Comandante

Edoardo De Angelis presents a gripping wartime drama that has captivated audiences at international film festivals. Set during World War II, the story brings a unique perspective on heroism, honour, and survival at sea.

The film centres on Salvatore Todaro (Pierfrancesco Favino), the real-life Italian submarine commander known for his moral courage and fierce loyalty. While navigating perilous waters, Todaro makes the fateful decision to rescue survivors of a ship he was ordered to sink, defying military protocol and risking the lives of his own crew. Favino delivers a commanding performance as Todaro, a man driven by principles in a brutal time of conflict. De Angelis crafts a beautifully shot lavish period piece that captures both the intensity of underwater warfare and the inner resolve of a man who dares to follow his conscience. This is also a call for tolerance, fully attuned to Italy’s current political climate. (Subtitles)

Italy 2023 Edoardo De Angelis 120m

Die Theorie von Allem

Set in 1962 at a quantum mechanics conference in an isolated lodge nestled amid the towering landscapes of the Swiss Alps, this is the story of a gifted young physicist, his curmudgeonly mentor, and an enigmatic jazz pianist who knows things about our wunderkind scientist that he's never told another living soul.

German director Timm Kröger - himself also a cinematographer - films his tale with an eye for the majestic natural beauty that surrounds our characters, effectively evoking the paranoid postwar era. Driven by astonishing twists and improbable coincidences, the film unravels a captivatingly complex chronicle with brain-tickling suspense. A comedy, a fantasy, a war drama, a spy thriller and an exercise in old-fashioned style at the same time. (Subtitles)

Germany 2024 Timm Kröger 118m

A riveting historical thriller that recreates one of the largest manhunts in FBI history, where an agent believed that the crimes he was investigating were not the work of financially motivated criminals, but rather a group of dangerous domestic terrorists.

For over a year, a series of bold daylight bank robberies and armoured car heists leaves law enforcement baffled and the public panicked throughout the Pacific Northwest. As the attacks become increasingly violent, FBI agent Terry Husk (Jude Law) becomes convinced that the robberies are the work of a gang that plans to use the loot to finance an armed uprising against the U.S. government. As the militia builds a war chest of over $4 million, Husk pursues the malevolent racist Bob Mathews (Nicholas Hoult) to a final bloody standoff that will go down in U.S. history. Intelligent, gripping and smouldering, this is a real-life thriller that Hollywood rarely puts on the big screen anymore. Described as ‘rigorously authentic and briskly compelling’ by Variety and ‘a nail-biter from start to finish’ by The Hollywood Reporter, this brooding, suspenseful thriller has Jude Law leading the cast with confident authority, and his combination with his icy-eyed adversary Hoult keeps us gripped until the end.

USA/UK/Canada 2024 Justin Kurzel 114m

Luca Guadagnino’s latest film is a highly anticipated adaptation of William S. Burroughs’ novel Queer. Known for his lush, atmospheric storytelling, Guadagnino brings a haunting, visually rich style to this intense, introspective narrative.

Following Lee (Jeremy Allen White), a troubled American expat in Mexico City during the 1950s, Queer explores the highs and lows of his obsessive pursuit of Allerton (Jacob Elordi), a younger man who remains enigmatic and distant. As Lee grapples with inner turmoil, his relationship with Allerton becomes a vehicle for his own self-discovery, bitterness, and, ultimately, self-destruction. Guadagnino’s direction combines lush visuals and moody cinematography to evoke Lee’s disorienting, passionate journey, turning Burroughs’ narrative into something deeply cinematic. Darkly evocative and emotionally charged, Queer captures both the grimness and beauty of Burroughs' original work while showcasing Guadagnino’s unique vision.

Italy/USA 2024 Luca Guadagnino 112m

An offbeat, deeply emotional romance that brings together the magnetic pairing of Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield. Known for his knack for heartfelt stories with a twist, director John Crowley (‘Brooklyn’) crafts a love story that’s as funny as it is poignant, exploring the strange intersections of fate, memory and connection.

The film follows two seemingly mismatched characters, Eleanor (Pugh) and Louis (Garfield), whose lives unexpectedly intertwine and change each other in profound ways. Their relationship unfolds in fragmented glimpses of joy, heartbreak and fleeting moments that capture the ups and downs of modern love. This is a quirky, beautifully shot exploration of what it means to find - and perhaps lose - “the one”. This is indie romance at its most moving and inventive.

