Simply delightful in every sense of the word - a widowed cleaning lady in 1950s London falls madly in love with a couture Dior dress, and decides that she must have one of her own.

Leslie Man Mrs Harris is a warm, hard-working cleaning lady in 1950s London, doggedly going from house to house, quietly tidying up after lives far more exciting and glamorous than hers. But when she sees a Dior dress in one of her regular client’s bedrooms, she falls in love and sets her mind on travelling to Paris to get one herself. This 60-year-old story of pursuing a dream with resolute kindness could not feel more fresh in its knowing class clash. Lesley Manville is an absolute treasure, her command of comedic pathos supreme.

2022 Hungary / UK Anthony Fabian 115m

Amidst World War I's chaos, a grieving father turns hero, leading villagers to safety while evading a relentless enemy driven by vengeance.

In a Belgian village during the tumultuous start of World War I, the Lambert family finds themselves thrust into the heart of the conflict. At the centre is Leonard (Iain Glen), a devoted husband and father who grapples with protecting his family amidst the chaos of war as German forces advance to their village. Amidst the war, a tender love story blossoms between Adrien Lambert (James Downie), Leonard's son, and Louise Janssen (Sasha Luss), a local villager. Their relationship serves as a beacon of hope and resilience in the face of adversity. With its compelling portrayal of familial bonds, love amidst chaos, and the indomitable human spirit, ‘The Last front’ will immerse audiences in a gripping tale of survival, love, and the enduring impact of war on both individuals and communities. Mesmerising, suspenseful and thrilling, this is a fine drama that shines a spotlight on a part of Europe that really hasn’t been covered very much in war movies.

Belgium 2024 Julien Hayet-Kerknawi 98m

From renegade auteur Jacques Audiard (‘A Prophet,’ ‘The sisters Brothers’) comes this audacious fever dream that defies genres and expectations.

In Mexico, a lawyer receives an unexpected offer to help a feared cartel boss retire from his business and disappear forever by becoming the woman he's always dreamed of being. Through liberating song and dance and bold visuals, this odyssey follows the journey of four remarkable women in Mexico, each pursuing their own happiness. The fearsome cartel leader Emilia (Karla Sofía Gascón) enlists Rita (Zoe Saldaña), an unappreciated lawyer stuck in a dead-end job, to help fake her death so that Emilia can finally live authentically as her true self. ‘Emilia Peréz; is art, theatre, narco-thriller and social commentary, all wrapped up into one. It's an award-worthy masterpiece and easily one of the best films of the year. Paul Guilhaume’s cinematography is masterful. (Subtitles)

France 2024 Jacques Audiard 130m

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of one of the best and most ambitious films of the 21st Century, we present this 4K remaster that sees a team of explorers travel through a wormhole in space in an attempt to ensure humanity's survival.

In Earth's future, a global crop blight and second Dust Bowl are slowly rendering the planet uninhabitable. NASA physicist Professor Brand (Michael Caine) is working on plans to save mankind by transporting Earth's population to a new home via a wormhole. But first, Brand must send former NASA pilot Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) and a team of researchers through the wormhole and across the galaxy to find out which of three planets could be mankind's new home. Staggeringly beautiful, bafflingly complex, this is proper event cinema.

USA 2004 Christopher Nolan 169m

The story of how a young Donald Trump started his real-estate business in 1970s and '80s New York with the helping hand of infamous lawyer Roy Cohn.

Donald Trump (Sebastian Stan), eager to make his name as a hungry second son of a wealthy family in 1970s New York, comes under the spell of Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong), the cutthroat attorney who would help create the Donald Trump we know today. Cohn sees in Trump the perfect protégé -- someone with raw ambition, a hunger for success, and a willingness to do whatever it takes to win. Both actors, especially Jeremy Strong, are gripping in a coming-of-age story that portrays the younger Trump somewhat sympathetically, though he loses his soul as he learns to imitate Cohn’s tactics. Can be compared to the Frankenstein tale in which the mad doctor creates a monster and then loses control of it.

USA 2024 Ali Abbasi 120m

A story of ambition, blackmail and desire with a dazzling anti-hero at its dark heart, all brought together by a delicious performance by Ian McKellen as a catty theatre critic in 1930s London.

Jimmy Erskine (McKellen) is the most feared and famous theatre critic in 1930s London, saving his most savage takedowns for Nina Land (Gemma Arterton), an already unsure leading lady. He takes pleasure in ritually tearing her down, a practice that has further eroded her fragile sense of confidence. As a gay man forever at the mercy of laws that prohibit his very existence, Jimmy is living life on the edge, indulging in park sex with strangers while showboating his flamboyance in writing. But when his newspaper’s proprietor dies and his son (Mark Strong) takes over, Jimmy may need to turn to Nina for help. As the three become entangled in a whodunnit wrapped in a Faustian pact, their strange triangle winds tighter and tighter to devastating effect for all those caught in the deadly web of blackmail and betrayal. McKellen makes Jimmy simultaneously despicable, understandable and wholly entertaining, whilst Arterton is also a stand-out, as she skilfully navigates how a stage actress tries to overcome personal demons and self-doubt. Supporting cast also includes Romola Garai, Claire Skinner and the always impressive Lesley Manville. This is a whodunnit wrapped in a Faustian pact which winds tighter and tighter.

