Hurst Village Cinema's Autumn schedule

By Mike Thatcher

With the Festival films behind us it is time to welcome in our Autumn programme, with three very different films, as well as an offering from the National Theatre.

We start on 6th October at 7pm with the NT Live presentation of Jack Absolute flies again, a new comedy by Richard Bean (One Man, Two Guvnors) and Oliver Chris based on Sheridan’s The Rivals. After an aerial dog fight, Pilot Officer Jack Absolute flies home to win the heart of his old flame, Lydia Languish. Back on British soil, Jack’s advances soon turn to anarchy when the young heiress demands to be loved on her own, very particular, terms. Featuring a cast including Caroline Quentin, Laurie Davidson, Natalie Simpson and Kelvin Fletcher.

Then on Friday 14th October we screen Border (15) at 8pm. An unusual and captivating film from Sweden which defies categorising. Customs officer Tina is known for her extraordinary sense of smell. It’s almost as if she can sniff out the guilt on anyone hiding something. But when Vore, a suspicious looking man, walks past her, her abilities are challenged for the first time ever. Even worse, she feels a strange attraction to him.

On Friday 28th October at 8pm we show Nocturnal Animals (15), the acclaimed thriller by Tom Ford. Amazing performances from Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Laura Linney, Michael Shannon and Arnie Hammer play out this dark and tense thriller. Includes a scene at the beginning of the film which was the reason Manon vetoed showing it six years ago!

Finally, on Sunday 30th October at 3pm The Duke hits our screen. In 1961, Kempton Bunton, a 60-year-old taxi driver stole Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London. Kempton sent ransom notes saying that he would return the painting on condition that the government invested more in care for the elderly – he had long campaigned for pensioners to receive free television. What happened next became the stuff of legend. Charming and uplifting comedy starring Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren. For tickets and further information www.hurstfilms.com

Hurst Village Cinema's January 2022 listings

By Mike Thatcher

The safety net has gone, the period of being a caretaker manager when the team was selected by someone else is over and we are on our own feet now regarding film selection. The criteria for choosing them will not change: films we love which may have slipped under the radar.

Three films and National Theatre production in January and we start on Thursday 13th January at 8pm with Sweet Bean (PG), a gentle and moving film about the elderly Tokue, who is reluctantly hired by Santaro to make dorayaki in his small kiosk. A thoughtful film which questions our attitude to the elderly and the side-lined in society.

Thursday 27th January at 7pm with Leopoldstadt, Tom Stoppard’s latest work and directed by Patrick Marber. Set in Vienna during the Nazi occupation, it is an intimate yet epic family portrait of what it is to be persecuted. Stoppard lost all four of his grandparents to the Holocaust, so it is particularly poignant.

The next night, on Friday 28th January at 8pm we screen The Square (15), from the director of Force Majeure (the original, not the remake!). Set in the modern art world in Stockholm it constantly challenges the viewer to make moral choices and judgements on what they are seeing, which make for memorable, but not always comfortable viewing. Christian, the curator of a museum, gets his wallet stolen, leading to a series of decisions, all of which have their consequences.

Finally, on Sunday 30th January at 3pm we show 1917 (15), carried over from the last programme and therefore the only film this season which I have not seen. From director Sam Mendes, it is a massive technical achievement, recreating trench warfare in WWI with intensity, as two soldiers are charged with the seemingly impossible task of delivering a message across enemy lines.

A Happy New Year from all at Hurst Village Cinema and we hope to see you at a screening soon. If you would like to be added to our mailing list then please just email me at info@hurstfilms.com