UK 2024 John Crowley 115m

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

A woman pauses her career to be a stay-at-home mom, but soon her domesticity takes a surreal turn.

Amy Adams plays a mother who feels like she’s lost herself after leaving her job as an artist to be at home full time. Her husband (Scoot McNairy) isn’t much help, cluelessly stumbling through the small amount of parenting he manages to contribute. Heller skilfully portrays the repeated routines of motherhood – breakfast, lunch, dinner, bath time, bedtime – as both meaningful and exhausting. And in the midst of parenting chaos, the mother becomes convinced she’s turning into a dog. The film is very funny, a little gross and an unforgettable role for Adams who is obviously having a great time.

USA 2024 Marielle Heller 98m

Winner of Best Director in the Certain Regard section of Cannes 2024, Rungano Nyoni brings us a tale where a young Zambian woman confronts long-buried family secrets.

On an empty road in the middle of the night, Shula (Susan Chardy) stumbles across the body of her uncle. As funeral proceedings begin around them, she and her cousins bring to light the buried secrets of their middle-class Zambian family. This is a daring picture that blends fantasy, stylised drama and elements of black comedy to explore the societal pressures that rewrite the truth. Nyoni is the Zambian-Welsh film-maker who in 2017 had a smash with her debut, the witty and distinctive misogyny fable ‘I Am Not a Witch’, and certainly a name to keep looking out for. (Some subtitles)

UK 2024 Rungano Nyoni 95m

A Japanese reality TV star left naked in a room for more than a year, tasked with filling out magazine sweepstakes to earn food and clothing.

This is the incredible true story of aspiring comedian Tomoaki Hamatsu,

who after witnessing how others who participated in TV contests became overnight celebrities, decided to enter one himself. He ended up living for 15 months inside a small room, naked, starving and alone... and completely unaware that his life was being broadcast on national TV to over 17 million viewers a week. This is a snapshot of a time when reality television was in its infancy, and no one paid much attention to the ethics of extremity for the sake of entertainment. We see how Hamatsu has tried to deal with the aftermath of the experiment, and cannot help but feel a lot of empathy for a person who was put through hell just to make millions of people laugh. (Some subtitles)

UK 2023 Clair Titley 93m

A teacher takes a job at an elite school and forms a strong bond with five students - a relationship that eventually takes a dangerous turn. 

At an international boarding school, an unassuming, yet rigorous, Miss Novak (Mia Wasikowska) joins the teaching staff to instruct a new class on "conscious eating." Her impressionable teenage students each have their own reasons for joining the class - to improve fitness, reduce their carbon footprint, or get extra credit. Although early lectures focus on mindful consumption, Miss Novak's discussions soon become increasingly disordered and extreme. As a few devoted pupils fall deep under her cult-like tutelage, they are given a new, even more sinister goal to aspire to - joining the ominous "Club Zero”. An often disturbing but always engaging film. (Some subtitles)

Austria/UK 2023 Jessica Hausner 110m

Pablo Larraín returns with a stirring and unconventional biopic that delves into the tumultuous life of Maria Callas, one of opera’s most iconic figures. Known for his introspective storytelling, Larraín offers an intimate look at the singer’s artistry, vulnerability and the immense pressures she faced.

Angelina Jolie stars as Maria Callas, capturing both her fierce passion on stage and her complex personal struggles off it. As Callas battles between her demanding career and longing for personal happiness, Larraín’s narrative unfolds with sensitivity, exploring her relationships, insecurities and the sacrifices she made for her art. The film juxtaposes grand, beautifully staged opera scenes with quieter moments that reveal Callas’s inner turmoil, creating a portrait that is as powerful as it is poignant. With Larraín’s nuanced direction and Jolie’s evocative performance, ‘Maria’ is both a tribute to a legendary voice and a study of artistic endurance.

USA/Chile 2024 Pablo Larraín 115m

When a Cardinal is tasked with leading one of the world's most secretive and ancient events, selecting a new Pope, he finds himself at the centre of a conspiracy that could shake the very foundation of The Church.

Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is tasked with running this covert process after the unexpected death of the beloved Pope. Once the Catholic Church’s most powerful leaders have gathered from around the world and are locked together in the Vatican halls, Lawrence uncovers a trail of deep secrets left in the dead Pope’s wake, secrets which could shake the foundations of the Church. This is a skilfully crafted film with stunning cinematography and a beautiful score that takes many surprising turns, culminating in a climactic reveal that will leave audiences astonished. The A-list cast also includes Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow and Isabella Rossellini.

