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Plymouth Arts Cinema Film Programme Oct - Nov 2022
28th September 2022
Where to find us
Our venue is located inside Arts University Plymouth’s main campus at Tavistock Place. Go through Arts University Plymouth’s main entrance and turn right, you will face our Box Office and Café-Bar.
Opening Times and How to Book
The Box Office and Café-bar open Tuesday, Thursday and Friday: 5-8.30pm; Wednesday: 1-8.30pm; Saturday: 1-8pm). You can call Box Office during these times: 01752 206114.
Standard £9.00 | Matinees £7.00 | Bringing in Baby £4 | Over 60s £7.75 | 25 & Under, Students, PCA Staff, Unwaged £4 | Friends 10% discount and £6 on Tuesdays. Please bring relevant ID if you are eligible for a discount.
Online booking fee £1.50. Advance booking recommended.
Film Notes
Don’t Worry Darling (15)
Friday 7 – Wednesday 12 October
Fri 7, 8.30pm
Sat 8, 5.30pm
Tues 11, 8.30pm
Wed 12, 8.30pm
Dir. Olivia Wilde, US, 2022, 122 mins. Cast. Florence Pugh, Olivia Wilde, Harry Styles.
Alice and Jack are lucky to be living in the community of Victory, the experimental company town housing the men who work for the top-secret Victory Project and their families. While the husbands spend every day working at Victory Project Headquarters, their wives get to spend their time enjoying the luxury. Life is perfect. All the company asks in return is discretion and unquestioning commitment to the Victory cause. But when cracks in their idyllic life begin to appear, exposing flashes of something much more sinister lurking beneath the attractive façade, Alice can’t help questioning exactly what they’re doing in Victory, and why.
See How They Run (12A)
Saturday 8 – Thursday 13 October
Sat 8, 8pm
Tue 11, 6pm
Wed 12, 11am (BIB), 2.30pm & 6pm
Thu 13, 8.30pm
Dir. Tom George, UK, 2022, 98 mins. Cast. Sam Rockwell, Saoirse Ronan, Adrien Brody, Ruth Wilson.
This star-studded murder mystery caper, starring Sam Rockwell and Saoirse Ronan, is a hilarious, twisting whodunnit set in the theatrical world of 1950s London. Leo Köpernick is found murdered in the costume store of a grand London theatre, on the eve of a smash-hit play’s adaptation into a Hollywood blockbuster. It falls to veteran Inspector Stoppard the enthusiastic, if conclusion-jumping young Constable Stalker to solve the scandalous case.
A murder mystery delight, See How They Run is a faithfully recreated, 1950s-set throwback treat.
Eric Ravilious: Drawn to War (PG)
Saturday 8 – Thursday 13 October
Sat 8, 3.30pm
Thu 13, 6pm
Dir. Margy Kinmonth, UK, 2022, 88 mins. With. Ai Weiwei, Grayson Perry.
The true story of Eric Ravilious - one of Britain's greatest landscape artists - is as compelling and enigmatic as his art. Set against the dramatic wartime locations that inspired him Margy Kinmonth’s film brings to life this brilliant but still hugely undervalued British artist. Caught in the crossfire of war 80 years ago Ravilious’s legacy largely sank without trace until now. Made with the blessing of the Ravilious Estate this first full-length feature documentary unfolds in his own words through previously unseen private correspondence and rare archive film. Shot entirely on location in the UK Portugal and Ireland the film features Ai Weiwei, Alan Bennett, and Grayson Perry.
Funny Pages (18)
MUBI GO
Friday 14 - Wednesday 19 October
Fri 14, 6pm
Sat 15, 2.30pm & 8pm
Tue 18, 6pm
Wed 19, 8.30pm
Dir. Owen Kline, US, 2022, 87 mins. Cast. Daniel Zolghadri, Matthew Maher, Miles Emanuel.
An outlandish take on the standard coming-of-age tale in this clever and unpredictable portrait of a young artist. When anti-hero and teenage cartoonist Robert rejects the comforts of his plush middle-class life and leaves home in a misguided quest for soul, he stumbles upon unwilling teacher and unwitting friend, Wallace, a former low-level comic artist. Bitingly funny with fistfuls of awkward drama and some stellar cameos, the characters, like living caricatures, are cruel, impressive, and deeply unsettling. What’s not to love? This is dark comedy in its inkiest form.
