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A COMMON CRIME

A COMMON CRIME
2020 | Dir Francisco Marquez | 96 mins | Argentina

One night in the pouring rain, Kevin, the adolescent son of Cecilia’s housekeeper, knocks on her door. A sociology lecturer and financially secure, Cecilia lives alone with her young child. She is too afraid to let Kevin in. The next day, his body is found in a river. The neighbourhood accuses the police of having hounded the teenager and social unrest rocks this impoverished part of town. Cecilia’s concept of reality is also increasingly shaken, her moods start to fluctuate and she begins hearing and seeing things. Is she losing her mind?

In a ghostly, shimmering narrative, director Francisco Márquez articulates the injustices of Argentine society, which manifest themselves in the growing gap between rich and poor, employees and employers. His protagonist, sensitively played by Elisa Carricajo, is tormented by her guilty conscience. Like a ghost, her mounting consternation encroaches on every area of her life. Spanish with English subtitles.

The David Lean Cinema receives a share of the ticket price. Vimeo account required. Create account or login.

Mark Kermode reviews A Common Crime on BBC 5Live here.
“Directed with stylistic canniness and empathetic insight, the film features a superb, elusive, genuinely unnerving performance by Elisa Carricajo, and it should cause ripples with outlets that follow new Latin American cinema at its most searching”. Jonathan Romney in Screen Daily.
‘A Common Crime’ screened at both the London Film Festival and Berlin Film Festival in 2020. It was also nominated for Best Argentinean Film at the Mar del Plata Film Festival in 2020.

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MINARI

MINARI
2020 | Dir Lee Isaac Chung | 115mins | USA

A tender and sweeping story about what roots us, Minari follows a Korean-American family that moves to a tiny Arkansas farm in search of their own American Dream. The family home changes completely with the arrival of their sly, foul-mouthed, but incredibly loving grandmother. Amidst the instability and challenges of this new life in the rugged Ozarks, Minari shows the undeniable resilience of family and what really makes a home. English and Korean with English subtitles.

The David Lean Cinema shares a proportion of the £9.99 ticket price with the distributor.

Distributor: Altitude Film Entertainment – create account or login.

Academy Awards 2021 Winner Best Supporting Actress for Yuh-Jung Youn.

“Infused with a wonderful sentimentality, Lee Isaac Chung’s fictionalised account of his rural US childhood explores the growing pains of a family farm.” Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian

Minari is a warm story of the Yi family moving in the 1980s from California to Arkansas. The father, Jacob, plans a better living for his wife and two young children farming Korean vegetables and selling them to wholesalers and restaurants. His wife Monica is less convinced and eventually they bring her eccentric mother over from South Korea to help look after the farm and the children.
“Will be embraced by audiences everywhere” ★★★★★ – BBC Culture

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JUSTINE EMBED

JUSTINE

JUSTINE
2020 | Dir Jamie Patterson | 81mins | UK

Justine (Tallulah Haddon), is a young woman with a fierce intelligence but an equally strong appetite for self-destruction. Along with her only friend Peach (Xavien Russell), she finds herself suffocated within a world that makes little sense and where alcohol is the only escape from her view of a hopeless future. Her probation officer Leanne (Sian Reese-Williams) and her doctor (Steve Oram) try to guide her back into society, but Justine understands all too well what that society can offer her and she doesn’t want to play by its rules. One day, on a shoplifting spree, she meets Rachel (Sophie Reid) and the possibility of happiness, love and a future starts to emerge. But her pain goes deep and as the demons within her begin to surface, she wonders if she can allow herself to hope. Justine is a love story from writer Jeff Murphy (Hinterland, One Way To Denmark, Hidden) and director Jamie Patterson (Tucked) which looks at the search for love and belonging in a chaotic world.

David Lean Cinema receives a share of the ticket price. Stream available for 48 hours after play started.
Distributor: Bulldog Distribution – Vimeo account required

SELFIE

N/C 15+ SELFIE
2019 | Dir Tristan Aurouet, Thomas Bidegain | 108mins | France

These five darkly humorous, interlinking stories explore our increasing dependence upon digital media. Cyberstalking, social media, online shopping, swipe dating, vlogging – all come under its insightful gaze. Starring Fanny Sidney from Netflix hit Call My Agent, Selfie is much cleverer proposition than most anthology or portmanteau films, with characters and plot lines recurring throughout the different stories. As the web connections grow, the film builds towards a grande finale set at a wedding on an island with no mobile phone signal – until someone finds one, leading to an hilarious showdown. French with English subtitles.

As a thank you for supporting us, you will get 25% off each ticket purchase. Just enter DLYS at checkout. You will also be supporting the David Lean Cinema as we get a share of every ticket sold using this promo code.
Stream available for 48 hours after play started.
Distributor: YourScreen – create account or login.
Film run ends on 23 May 2021.

Leslie Sheldon (YourScreen) talks with Fanny Sidney here.

