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

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

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

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

★★★★★ 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

Maria Schneider's rise to fame after ‘Last Tango in Paris’ and its controversial production's impact on her life and career.

As an aspiring young actress, Maria Schneider (Anamaria Vartolomei) seemingly could not have asked for a better opportunity: co-starring alongside the legendary Marlon Brando (Matt Dillon) in the highly anticipated Last Tango in Paris. But the experience proved scarring: Schneider never entirely recovered from what she felt was a violation of her by both Brando and director Bernardo Bertolucci (Giuseppe Maggio). Drawing inspiration from Vanessa Schneider’s book about her cousin, Being Maria observes the star before, during and after she made Last Tango. The cast also includes Céleste Brunnquell and Yvan Attal, but it is Vartolomei that most impresses in Jessica Palud’s sensitive biopic. (Subtitles) We will screen ‘Last Tango in Paris’ as a companion piece to this film.

France 2024 Jessica Palud 100m

Everyone’s favourite bear Paddington returns to Peru, as he and the Browns visit his beloved Aunt Lucy. A thrilling adventure ensues when a mystery plunges them into an unexpected journey through the Amazon and beyond.

UK 2024 Dougal Wilson 103m

Ultimo Tango a Parigi

Bernardo Bertolucci’s landmark and controversial erotic film focuses on a young Parisian woman meeting a middle-aged American businessman, who demands their clandestine relationship be based only on sex.

Distraught following his wife's suicide, American hotelier Paul (Marlon Brando) becomes transfixed by the beautiful younger Frenchwoman Jeanne (Maria Schneider) when he meets her by chance at an apartment both are attempting to rent. The couple begin an extended but purely anonymous sexual relationship in which they do not even tell each other their names, but it soon becomes clear that the couple's deliberate level of disassociation cannot continue. This is a vivid exploration of pain, love and sex featuring a typically towering Marlon Brando performance. (Some subtitles)

Italy/France 1972 Bernardo Bertolucci 129m