For
showtimes, see the events listing.
Odeon
Piazza
Strozzi, 2
tel.
055/295051
HUGO
March 1
This adaptation of Brian Selznick’s bestselling novel about a boy living
secretly in a Paris station is an homage to early movies as well as an
enchanting fable. ‘In attempting to make his first film for all ages, Martin
Scorsese has fashioned one for the ages. Simultaneously classical and modern,
populist but also unapologetically personal, Hugo flagrantly defies the
mind-numbing quality of most contempo kidpics’ (Variety). ‘This is a great director’s greatest love story’ (Empire). ‘Waves of melancholy wash over
the story and keep the treacle at bay, as do the spasms of broad comedy, much
of it nimbly executed by Mr. Baron Cohen’ (New
York Times). ‘Visually Hugo is a marvel, but dramatically it’s a clockwork
lemon’ (Wall Street Journal).
PROJECT NIM
March 2
The story of Nim, a chimpanzee who was at the centre of an experiment in
the 1970s aiming to prove that if raised as a human, an ape could learn to
communicate with language. ‘Gripping, heart-wrenching, powerful and a sad
indictment of scientific practice, which shows that “human” and “humane” are
all-too-often mutually exclusive’ (Empire).
‘There is no doubt that Nim was exploited, and also no doubt that he was loved.
Mr. Marsh, by allowing those closest to Nim plenty of room to explain
themselves, examines the moral complexity of this story without didacticism. He
allows the viewer, alternately appalled, touched and fascinated, to be snagged
on some of its ethical thorns’ (New York
Times).
MONSTERS
March 5, 6
First-time filmmaker Gareth Edwards made this film almost literally in
his bedroom. Alien monsters, survivors from a crashed NASA probe, are on the
prowl in the Americas. ‘An amazing achievement… which measures up to the finest
indies for performance and character-work, and the biggest blockbusters for
jaw-dropping effects. And it has the year’s best sex scene, too’ (Empire). ‘An arty, ruminative and
slow-paced film that’s being marketed as a big ol’ alien-invasion flick. Just
don’t expect an invasion flick’ (San
Francisco Chronicle). ‘No ordinary horror film. If it were, it might be a
bit better than it is. As the movie stands, it’s a less-than-compelling
relationship drama, with aliens’ (Washington
Post).
ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL
March 6
This ‘Hymn to the Human Spirit’ is a ‘rockumentary’ featuring the
Canadian heavy metal band Anvil, inspiration to Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax.
‘It’s a hilarious, and unexpectedly moving, documentary about the greatest
metal band you’ve probably never heard of’ (Entertainment
Weekly). ‘Want to find the heart of rock & roll? You can hear it
thundering in Anvil’ (Rolling Stone).
‘Mr. Reiner and Mr. Kudlow may not quite merit full-metal glory, but they don’t
deserve oblivion either, and Anvil! The Story of Anvil makes both a case and a
place for their band’ (New York Times).
ALBERT NOBBS
March 8
Albert Nobbs is a woman passing as a man in order to work and survive in
nineteenth-century Ireland. Some 30 years after donning men’s clothing, she
finds herself trapped in a prison of her own making. ‘Like the man himself,
Albert Nobbs is a sweet, sad, sensitive little film, a haunting reminder that
each of us, on some level, is impersonating someone’ (Washington Post). ‘Close never steps wrong, never breaks reality.
My heart went out to Albert Nobbs, the depth of whose fears are unimaginable.
But it is Janet McTeer who brings the film such happiness and life as it has,
because the tragedy of Albert Nobbs is that there can be no happiness in her
life. The conditions she has chosen make it impossible’ (Roger Ebert). ‘As an
experiment in Academy Award psychology, Albert Nobbs is fascinating. As drama?
It is, forgive us, a drag’ (Wall Street
Journal).
50/50
March 12, 13
A comedy about cancer, based on a true story. A 27-year-old discovers he
has a rare form of spinal cancer and sets about coping with it. ‘A movie
handled with this kind of care is a rare gift. Refusing to hide from pain or
bow to it, 50/50 makes its own rules. It’ll get to you’ (Rolling Stone). ‘Whether you’re after a comedy-drama about cancer
or a Rogen laugh-fest with added heart, this does a remarkable job of balancing
the odds. And the laughter/tears split? Call it 70/30′ (Empire). ‘A feel-good and slightly bad comedy-drama about a young
man’s fight against cancer, aims to put a tear in your eye and a sob in your
throat, if not for long’ (New York Times).
LENNONNYC
March 13, 14
2010 documentary commemorating the 30th anniversary of John Lennon’s
death. The Yoko Ono- driven project takes an intimate look at the lives of
Lennon, Yoko Ono and their son Sean in New York City during the 1970s. ‘Features
never-before heard studio recordings from the Double Fantasy sessions and never-before-seen outtakes from Lennon in
concert and home movies that have only recently been transferred to
video. It also features exclusive interviews with Ms. Ono’ (PBS).
The British Institute
Lungarno Guicciardini, 9
tel. 055/267781
Special Event
LITTLE DORRIT 1: NOBODY’S FAULT
March 7
LITTLE DORRIT 2: LITTLE DORRIT’S STORY
March 14
‘Make money, sir. Be as rich as you honestly can, sir.’ ‘Little Dorrit is
about lucre-filthy and otherwise-so Christine Edzard’s masterful two part
adaptation of Dickens’ novel has a peculiar relevance for today. Part I
(Nobody’s Fault) tells the tale of fortunes lost and found, of secrets buried
and unearthed, from the viewpoint of Arthur Clennam (Jacobi), who in his
attempts to help the Dorrits abandons wealth and is brought to The Marshalsea,
a debtors’ prison. Part II (Little Dorrit’s Story) relates the same story through
the eyes of Little Dorrit herself (Pickering), the dutiful daughter of the
‘Father of The Marshalsea’ (Guinness), who forms a deep love for the oblivious
Clennam. In the first part the powerful momentum of the narrative is broken by
abrupt shifts back in time, but in the second the events ingeniously begin to
overlap. Besides the excitement of the story, the chief delight of this epic
production lies in the superb performances, which manage to convey Dickens’
penchant for the grotesque while suggesting the inner life that many critics
deny exists in the novel. Impressive camerawork and Verdi’s music help make the
six hours roll by far too quickly’ (Time
Out). ‘Certainly Dickens, a discursive fellow to begin with, had plenty to
rail against in this romantic diatribe-unreasoning laws, social injustice, slum
landlords, religious fanatics, greedy arbitrageurs, lazy bureaucrats, the
Industrial Revolution. And while these complaints remain eternal,
writer-director Christine Edzard might have set some priorities. She hasn’t
carved away the didactics to leave a clean dramatic skeleton. She’s stretched
three hours’ worth of story into six yawning hours, and compounded the tedium
with her impoverished cinematic style. And we had such great expectations, too’
(Washington Post). Take your pick.
