Lars and the Real Girl (Aug 2011)

Chosen by Nigel

The film
Lars, a gentle but odd young man, buys a doll - an anatomically correct sex doll named Bianca - who becomes his 'girlfriend'. His older brother and pregnant sister-in-law are disturbed by this but gradually they and the rest of the small town grow to accept and welcome Bianca into the community.

The response
N's first contribution to the group and definitely a good start: nearly all of us loved this film (only our youngest member thought it was boring...). Watching the film, many of us had expected a darker plot - kept waiting for the despair and destruction. Instead, we felt uplifted by the gentle, optimistic story - by the community's acceptance and love.

There were lots of questions. How realistic was the story? ('completely a fairy story'... 'well, life could be like that'...) Would you like to live there? ('Of course!' ... 'ugh, no'...). Which characters were believable? (Karin, the sister in law - or Gus, the resistant brother?) Who was the 'real girl'? (Probably Bianca, but maybe Karin, Margo or Dagmar, the Doctor). And what does the story tell us about ourselves? Our reluctance to accept difference, the things we keep quiet about because we think others won't approve?

La Leggenda del Santo Bevitore (July 2011)

Chosen by Bruce & Susan

The film
A drunken homeless man (played by Rutger Hauer) in Paris is lent 200 francs by a stranger. He promises to repay it to a local church when he can afford to. Unexpectedly, money comes to him but he's constantly thwarted, distracted by old friends, lovers, and alcohol. 1988 Italian film directed by Ermanno Olmi.

Our response
Susan's choice, because she'd enjoyed 'Tree of Wooden Clogs'. Nearly all of us found the film unbearably slow and couldn't claim to like it: but we talked about it all evening. How convincing was the scenario? Who was the stranger? What really stopped him reaching the church? Was the story a pre-death 'life flashing before his eyes' dream? We all loved the iconic Parisien bars - creaky doors, sticky tables, dirty rain.

Savage Messiah (June 2011)

An evening out - Savage Messiah was shown at the Hyde Park Cinema, to accompany an exhibition at the Henry Moore Institute.

Ken Russell himself was due to introduce the film, but sadly wasn't well enough to travel to Leeds: instead a colleague read his words, illustrated by wonderful photos of Ken smiling at us from his hospital bed.

Savage Messiah tells the story of the relationship between French sculptor Henri Gaudier-Brzeska and Polish novelist Sophie Brzeska. They were devoted to each other, but had a complex relationship; both experienced mental illness, and life wasn't easy for them. 2011 marks the centenary of Gaudier-Brzeska's arrival in London, where he lived for the last four years of his life. He was killed in the trenches in 1915. Ken Russell spoke of the affinity he felt with Gaudier-Brzeska, driven by art and struggling for recognition.

The film was rich, emotional, moving: he created amazing art, and his death such a waste.

There died a myriad,
And of the best, among them,
For an old bitch gone in the teeth,
For a botched civilization,

Charm, smiling at the good mouth,
Quick eyes gone under earth's lid,

For two gross of broken statues,
For a few thousand battered books.

- Ezra Pound

(The picture is Gaudier-Brzeska's self-portrait.)

Million Pound Note (May 2011)

Set in 1903, American seaman Henry Adams (Gregory Peck) is stranded penniless in England. Unexpectedly he's given an envelope containing £1,000,000 promising him a job if he can avoid spending the note for the month.

At first, he's mistaken for an eccentric millionaire and has no trouble getting food, clothes, and a hotel suite on credit, friends and romance, just by showing his note. He backs a business venture; but when he can't produce the bank note (it's been hidden by a rival) panic breaks out amongst the shareholders and Adams' creditors. All is straightened out in the end, and Adams is able to return the note to the Montpelier brothers at the end of the month.

B's birthday film, accompanied by Do You Want To Be A Millionaire quiz.