of Jack Black and Mos Def work to create a highly original, witty and captivating film.

MALA NOCHE (15) 2.45

(USA 1985) dir. Gus Van Sant 78m.
Doug Cooeyate, Sam Downey, Tim Streeter.

Gus Van Sant's debut feature tells the story of Walt's (Street) unrequited love for young illegal Mexican immigrant Johnny (Cooeyate). Featuring powerful examinations of race, immigration and sexual exploitation, this is an offbeat and original noir-esque adaptation of the Walt Curtis autobiographical novel of the same name.

+ PARANOID PARK (15) 4.30

(France/USA 2007) dir. Gus Van Sant 85m.
Gabe Nevins, Daniel Liu, Taylor Momson, Lauren McKinney.

Mild-mannered teenage skateboarder Alex (Nevins) finds his life begin to fray when he is inadvertently involved in the accidental death of a security guard. An intriguing and poetic film, whose amateur cast – reportedly found by Van Sant through MySpace – provide excellent performances creating a film deserved of its Golden Palm at Cannes.

EL VIOLIN (15) 12.00

(Mexico 2005) dir. Francisco Vargas 98m. Subtitles.
Angal Tavira, Gerardo Taracena, Dagoberto Gama.

Don Plautarco (Tavira), is an aged farmer, violinist and patriarch of a musical family living in rural Mexico during the peasant revolts of the 1970s. With his villagers hidden in the mountains, Plutarco heads into occupied territory, risking everything to help those he loves. Winning rave reviews and awards at festivals around the world, EL VIOLIN is a difficult but worthwhile tale of familial love and duty.

+ SILENT LIGHT (15) 2.00

(Mexico/France/Netherlands/Germany 2007) dir. Carlos Reygadas 136m. Subtitles.
Elizabeth Fehr, Jacobo Klassen, Maria Pankratz, Miriam Toews.

A hypnotic and delicate portrait of small farming family. The marriage between Johan (Fehr) and Esther (Toews) is put to the test when Johan falls for another woman. The affair does not only test the marriage, but Johan's faith in God as he struggles to reconcile his deep religious convictions with his bodily desires.

Benefit for Ladyfest London Films May 9-11 2008

UNDER THE SKIN (18) 2.00

(UK 1997) dir. Carine Adler 83m.
Samantha Morton, Claire Rushbrook, Stuart Townsend.

Married and pregnant Rose has always been Mother's favourite, but it is younger sister Iris whose life goes off the rails when their mother dies suddenly. Giving up her job, flat and steady boyfriend and alienating her friends and family, Iris loses herself in a string of casual lovers as she struggles to cope with her grief... The feature film debut of both Samantha Morton and director Carine Adler is a powerful and unsentimental portrait of a life spiralling out of control and into sexual oblivion.

+ MORVERN CALLAR (15) 3.50

(UK 2002) dir. Lynne Ramsay 98m.
Samantha Morton, Kathleen McDermott, Linda McGuire.

Morvern Callar wakes up on Christmas morning to discover that her boyfriend has committed suicide leaving behind his unpublished novel and a note urging her to 'be brave'. She duly decides to dispose of his body and pass the novel off as her own work... Lynne Ramsay's multi award-winning movie is an eerie study of a dislocated state of mind that provides no easy answers. Beautifully photographed with a great soundtrack and a powerfully enigmatic performance from Samantha Morton at its heart, the film will linger in your mind long after the final reel.

NOW VOYAGER (U) 1.30

(USA 1942) dir. Irving Rapper 117m.
Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Gladys Cooper.

The tale of Charlotte Vale (Davis), a middle-aged spinster who has long-suffered from the demands of her domineering mother (Cooper). But when she embarks on a love affair with the dashing Jerry (Henreid) her life is changed in more ways than one. Affording Bette Davis one her most outstanding roles, her stand-out performance alone makes this essential viewing.

+ ALL ABOUT EVE (U) 3.45

(US 1950) dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz 138m.
Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders, Celeste Holm, Gary Merrill, Hugh Marlowe, Gregory Ratoff, Barbara Bates, Marilyn Monroe, Thelma Ritter.

Glimpsing sight of her idol Margo Channing (Davies), the ruthless Eve Harrington (Baxter) is determined to stop at nothing to achieve her goal of claiming Channing's crown as queen of Broadway. Causing turmoil in the lives of all she meets, Eve's glory is threatened by only one man, critic Addison DeWitt (Sanders). This critical and commercial success garnered six Academy Awards, and the most nominations (fourteen) in film history.

THE AMERICAN FRIEND (15) 1.45

(West Germany/France 1977) dir. Wim Wenders 126m. Subtitles.
Dennis Hopper, Bruno Ganz, Lisa Kreuzer.

Wenders' modern film noir classic turns Patricia Highsmith's 'Ripley's Game' into a riveting pyschological thriller. Dennis Hopper brings his own brand of eccentricity to the sociopath Ripley, beautifully supported by Bruno Ganz as the idealistic art restorer with whom he forms an unlikely bond that is steeped in deceit, corruption and murder.

+ ALICE IN THE CITIES (15) 4.10

(West Germany 1974) dir. Wim Wenders 110m. Subtitles.
Rüdiger Vogler, Yella Rottländer, Lisa Kreuzer.

Philip Winter (Volger) is a German journalist who journeys back from America to his native land to find inspiration. Instead he finds himself in charge of nine-year-old Alice, after her mother (Kreuzer) abandons her at the airport. As the two embark on a quest to find Alice's grandmother, an unlikely innocent friendship blossoms in this imaginative take on the road movie that established Wenders as one of the leaders of new German Cinema.