UK/USA 2023 Anand Tucker 95m

Clint Eastwood is back in the director’s seat, telling us about a family man who while serving as a juror in a high-profile murder trial finds himself struggling with a serious moral dilemma.

Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult) is driving late at night and has potentially hit a deer that was in the road. A year later he is called for jury duty about a murder case that he realizes may have a connection to his “deer” run-in. He finds himself struggling with a serious moral dilemma…one he could use to sway the jury verdict and potentially convict - or free - the accused killer.  The cast also includes Toni Collette, Oscar winner J.K. Simmons (‘Whiplash’), and Kiefer Sutherland. Collette and Hoult reunite on the big screen 22 years after playing mother and son in ‘About a Boy’. This is rumoured to be Eastwood’s final film.

USA 2024 Clint Eastwood 157m

Cillian Murphy plays a father who witnesses Ireland’s church’s abusive workhouses for unwed mothers in an absorbing Dickensian story based on recent history.

Christmas 1985. Devoted father and coal merchant Bill Furlong (Murphy) discovers disturbing secrets kept by the convent in his town, along with some shocking truths of his own. The film reveals truths about Ireland's Magdalene laundries - horrific asylums run by Roman Catholic institutions from the 1820s until 1996, ostensibly to reform "fallen young women." Adapted from the Booker Prize nominated novel by Claire Keegan, Cillian Murphy's outstanding acting – as has become the norm – anchors this moving film.

Ireland/Belgium 2024 Tim Mielants 98m

We kick off our five-film Art of Action season with Buster Keaton’s classic, ‘The General’.

Keaton plays Johnny Gray, a Southern railroad engineer who loves his train engine (the General) almost as much as he loves Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack). After the opening shots of the Civil War are fired at Fort Sumter, Northern spies steal the General (and, unwittingly, Annabelle), switching the story from drama and romance, to adventure mixed with Keaton's trademark deadpan humour as he uses every means possible to catch up to the General, thwart the Yankees and rescue his darling Annabelle. As always, Keaton performs his own stunts, combining his prodigious dexterity, impeccable comic timing, and expressive body language to convey more emotion than the stars of any of the talkies that were soon to dominate cinema.

USA 1927 Buster Keaton 79m

★★★★★ Daily Mail

Barbican

Hailed as 'the ultimate Broadway musical from the golden age’, ‘Kiss Me, Kate’ is a simple love story - about two people who just can't stand each other!

Sun 17 Nov 12:30

Wed 20 Nov 17:15

Presented as a companion to the Pallant Gallery exhibition ‘Dora Carrington Beyond Bloomsbury’ and the Chichester Evening Arts Society Talk ‘Dora Carrington: The Tragic Muse of Bloomsbury’.

Painter Dora Carrington (Emma Thompson) develops an intimate but extremely complex bond with writer Lytton Strachey (Jonathan Pryce). Though Lytton is a homosexual, he is enchanted by the mysterious Dora and they begin a lifelong friendship that has strangely romantic undertones. Eventually, Lytton and Dora decide to live together, despite the fact that the latter has fallen in love with military man Ralph Partridge (Steven Waddington), whom she plans to marry. Benefits from a gorgeous Michael Nyman (‘The Piano’) score.

UK 1995 Christopher Hampton 121m

De Nos Frères Blessés

With his second feature, writer-director Hélier Cisterne recreates the tragic true story of a young communist worker devoted to the struggle for Algerian independence.

Fernand Iveton (Vincent Lacoste) became the only Algerian of European background to be executed as a political prisoner by the French authorities during Algeria’s War of Independence. He left behind a loving wife and adoptive son. Moving smoothly between Paris and Algiers, Cisterne plunges us into the heart of a conflict that continues to resonate in contemporary France, North Africa and beyond, providing a chilling reminder of colonial tyranny, as well as a hopeful example of a man who chose humanity over politics and profit. Cast also includes Vicky Krieps and Jules Langlade. The film benefits from a very passionate script along with two main actors who exude conviction. (Subtitles)

France 2022 Hélier Cisterne 95m

Julie Zwijgt

Julie is a star player at an elite tennis academy. When her coach falls under investigation and is suddenly suspended, all of the club's players are encouraged to speak up. But Julie decides to keep quiet.

Julie (Tessa van den Broeck) dedicates her life to tennis, her sport, her training and her career. When her coach is suspended, rumours start spreading and voices, other than Julie’s, are heard. Belgian director, Leonardo Van Dijl, follows her each step of the way, always keeping the right distance. “I wanted Julie to inspire. There's a uniquely emancipatory, rebellious energy in Julie's decision not to speak, as it compels the film to respect her pace and not bow to external pressures”, Van Dijl noted. Sometimes silence is louder than words. Cast includes Ruth Becquart, Koen De Bouw, Claire Bodson and Laurent Caron. ‘A tense, absorbing film of silences and absences, of difficult terrain skirted around, of subjects avoided’ - The Guardian. (Subtitles)

Sweden / Belgium 2024 Leonardo Van Dijl 97m