Mrs Harris Goes to Paris (tbc)
Friday 14 – Thursday 20 October
Fri 14, 8.30pm
Sat 15, 5.30pm
Tue 18, 8.30pm
Wed 19, 2.30pm & 6pm
Thu 20, 8.30pm
Dir. Ol Parker, UK, 2022, 116 mins. Cast. Lesley Manville, Isabelle Huppert, Lambert Wilson.
In this charming historical comedy drama, Lesley Manville plays a cleaning woman in the 1950s who discovers a couture Dior dress in the house of a wealthy client and becomes determined to buy her own. She embarks on a trip to Paris where, before long, she has stumbled into a Dior showing and begins to ruffle feathers in the fashion world. Based on the 1958 novel by Paul Gallico, this delightful twist on the Cinderella story also stars Isabelle Huppert. With handsome production design, ravishing outfits and its beautiful evocation of time and place, this escapist joy is elevated by Manville’s sensitively judged lead performance.
Plymouth and Popcorn - The Uncertain Kingdom (15)
Thursday 20 October, 6pm
Dir. Various, UK, 2020, 120 mins. With. Steve Evets, Andy Hamilton, Sally Bretton, Hugh Dennis, Alice Lowe, Ruth Madeley
An anthology of short films that together offer a unique snapshot of the UK. It promotes a positive future and shows aspirations of people across the UK. Addressing your destiny and the future that you want to make for yourself.
This screening event is sponsored by The C-Care Interreg project delivered through The Plymouth Charter, which looks to ensure that organisations recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in a sustainable way, supporting them to reduce their environmental impacts and create a greener economy. https://www.plymouthcharter.co.uk/
Juniper (15)
Friday 21 – Wednesday 26 October
Fri 21, 6pm
Sat 22, 5.30pm
Wed 26, 2.30pm
Thu 27, 8.30pm
Dir. Matthew Saville, New Zealand, 2021, 94 mins. Cast: Charlotte Rampling, Marton Csokas, George Ferrier, Edith Poor.
Sam has been on a self-destructive spiral that could lead to his death. He returns home from boarding school to find his wheelchair-bound English grandmother, Ruth has moved in. Ruth is an ex-war photographer with a lust for life and a love of the bottle. Sam soon finds himself profoundly confronted by her alcoholic wit and chutzpah. Their first meeting is awkward; their second violent. Things get worse when Sam finds himself stranded alone with her and her nurse Sarah for the school holidays. Both strong-willed characters, a battle of supremacy ensues, enabling Sam to embrace life again and for Ruth to face her mortality.
Girls Girls Girls (15)
Friday 21 – Wednesday 26 October
Fri 21, 8.30pm
Sat 22, 2.30pm
Tue 25, 8.30pm
Wed 26, 5.45pm
Dir. Alli Haapasalo, Finland, 2022, 100 mins, subtitled. Cast. Aamu Milonoff, Eleonoora Kauhanen, Linnea Leino.
Immediately engaging, Alli Haapasalo’s (Love and Fury) candid, spirited drama follows a trio of Finnish teens exploring desire and first love. High school best friends Mimmi and Rönkkö work at the smoothie kiosk in the local mall, exchanging gossip, jokes, and their views on love and sex. They’re both single, and while the indefatigable Rönkkö is seeking an instant spark, the more cynical Mimmi protests there’s no such thing – until she meets elite ice skater Emma, and finds just that.
Adventure Film Club - Big vs. Small (tbc)
Saturday 22 October, 8pm
Dir. Minna Dufton, Finland, 2021, 76 mins, some subtitles.
Big v. Small is an energetic and inspirational documentary that profiles Joana Andrade, Portugal’s first female big wave surfer, known to many as ‘Tiny Fighter’. Fiery, athletic and constantly breaking barriers in her quest to improve as an extreme competitor, Joana seeks help from celebrated free diver, Johanna Nordblad, in order to face her demons and overcome the thunderous waters of Nazaré, Portugal. Big vs. Small is a modern-day fairy-tale stretching from the raging monster waves in the south to the dark stillness of a far-north, frozen Finnish lake; it's about power and strength on top of the water and facing demons under it. It's about trust, it's about letting go, and it's about what happens when two elite female champions share their extraordinary talent with each other.