UK/USA 2024 Edward Berger 120m

A Hundred Years of Dracula at the Movies 

With Robert Eggers’ new take on ’Nosferatu’ reaching the big screen this month, this talk will look right back to its cinematic beginnings in the silent era.

What accounts for the enduring popularity of Dracula? Is he truly a reflection of our darkest selves, a Freudian mirror by which to peek inside the soul and recoil at what we see?  The last 100 years have seen some of cinema’s greatest directors tackle the peculiar horror of this most famous of vampire stories. With Eggers’ reboot screening this month, Nick Johnston-Jones and John Harte of the Cinema Education Team explore the genesis of this 1922 masterpiece of German Expressionism, reaching back into the origins of the vampire legend and the cinematic legacy of Bram Stoker’s creation. Bring your garlic, sharpen your stakes, and prepare for 90 minutes in the company of everyone’s favourite Count!

100m inc Q&A

Tickets £7.50

Sat 18 Jan 10:30 - In the Auditorium

Rocco e i Suoi Fratelli

Visconti's masterpiece, an epic melodrama of social migration and moral decay, is now beautifully restored and better than ever!

Rosaria Parondi (Katina Paxinou), an impoverished Italian mother, moves to Milan with her close-knit family of five sons to find opportunity in the big city. A heated rivalry begins when two of Rosaria's boys - Rocco (Alain Delon) and Simone (Renato Salvatori) - fall for Nadia (Annie Girardot), a beautiful sex worker with whom each has an affair. As soft-spoken Rocco and brutal Simone both pursue Nadia in their own way, tension between them threatens to tear the family apart. Visconti has made a film with a sheer passion that makes most current filmmaking look feeble. It is a richly textured and profoundly affecting drama, resoundingly alive with characters, and a leader in post-WWII Italian cinema.

Italy 1960 Luchino Visconti 179m + short interval

Royal Opera & Ballet

Four women: four curious love stories. Juan Diego Flórez leads a fantastic cast in Offenbach's dream-like opera. This fantastic new production from the ROB will make for an interesting comparison with the recent Met production shown in September.

Sun 19 Jan 14:00

This film made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective shows the destruction of the occupied West Bank's Masafer Yatta by Israeli soldiers and the alliance which develops between the Palestinian activist Basel and Israeli journalist Yuval.

For half a decade, Basel Adra, a Palestinian activist, films his community of Masafer Yatta being destroyed by Israel’s occupation. He began filming the at the age of 15 in the name of evidence. That evidence put forth by the directors – Adra, Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham, Palestinian filmmaker and farmer Hamdan Ballal and Israeli cinematographer and editor Rachel Szor – is straightforward, un-sensationalized and completely infuriating. For its many images of despair, the film still offers a stirring vision for what could be – Israelis and Palestinians working together in the name of justice, collaborating toward a world where both are free. ‘No Other Land’ won best documentary at the 2024 Berlin film festival and is essential viewing. (Subtitles)

Palestine/Norway 2024 B. Adra, H. Ballal, Y. Abraham, R. Szor 92m

To commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day 2025, we bring back one of the best and most moving films of 2023, which sees Anthony Hopkins and Johnny Flynn play a real 20th Century hero – Nicholas Winton.

Winton was a well-to-do stockbroker who, at the start of WWII, is so horrified by unfolding events that he heads off to Prague to do anything he can to help the terrified young refugees fleeing Hitler. Everyone thinks he is crazy – including his mother, played by Helena Bonham-Carter. But he somehow manages to organise visas and trains to get hundreds of them to safety in the UK; what has since become known as the Kindertransport. Winton was sometimes called the British Oskar Schindler, and the parallels go beyond their acts of extreme kindness: both men were completely consumed by the task they undertook and never able to focus on the people that they did save, only those that they failed to save.

UK 2023 James Hawes 110m

In the lead up to Holocaust Memorial Day (27 Jan), we present this story of mismatched cousins who reunite for a tour through Poland to honour their beloved grandmother.

David Kaplan (Jesse Eisenberg) is a married Manhattan tech worker with a young son, who decides to bid the family goodbye and take a week-long road trip to Poland with his screwup cousin Benji (an off-the-charts great Kieran Culkin), whose default mode happens to be, obnoxious. Their beloved, recently deceased grandmother yearned for them to see her native Poland and understand how she grew up in a nurturing Jewish culture and escaped a Nazi death camp. The adventure takes a turn when the odd-couple's old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history. This is a film that manages to be ruefully perceptive and laugh-out-loud funny, often at the same time: and that’s not easy.

