What We're Looking Forward to in 2020
Posted 9 January 2020
What we’re looking forward to these next few months
As you might know, January and February are some of the most exciting times for film. Although incredible titles are released every week, the start of the year is adorned with the big awards contenders, from the Oscars to Golden Globes, many of the films we’re showing over the next few months are the ones everyone will be talking about.
So, don’t miss out on all the film chat and catch some of the most exciting films of 2020. Here’s what we’re looking forward to…
Probably the most obvious of our choices, because, if you’re anything like us, you haven’t been able to move without hearing about Parasite. And for good reason, Parasite is… almost a genre to itself, drama, horror, comedy, social commentary, thriller. There’s such a blend in it’s 2 hour run time that would fall apart in many directors’ hands, but Bong Joon Ho masterfully combines and whisks these threads together to create a twisted tale which gets under your skin and slowly eats away at you.
Showing from Fri 7 Feb
PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE
A romance film of the highest order, Portrait of a Lady on Fire does indeed induce heat. From the small and soft smouldering beginnings of tentative glances and lingering touches to a burning and inescapable desire which consumes those around it until finally a blaze of passion and tremendous power. Reminiscent of The Piano and Call Me by Your Name, this LGBTQ love story is a glorious tale within itself. Filled with gentle pastel hues and a lulling score, it becomes more than a film, it feels like falling, unstoppably, in love.
Showing from Fri 28 Feb
Terence Malick has returned and with a resounding and triumphant splash. Although, splash might be the wrong word to describe A Hidden Life, perhaps it’s too loud and obnoxious. A Hidden Life is a profound and immense epic surrounding faith and morality, a three-hour exploration and observation of quiet good acts that gently shape lives and history. Based on a true story about WWII pacifist Franz Jägerstätter, who refused to swear allegiance to the Nazi party and set across the dazzling, almost fable-like grassy mountains of Austria, A Hidden Life is a breath-taking and impactful story that, although may easily be branded as ‘timely’, feels timeless, a film that is not a reaction to the world at the moment but to Malick’s own mind, journey and reflection on faith and morality.
Showing From Fri 17 Jan
The Lighthouse is in a word, disorientating.
It’s a bit like watching a satisfying nightmare, but trying to tell whose nightmare it is, is the real challenge. Scored by a powerful and trembling soundtrack and shot in a cinematically glorious style, casting every day and every shot in a bleak and hopeless grey. For a film which feels so lucid and chaotic it still engrosses and hypnotises, every scene and word uttered feels important, like a horrendous mystery that lures and tempts you to unwrap but knows it will never let you see the truth. This is one of those films which will divide viewers but those who love it will want to watch it again and again.
Showing From Fri 31 Jan
Those who saw the Safdie Brothers last film, Good Time, will have some idea of what to expect from Uncut Gems: an anxiety riddled, heart-thumping rollercoaster of a ride led by Adam Sandler.
This film is an apologetic adrenaline shot filled with yelling, swears and so many jewels, diamonds and gold encrusted pieces that would make even the Queen blush. Described as a sensory overload Uncut Gems tends to leave audiences reeling and in desperate need of a safe, quiet space for a few hours - but don’t be fooled by the face-paced, seemingly chaotic nature of this film. The Safdie Brothers know exactly what they’re doing here and show their hand as experts in creating desperate, terrible but ultimately likeable protagonists who are just trying to keep the scraps of their life together, whatever the cost.
Showing From Fri 10 Jan
‘There are mountains you won’t move. Still I’ll be there for you’
It seems apt that Frank Ocean’s Godspeed is the chosen song to accompany the trailer for Waves, a song about a love so deep rooted and burrowed into your soul that it doesn’t matter how far you wander from one another, or how many times you struggle and fail, that love is unconditional and immovable. And that is Waves, a story about messing up – making mistakes so seemingly unrepairable that you convince yourself no-one could forgive you or accept you ever again. But discovering that there is always forgiveness and a place for you, that there will always be people who demand you stay in their life. A truly beautiful film that blends an emotive colour palette, a glorious soundtrack and exquisite, realised characters that ripple through your mind and feelings in a gentle yet powerful way.
Showing from Fri 24 Jan