Exhibition on Screen: Hopper
Tuesday 25 October, 6pm
Dir. Phil Grabsky, 90 mins.
Hopper’s work is the most recognizable art in America, popular, praised, and mysterious. Countless painters, photographers, filmmakers and musicians have been influenced by him but who was he, and how did a struggling illustrator create such a bounty of notable work? This new film takes a deep look into Hopper’s art, his life, and his relationships and in his own words – this film explores the enigmatic personality behind the brush. Combined with expert interviews, diaries, and a startling visual reflection of American life, Hopper brings to life America’s arguably most influential artist. Released to coincide with the major Hopper exhibition (Edward Hopper’s New York) at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (Oct22 – Mar 23).
British Art Show 9: Right of Way (12A)
Thursday 27 October, 6pm
Dir. Various, UK, 90 mins.
Right of Way is a new feature-length programme that mixes stunning new artists’ commissions with historical archive films that give a bigger picture of questions of access and inclusion in the UK countryside. This programme is presented by the ICO and LUX and supported by the BFI Film Audience Network and Arts Council England.
It’s inspired by the foundation of the National Trails. Set up to resist sweeping industrialisation, these protected landscapes were created with a vision to ‘connect people to the rural landscape’. But during the COVID-19 pandemic – as people realised anew the importance of nature and open spaces for our health and mental wellbeing – inequalities of access to rural land were being exposed, revealing the disconnect felt by millions of people towards the UK countryside. A 2019 government review found that many Black, Asian and ethnically diverse people view the countryside as an ‘irrelevant white, middle-class club’, concluding that this divide is only going to widen as society changes and ‘the countryside will end up being irrelevant to the country that actually exists’. The new commissions interrupt and challenge the enduring perception of the rural idyll as an untouched and unchanging space where time stands still. What happens when Black, Asian and other ethnically diverse people enter these landscapes? How can our natural spaces be homes to protest, trespassing, activism and raves? Paired with archive films that show that the life of the countryside contains multitudes and disrupt simple narratives, this programme is a terrific platform for debate on historical and contemporary discussions about who has a right to the great outdoors and who is excluded from it.
Ticket Details – BAS9 film tickets £5 full price/£4 concessions.
Season of the Witch - She Will (15)
Wednesday screening with Intro and post-film Q&A with Alice Krige and producer Jessica Malik.
Wednesday 26 – Saturday 29 October
Wed 26, 8pm
Fri 28, 8.30pm
Sat 29, 8pm
Dir. Charlotte Colbert, UK, 2021, 95 mins. Cast. Alice Krige, Kota Eberhardt, Malcom McDowell, Rupert Everett, Jonathan Aris.
An aging film star retreats to the Scottish countryside with her nurse to recover from surgery. While there, mysterious forces of revenge emerge from the land where witches were burned. Krige is astonishingly good and there should certainly be more films about angry post-menopausal women tapping into their dark side.
“Alice Krige shines in this dark thriller, a tangy blend of folk horror and post-MeToo reckoning with a salty spike of satire” – Leslie Felperin, The Guardian
Flux Gourmet (15)
Friday 28 October – Wednesday 2 November
Fri 28, 6pm
Tue 1, 6pm
Wed 2, 2.30pm & 8.30pm
Dir. Peter Strickland, UK/US, 2022, 111 mins. Cast: Asa Butterfield, Gwendoline Christie, Ariane Labed, Fatma Mohamed.
A dysfunctional sonic collective – a band devoted to the sounds of the culinary arts – navigates rivalries internal and external in this absurdly original feast for the senses. Set at an institute devoted to culinary and alimentary performance, the collective finds itself embroiled in power struggles, artistic vendettas and gastrointestinal disorders.
Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song
Saturday 29 October – Wednesday 2 November
Sat 29, 2.30pm (Relaxed, Captioned) & 5.30pm
Tue 1, 8.30pm
Wed 2, 6pm
Dir. Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine, US, 2022, 118 mins. With. Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, John Cale, Brandi Carlile, Eric Church, Judy Collins, Bob Dylan, Glen Hansard, Sharon Robinson, Rufus Wainwright.