USA/Poland 2024 Jesse Eisenberg 90m

Lahn Mah

A scheming young man quits work to care for his dying grandmother, motivated by her fortune, and scheming to win her favor before she dies.

After Grandma Amah (Usha Seamkhum) is diagnosed with cancer, lazy college dropout M. (Putthipong "Billkin" Assaratanakul) commits himself to caring for her after he fails to make a name for himself as a video game streamer. Unfortunately for him, it turns out that winning Grandma's favour is no easy feat. We are shown the apathy of the younger generation and the sardonic wit of the older one through frequent hilarious exchanges. The dialogue is biting, crisp, smart and frequently heartbreaking. The film has been a blockbuster success throughout South East Asia, and should also be very well received on our shores.

Thailand 2024 Pat Boonnitipat 125m

Robert Eggers reimagines Murnau’s silent horror classic ‘Nosferatu’ in this atmospheric, haunting adaptation. Known for his meticulous historical detail and eerie storytelling, Eggers brings a fresh intensity to this legendary vampire tale.

Set in 19th-century Europe, the film follows young real estate agent Thomas Hutter (Bill Skarsgård) who travels to a remote, eerie castle to assist Count Orlok (Willem Dafoe) with a property purchase. Hutter soon discovers that Orlok is no ordinary client but an ancient vampire intent on spreading darkness. As Hutter fights to save his beloved Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp) from Orlok’s deadly influence, the story unfolds with an eerie beauty and mounting tension. Eggers’ use of shadow, historical set design and unsettling imagery brings this Gothic horror to life in vivid, spine-chilling detail, paying homage to the original film while carving out its own haunting identity. Also stars Nicholas Hoult and Aaron Taylor-Johnson.

USA/Germany 2024 Robert Eggers 122m

Exhibition on Screen

200 years after its opening and a century after acquiring its first Van Gogh works, the National Gallery is hosting the UK’s biggest ever Van Gogh exhibition. Van Gogh is not only one of the most beloved artists of all time, but perhaps the most misunderstood.

Sat 25 Jan 16:00

Mon 27 Jan 13:15 (PLUS Q&A)

Wed 29 Jan 13:15

Met Opera

American soprano Angel Blue headlines this grandest of grand operas features an epic Ancient Egyptian backdrop for what is in essence an intimate and tragic love story.

Sun 26 Jan 14:00

Thu 30 Jan 19:00

A drama-doc which tackles some challenges the world faces, through a time traveller who risks her life to change the course of history and save the future of humanity.

It's the year 2073, and the worst fears of modern life have been realized. Surveillance drones fill the burnt orange skies and militarized police roam the wrecked streets, while survivors hide away underground, struggling to remember a free and hopeful existence. In this ingenious mixture of visionary science fiction and speculative nonfiction (inspired by Chris Marker's iconic 1962 featurette ‘La Jetée’), Academy Award-winner Asif Kapadia (‘Amy’) transports us to a future foreshadowed by the terrifying realities of our present moment. Samantha Morton plays a survivor besieged by nightmare visions of the past - a past that happens to be our present, visualized through contemporary footage interconnecting today's global crises of authoritarianism, unchecked big tech, inequality and global climate change. ‘2073’ is an urgent, unshakable vision of a dystopic future that could very well be our own. This genre-bending film combines real archival footage and original interviews with a fictional dystopian narrative to issue a dire warning about impending global disaster.

UK 2024 Asif Kapadia 85m plus recorded Q&A (30m)

Director James Mangold (‘Walk the Line’, ‘Ford v Ferrari’) takes on the enigmatic life of Bob Dylan in a fresh, unconventional biopic. Starring Timothée Chalamet as the iconic folk singer, the film explores Dylan’s transformative journey through fame, identity and reinvention during the 1960s.

Following Dylan’s rise from a Greenwich Village poet to a global music icon, we see the chaos, ambition and uncertainty of a young artist challenging himself and his audience. Chalamet embodies Dylan’s charisma and intensity, while scenes with real-life performances and legendary figures - from Joan Baez to Johnny Cash - anchor the story in music history. Mangold’s direction blends period detail with a restless energy, making this an intimate, raw look at an artist in constant evolution.

USA 2024 James Mangold 141m

Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Colson Whitehead, ‘Nickel Boys’ chronicles the powerful friendship between two young African American men navigating the harrowing trials of reform school together in Florida.

