Brain and Charles - Hurst Village Cinema
By Mike Thatcher
Another busy month with three films and a NT Live to screen.
We kick off on Thursday 9th Feburary at 8pm with Petite Maman (PG). From the Director of Portrait of a Lady on Fire, this concise film will be sure to have you discussing it in the aisle or on the High Street as the credits rise. When her grandmother dies, Nelly returns to her mother’s childhood home to clear the contents. Here she discovers a den being made in the woods by a girl her own age. The fact that she is played by her real-life sibling and obvious twin, adds mystery to the story. It is beautifully paced and straightforwardly presented, in fact so much so, you may think you have missed something at the end. A tender tale of childhood grief, memory and connection with an interesting soundtrack, it will have you discussing it long after the event.
Then we screen Othello on Thursday 23rd at 7pm, an extraordinary new production of Shakespeare’s most enduring tragedy, directed by Clint Dyer with a cast that includes Giles Terera (Hamilton), Rosy McEwean (The Alienist) and Paul Hilton (The Inheritance). She’s a bright, headstrong daughter of a senator; elevated by her status but stifled by its expectations. He’s refugee of slavery; having risen to the top of a white world, he finds love across racial lines has a cost.
We continue with Limbo (PG) on Friday 24th at 8pm. This wry and poignant observation of the refugee experience is set on a fictional remote Scottish island where a group of new arrivals await the results of their asylum claims. It centres on Omar, a young Syrian musician who is burdened by his grandfather’s oud (musical instrument), which he has carried all the way from his homeland. It sounds like a hard watch, but it is actually rather humorous in an empathic way, acknowledging the bleakness of their existence and filmed in the ragged and beautiful west coast of Scotland.
Finally, we present Brian and Charles (PG) on Sunday 26th at 3pm which follows Brian, a lonely inventor in rural Wales, who spends his days building quirky, unconventional contraptions that seldom work. Undeterred by his lack of success, Brian attempts his biggest project yet. Three days, a washing machine, and various spare parts later, he’s invented Charles, an artificially intelligent robot who learns English from a dictionary and has an obsession with cabbages. Halfdocumentary, half parable it’s the perfect tonic for a February Sunday afternoon.