A definitive exploration of singer songwriter Leonard Cohen as seen through the prism of his internationally renowned hymn, “Hallelujah.” This feature-length documentary weaves together three creative strands: The songwriter and his times; the song’s dramatic journey from record label reject to chart-topping hit; and moving testimonies from major recording artists for whom “Hallelujah” has become a personal touchstone. Approved for production by Leonard Cohen just before his 80th birthday in 2014, the film accesses a wealth of never-before-seen archival materials from the Cohen Trust including Cohen’s personal notebooks, journals and photographs, performance footage, and extremely rare audio recordings and interviews.
French Film Festival: Goliath
Thursday 3 – Tuesday 8 November
Thu 3, 8.30pm
Tue 8, 6pm
Dir. Frédéric Tellier, France / Belgium, 2022, 121 mins. Cast. Gilles Lellouche, Emmanuelle Bercot, Pierre Niney.
A timely story of an environmental scandal. Patrick is a tenacious lawyer specializing in environmental law. France is a sports teacher who becomes an activist after her husband develops cancer from exposure to a pesticide. Mathias is an ambitious lobbyist working for an international chemical corporation. The paths of these characters collide as the lives of thousands are affected by a tragic act that sparks a powerful movement, while the corporation fights to prevent the truth from being revealed.
Excellent acting … a captivating and edifying thriller. Le Journal du Dimanche
My Policeman (15)
Friday 4 – Thursday 10 November
Fri 4, 6pm
Sat 5, 8pm
Wed 9, 2.30pm & 8.30pm
Thu 10, 6pm
Dir. Michael Grandage, UK, 2022, 113 mins. Cast. Harry Styles, Emma Corrin, Gina McKee, Linus Roache, David Dawson, Rupert Everett
In late 1990s Brighton, married couple Marion and Tom welcome terminally ill old friend Patrick into their home. As years of unresolved feelings resurface, the ice between the two men will not thaw. Some 40 years earlier, on that same British coastline, schoolteacher Marion met charismatic copper Tom and they instantly fell in love. But Marion wasn’t the only one powerless to Tom’s cheeky charms. The couple’s new friend, art historian Patrick was also rather smitten with him. As burgeoning desires lead to passionate affairs, simmering jealousies surfaced that would ultimately tear the trio apart. This perfectly pitched romance is the kind of decades-spanning tearjerker we see all too rarely. Michael Grandage has crafted a love story that is epic in scope, but intimate in its attention to detail.
The Banshees of Inisherin (tbc)
Friday 4 – Thursday 10 November
Fri 4, 8.30pm
Sat 5, 2.30pm & 5.30pm
Tue 8, 8.30pm
Thu 10, 8.30pm
Dir. Martin McDonagh, Ireland/UK, 2022, 114 mins. Cast. Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, Barry Keoghan
On a small island off Ireland’s coast, life delivers few surprises. While a civil war of increasingly senseless violence rumbles on the mainland, sleepy days on Inisherin are marked by lifelong pals Padraic and Colm’s late-afternoon trips to the pub. Until one day, when it doesn’t happen. McDonagh offers an undulating wave of a story, one that moves from hoot-inducing black comedy and a tender ode to filial love, to a film about a fiery rage that’s lost sight of its original purpose. Farrell and Gleeson dazzle throughout. But the film also centres scintillating performances by Barry Keoghan as an inchoate but harmless pest and Kerry Condon as Padraic’s sister, the Island’s sagest resident who longs for something more. As heart-breaking as it is hilarious, The Banshees of Inisherin is arguably the finest work from this major filmmaker.
British Art Show 9: Black Atlantic
Wednesday 9 November, 6pm
Dir. Various, 79 mins
Description: In this collection of shorts, curated by Lux and BFI, filmmakers and contemporary artists explore the legacy of forced migration and the transatlantic slave trade in boldly imaginative terms. From a mythic Black aquatopia to wild, destructive weather systems battering the West Indies, these films weave past and present and fact and fantasy into a mesmerising web of ideas, images and cultural connections.
Ticket Details – BAS9 film tickets £5 full price/£4 concessions.