Elwood Curtis's (Ethan Herisse) college dream shatters alongside a two-lane Florida highway. Bearing the brunt of an innocent misstep, he's sentenced to the netherworld of Nickel Academy, a brutal reformatory sunk deep in the Jim Crow South. He encounters another ward, the seen-it-all Turner (Brandon Wilson). The two teens strike up an alliance: Turner dispensing fundamental tips for survival, Elwood, clinging to his optimistic worldview. Backdropped by the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement, Elwood and Turner’s existence appear worlds away from Rev. Martin Luther King's burnished oratory. Despite Nickel's brutality, Elwood strives to hold onto his humanity, awakening a new vision for Turner. The cinematography and production design are exceptional. This is a survivor’s coming of age story: tough, disillusioned, brilliant!

USA 2024 RaMell Ross 140m

Michael Gracey (‘The Greatest Showman’) returns with a deeply personal and visually striking biopic chronicling the life of pop icon Robbie Williams.

Based on the true story of the meteoric rise, dramatic fall and remarkable resurgence of British pop superstar Robbie Williams, one of the great entertainers of modern time. The film is uniquely told from Robbie's perspective, incorporating surreal musical sequences (one medley on London’s Regent Street is jaw-dropping) and candid reflections, while capturing his signature wit and indomitable spirit. It follows his journey from childhood, to being the youngest member of chart-topping boyband Take That, through to his unparalleled achievements as a record-breaking solo artist - all the while confronting the challenges that stratospheric fame and success can bring. This wildly ambitious musical biopic also features Steve Pemberton and Alison Steadman.

Australia/UK 2024 Michael Gracey 134m

Sir Cameron Mackintosh Presents…

As the season of performance events of musicals produced by Cameron Mackintosh continues at the cinema, this talk will explore their origins in literature and cinema.

‘Miss Saigon’, ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ and ‘Les Misérables’ - filmed live performances of all these stage musicals are being screened at Chichester Cinema. This talk, by Andrew Vance of the Chichester Cinema Education Team, will look back at the origins of these stories, including both the literature and the film versions on which they were based and the extent to which they influenced the creatives behind the productions. ‘Les Misérables’ is now in its 40th year and Cameron Mackintosh takes his maxim from the autobiography of Charles B Cochran - “Advice to aspiring young producers: never put a show on for audiences: always put it on for yourself and do it as best you can. Only then, maybe, will an audience come to see it.” For Cameron Mackintosh this has worked very successfully.

100m inc Q&A

Tickets £7.50

Sat 1 Feb 10:30 - In the Auditorium

To complement the new biopic on Maria Callas, we are delighted to welcome back to Chichester director Tony Palmer to introduce and Q&A his documentary on the great soprano.

This film, made at the request of Maria Callas herself, was started in 1973, but wasn't finished until 12 years later. It includes eye-witness accounts by Franco Zeffirelli, Tito Gobbi, Luchino Visconti, Carlo Maria Giulini, Giuseppe Di Stefano and many others who knew her well. It tells a story that was previously unknown, about a great singer who had been brought low by love, and whose career was unbelievably short when considered against her extraordinary worldwide reputation. Maria - just a woman, who often spoke of Callas in the third person, in trouble, asking, begging sometimes, for our understanding and our love. She deserves it, because there was no greater singing actress in our time. And she was only 53 when she died.

UK 1978 Tony Palmer 92m

Pigen Med Nålen

A fictionalised true crime hypnotic thriller based on a real Danish case from 1921, shot in high-contrast expressionist monochrome, and nominated for the 2024 Cannes Palme d’Or.

Copenhagen 1919: Young factory worker Karoline (Vic Carmen Sonne) is struggling to survive in post WWI Copenhagen, when she finds herself unemployed, abandoned and pregnant. She meets Dagmar (Trine Dyrholm), a charismatic woman running an underground adoption agency, helping mothers to find foster homes for their unwanted children. With nowhere else to turn, Karoline takes on the role of a wet-nurse. A strong connection is formed between the two women, but Karoline's world shatters when she stumbles upon the shocking truth behind her work. Scandi noir gets a 1910s twist in this darkly gripping, unsettling tale about a woman struggling to find love and a sense of morality. Denmark’s submission to the 2025 Foreign Film Oscar category is harrowing in places, but seriously impressive. (Subtitles)

Denmark 2024 Magnus von Horne 115m