Tag: October

The Duke

In 1961, Kempton Bunton stole a valuable painting from the London National Gallery. He sent ransom notes saying that he would return it on condition that the government invested more in care for the elderly. What happened next became the stuff of legend. An uplifting true story about a good man who set out to change the world.

Shown: 5 October 2022

Exminster Film Club Rating: 90%

BBFC Ratings Badge 12A

The Duke Plot Synopsis

In 1961, 60-year-old Kempton Bunton stole Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London. He sent ransom notes saying that he would return the painting on condition that the government invested more in care for the elderly. What happened next became the stuff of legend. An uplifting true story about a good man who set out to change the world and managed to save his marriage.

Film Reviews

You could dine on nothing but lard for twenty years and still not develop the hardness of heart necessary to avoid being won over by Roger Michell‘s The Duke, a ridiculously charming British comedy that dunks a gamely accented prestige cast into an appealingly milky true story like so many digestives into a warm, well-earned, early evening cuppa.

Jessica Kiang, The Playlist

The Duke is that rarest of things: a comedy that knows that a twinkle in the eye and a fire in the belly needn’t be mutually exclusive.

Robbie Collin – The Telegraph

Official Film Trailer for The Duke

Review from an EFC Member

A film based on a true story. Outstanding performances by Jim Boadbent as a man with an active social conscience and Helen Mirren as his long suffering wife. The story is touching, a balance of grief, justice and many humorous moments.

I greatly enjoyed the whole film and would happily watch it again.

Judith
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< September 2022

November 2022 >

Misbehaviour

In 1970, the Miss World competition took place in London. Claiming that beauty competitions demeaned women, the newly formed Women’s Liberation Movement achieved overnight fame by invading the stage.

Shown: 6 October 2021

Exminster Film Club Rating: 80%

BBFC Ratings Badge 12A

Misbehaviour Plot Synopsis

In 1970, the Miss World competition took place in London, hosted by US comedy legend, Bob Hope. At the time, Miss World was the most-watched TV show on the planet with over 100 million viewers. Claiming that beauty competitions demeaned women, the newly formed Women’s Liberation Movement achieved overnight fame by invading the stage and disrupting the live broadcast of the competition. Not only that, when the show resumed, the result caused uproar: the winner was not the Swedish favourite but Miss Grenada, the first black woman to be crowned Miss World. In a matter of hours, a global audience had witnessed the patriarchy driven from the stage and the Western ideal of beauty turned on its head.

Film Reviews

If there is a tonal uncertainty in this comedy, then that’s because there was a tonal uncertainty in the real-life events, and the movie nicely conveys how they were at one and the same time deadly serious and Pythonically silly.

Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

Well written, -acted, -cast and -produced, this wholly entertaining yet stingingly relevant story of the 1970 Miss World finals should have been a smash hit when it opened in UK theatres on March 13, but events overtook its release.

Fionnuala Halligan, Screen Daily

Official Film Trailer for Misbehaviour

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< September 2021

November 2021 >

The Peanut Butter Falcon

The Peanut Butter Falcon was Exminster Film Club’s October 2020 film. It is an adventure story that begins when Zak, a young man with Downs syndrome, runs away from the nursing home where he lives to chase his dream of becoming a professional wrestler.

Shown: 7 October 2020

BBFC Ratings Badge 12A
  • Date of release: 2019
  • Running time: 1h 37m
  • Directors: Tyler Nilson, Michael Schwartz
  • Writers: Tyler Nilson, Michael Schwartz
  • Country: USA
  • Language: English
  • Links: IMDB Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic

The Peanut Butter Falcon Plot Synopsis

The Peanut Butter Falcon is an adventure story set in the world of a modern Mark Twain that begins when Zak, a young man with Downs syndrome, runs away from the nursing home where he lives to chase his dream of becoming a professional wrestler by attending wrestling school. Through circumstances beyond their control Tyler, a small-time outlaw on the run, becomes Zak’s unlikely coach and ally. Together they wind through deltas, elude capture, drink whisky, find God, catch fish, and convince Eleanor to join them on their journey.

Film Reviews

By keeping the humour rooted in the performances and only letting sentimentality creep in when necessary, Nelson and Schwartz have crafted a film that feels refreshing, unique, and emotional.

Ryan Oliver, The Playlist

The film is a sweet, funny and heartfelt look at friendship and strength.

Samantha Incorvaia, Arizona Republic

Official Film Trailer for The Peanut Butter Falcon

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< Season 2019/20

November 2020 >

Peterloo

Peterloo was Exminster Film Club’s second film screening. This historical drama by acclaimed British director Mike Leigh takes us back to Manchester in 1819. Peterloo chronicles the events leading up to one of the bloodiest days in British history.

Shown: 2 October 2019

BBFC Ratings Badge 12A

Peterloo Plot Synopsis

An epic portrayal of the events surrounding the infamous 1819 Peterloo Massacre, where a peaceful pro-democracy rally at St Peter’s Field in Manchester turned into one of the bloodiest and most notorious episodes in British history.

From The EFC Committee

Well the Film Club Committee did agree that we should show films of various genres and Peterloo was certainly a bit different from our showing of Fishermen’s Friends!

Those looking for a happy ending were clearly always going to be disappointed. However, the escalating tensions between the impoverished Mancunians and the government (supported by debauched royalty and the viciously strong arm of the law) were graphically depicted and made this a compelling film to watch. As with all films of historic events, Peterloo had to end at some point in time, so we were left without information about whether those horrific events in Manchester actually achieved any lasting result. But perhaps that will be covered in some future film production?

Film Reviews

Mike Leigh brings an overwhelming simplicity and severity to this historical epic, which begins with rhetoric and ends in violence. There is force, grit and, above all, a sense of purpose; a sense that the story he has to tell is important and real, and that it needs to be heard right now.

Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

Leigh’s visceral staging, especially in the climactic moments — brilliantly shot by his longtime collaborator/cinematographer Dick Pope — brings home the significance of a 200-year-old bloodbath that still speaks urgently to the disenfranchised.

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Official Film Trailer for Peterloo

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Other Films …

< September 2019

November 2019 >