French Film Festival: Rise (En Corps)
Friday 11 – Wednesday 16 November
Fri 11, 5.45pm
Wed 16, 8.30pm
Dir. Cédric Klapisch, France / Belgium, 2022, 117 mins. Cast. Marion Barbeau, Hofesh Shechter, Denis Podalydès, Pio Marmaï, François Civil, Muriel Robin.
Élise (Marion Barbeau) is a talented ballet dancer whose life is turned upside down, first by injury and then when she catches her boyfriend cheating with her understudy. On a path to physical and emotional recovery, she travels from Paris to Brittany, where she embraces the artistic freedom of contemporary dance. On this journey of self-discovery, she finds friendship and new ways to reinvent herself. Cédric Klapisch (Someone Somewhere, Back to Burgundy) delivers a tale of strength and resilience.
Decision to Leave (15)
MUBI GO
Friday 11 – Thursday 17 November
Fri 11, 8.15pm
Sat 12, 5pm
Tue 15, 8pm
Wed 16, 2.30pm
Thu 17, 8.15pm
Dir. Park Chan-wook, South Korea, 2022, 138 mins, subtitled. Cast. Tang Wei, Park Hae-il.
In this sublime, Hitchcockian noir thriller from Park Chan-wook (The Handmaiden), a detective gets a little too close to the murder he’s trying to solve. Busan Detective Hae-joon is happily married, although work means spending too much time apart from his wife. When a climber’s body is found, suspicious photos on his phone lead to a murder investigation, and Hae-joon to the man’s young wife, Seo-rae and a stakeout of her home. But even as her alibi clears her, Hae-joon finds himself unable to end his surveillance. Is this his detective’s instinct, or something more? Director Park has crafted a mystery plotted with virtuoso aplomb, one breathless, twisting story-turn after another. Every shot is marked by its boldness and visual beauty, Decision to Leave finds director Park working at the dizzying peak of his powers.
The Oil Machine
Saturday 12 – Wednesday 16 November
Sat 12, 8pm
Tue 15, 6pm
Wed 16, 6pm
Dir. Emma Davie, UK, 2022, 82 mins.
The Oil Machine explores our economic, historical and emotional entanglement with oil by looking at the conflicting imperatives around North Sea oil. This invisible machine at the core of our economy and society now faces an uncertain future as activists and investors demand change. Is this the end of oil? The Oil Machine brings together a wide range of voices from oil company executives, economists, young activists, pension fund managers and considers how this machine can be tamed, dismantled, or repurposed.
Top of Form
Call Jane (tbc)
Friday 18 – Thursday 24 November
Fri 18, 5.30pm
Sat 19, 8pm
Tue 22, 5.45pm
Wed 23, 2.30pm & 8.30pm
Thu 24, 8.30pm
Dir. Phyllis Nagy, US, 2022, 121 mins. Cast. Elizabeth Banks, Sigourney Weaver, Chris Messina
An important episode in the history of the American women’s movement is dramatised in this confident directorial debut from Carol screenwriter Phyllis Nagy. It’s 1968, five years before the landmark ruling in Roe v Wade, and abortion is not yet a constitutional right in America. When suburban housewife Joy is denied a termination for a pregnancy that threatens her life, she seeks the help of ‘Jane’, an underground network led by Sigourney Weaver’s no-nonsense Virginia, who provide safe abortions for women in need. Joy’s subsequent feminist awakening forms the film’s main arc, but its real pleasures – and its power – lie in its depiction of community and resistance across social and political divides. At a time when access to abortion in America is under threat, Call Jane is an urgent reminder of the freedoms once again at stake.
Triangle of Sadness (15)
Friday 18 – Wednesday 23 November
Fri 18, 8pm
Sat 19, 2pm & 5pm
Tue 22, 8.15pm
Wed 23, 5.30pm
Dir. Ruben Östlund, Sweden/Germany/France, 2022, 150 mins. Cast. Harris Dickinson, Charlbi Dean, Dolly De Leon, Woody Harrelson, Zlatko Burić
Riotously funny with a barbed wire-sharp wit, Triangle of Sadness garnered Östlund his second Cannes Palme d’Or award. Couple Carl and Yaya are fashion models and influencers whose romantic relationship is increasingly soured by money. Offered free places on a luxury cruise, they find themselves sharing a superyacht with a Russian oligarch and some genteel arms dealers, while a deeply cynical Marxist alcoholic captains an increasingly chaotic ship. What begins as a great upstairs/downstairs set-up quickly turns entirely upside-down. After taking on the art world in The Square, Östlund turns to his attentions to high fashion and the uber-rich, channelling a deep vein of acerbic black comedy. Shifting audaciously from bone-dry satire to gross-out maximalist farce this is a twisted tour-de-force which asserts that power corrupts. Absolutely.