“The stories complement each other perfectly well and sometimes respond to each other thanks to ‘connections’ between the characters in the different acts. Selfie therefore manages to fulfill its double promise by giving viewers a good time, while opening up avenues for them to think about the importance, not always happy, taken by digital technology in today’s society. A great success!”
Antoine Corte, Bulles de Culture.

STRAY

STRAY
2020 | Dir Elizabeth Lo | 73mins | USA

Through the eyes of three stray dogs wandering the streets of Istanbul, STRAY explores what it means to live as a being without status or security. As they search for food and shelter, Zeytin, Nazar and Kartal embark on inconspicuous journeys through Turkish society that allow us an unvarnished portrait of human life — and their own canine culture. Zeytin, fiercely independent, embarks on solitary adventures through the city at night; Nazar, nurturing and protective, easily befriends the humans around her; while Kartal, a shy puppy living on the outskirts of a construction site, finds refuge with the security guards who care for her. The disparate lives of Zeytin, Nazar and Kartal intersect when they each form intimate bonds with a group of young Syrians who share the streets with them. Whether they lead us into bustling streets or decrepit ruins, the gaze of these strays act as windows into the overlooked corners of society: women in loveless marriages, protesters without arms, refugees without sanctuary. The film is a critical observation of human civilization through the unfamiliar gaze of dogs and a sensory voyage into new ways of seeing.

The David Lean Cinema shares a proportion of the £9.99 ticket price with the distributor.

“Elizabeth Lo’s sharp-eyed study of Istanbul strays is both the ultimate love letter to dogs and a multifaceted moral inquiry into humanity.” Tomris Laffly, Variety.

STRAY WATCH PARTY

STRAY (Watch Party)
2020 | Dir Elizabeth Lo | 73mins | USA

Until after the Easter weekend – STRAY Watch Party
From 26th March, dog owners and lovers are encouraged to take a photo of their dog watching STRAY, and to share a photo or short video on Instagram / Twitter tagging @Dogwoof using #StrayWatchParty.
The distributors (Dogwoof) will select three winners from all entries to receive a special Stray bundle with treats for themselves and their dog. Winners will be announced after the Easter weekend.

A COACHS DAUGHTER

N/C 15+ A COACH’S DAUGHTER
2018 | Dir Lukasz Grzegorzek | 95mins | Poland

During a hot summer, Maciej Kornet and his beloved daughter Wiktoria set out on another journey across Poland. They are up for a long series of tennis tournaments. The two are inseparable; they have been training together for twelve years. Wiktoria meticulously follows her dad’s routine: a strict diet, exhausting workouts, 100% focus. She is growing tired of this and longs for some freedom. She thinks of quitting sports but is afraid to hurt her father’s feelings. This summer, Maciej’s new trainee Igor joins them on their way. Wiktoria will find the secretive boy much more interesting than tennis, and Maciej will have to watch his own dreams and his daughter’s plans go separate ways. Polish with English subtitles.

As a thank you for supporting us, you will get 25% off each ticket purchase. Just enter DLYS at checkout. You will also be supporting the David Lean Cinema as we get a share of every ticket sold using this promo code.
Watch at home now for £7.49 (using promo code DLYS). Stream available for 48 hours after play started.
Distributor: YourScreen – create account or login.
Film run ends on 18 April 2021.

“Suprisingly refreshing indie movie from Poland. Well played by all actors. It’s great that this movie is, at the same time, light and fresh and shows characters’ emotions very well and open (and doesn’t shove them down the throat).” – Daniel Figzat, Letterboxd

THE DRIFTERS

N/C 15+ THE DRIFTERS
2019 | Dir Ben Bond | 91mins | GB

Fanny (Lucie Bourdeu), a Parisienne waitress, and Koffee (Jonathan Ajayi), an African immigrant, meet at a London English class. Both are running from something – she from a dead-end existence, he from something far more life-threatening. Fleeing London after Koffee has botched a job for his boss, they fetch up in Teignmouth, where a brief respite allows them to get to know each other, enjoy life and ponder where they want to get to, before reality catches up. Breezily shot in vibrant colours and in a style joyfully recalling the French Nouvelle Vague, this entertaining film makes Teignmouth look like the French Riviera and is imbued with a free-wheeling ambience that is the perfect antidote for the pandemic blues.

As a thank you for supporting us, you will get 25% off each ticket purchase. Just enter DLYS at checkout. You will also be supporting the David Lean Cinema as we get a share of every ticket sold using this promo code.
Watch at home now for £7.49 (using promo code DLYS). Stream available for 48 hours after play started.
Distributor: YourScreen – create account or login.
Valencia Haynes (FilmBath) in conversation with director Ben Bond with Lucie Bordeu and Jonathan Ajayi can be viewed here.

Film run ends on 23 May 2021.

“This is highly articulate film making that takes time to build characters without breakneck visuals and rushed dialogue; an absolute treat.
– Brian Penn, UK Film Review

Author: Roger Dodger