Living (12A)
MUBI GO
Friday 25 – Wednesday 30 November
Fri 25, 6pm
Sat 26, 8pm
Tue 29, 6pm
Wed 30, 2.30pm & 8.30pm
Dir. Oliver Hermanus, UK, 2022, 102 mins. Cast. Bill Nighy, Aimee Lou Wood, Alex Sharp, Tom Burke
Having lived in a stupor since his wife’s death, Williams lives out his life through the observance of daily rituals. But then the civil servant receives some shocking news. He embarks on an odyssey of discovery, encountering seaside bohemian Sutherland and opening up to co-worker Margaret. Director Hermanus, screenwriter Kazuo Ishiguro, producer Stephen Woolley, the consummate trio behind Living, have created a film of tremendous balance and grace, which hums with their love of cinema. Sandy Powell’s costumes are crisp monotones with eager accents of colour, while cinematographer Jamie Ramsay’s chilly silvery frames perfectly capture Whitehall in the 1950s. And Nighy, in one of the finest performances of a distinguished career, imbues every scene with a quiet and wistful sense of wonder.
My Neighbour Adolf (tbc)
Friday 25 November – Thursday 1 December
Fri 25, 8.30pm
Sat 26, 5.30pm
Tue 29, 8.30pm
Wed 30, 6pm
Thu 1, 8.30pm
Dir. Leon Prudovsky, UK, 2022, 96 mins. Cast. David Hayman, Udo Kier.
Polsky (David Hayman), a lonely and grumpy Holocaust survivor lives in the remote Columbian countryside, spending his days playing chess and tending to his beloved rose bushes. However, when a mysterious old German man (Udo Kier) moves in next door he begins to suspect his new neighbour is… Adolf Hitler. Since nobody believes him, he embarks on a detective mission to find the evidence. But, in order to prove his suspicions, Polsky will need to be closer to his neighbour than he would like – so close that the two could almost become friends.
British Art Show 9: Curious Curators
Friday 2 December, 6pm
A programme of films curated by PDREC and ODILS community workshops running in October. Details available in mid-November at www.plymouthartscinema.org
Ticket Details – BAS9 film tickets £5 full price/£4 concessions.
French Film Festival: Black Box (Boîte Noire) (15)
Friday 2 – Saturday 3 December
Fri 2, 8.30pm
Sat 3, 5.15pm
Dir. Yann Gozlan, France / Belgium, 2021, 129 mins. Cast. Pierre Niney, Lou de Laâge, André Dussollier.
Mathieu is a young and talented black box analyst on a mission to solve the reason behind the deadly crash of a brand new aircraft. When the case is closed by the authorities, Mathieu senses there is something wrong with the evidence. As he listens to the tracks again, he starts detecting some seriously disturbing details. Could the tape have been modified? Going against his boss’s orders, Mathieu begins his own rogue investigation – an obsessional and dangerous quest for truth that will quickly threaten far more than his career.
“Cleverly constructed and well-paced, Black Box will keep you strapped in until the end” - Film Inquiry
Aftersun
Saturday 3 – Thursday 8 December
Sat 3, 2.30pm & 8pm
F-rated | MUBI GO
Dir. Charlotte Wells, UK / US, 2022, 96 mins. Cast. Paul Mescal, Frankie Corio, Celia Rowlson-Hall.
Sophie reflects on the shared joy and private melancholy of a holiday she took with her father twenty years earlier. Memories real and imagined fill the gaps between miniDV footage as she tries to reconcile the father she knew with the man she didn’t.
There will be more screenings of Aftersun during the week beginning 5 December. We will publish the timings when our December programme is confirmed.
