As French romcom ‘The Tasting’ arrives at Chichester Cinema, this talk will look back at some of the films, both vintage and contemporary, from around the world in which booze has played a part.

From the very early days of cinema to the latest releases, the use and misuse of alcohol has featured regularly. To accompany the new French romcom ‘La Dégustation’ (‘The Tasting’), a talk will sample the films that place alcohol at the centre of the narrative, either as the luxury tipple of choice, or the demon drink. Former drinks trade journalist Sandy Guthrie will provide a cocktail of clips to show how wine, beer and spirits can fuel a story or act as a metaphor in films from around the world, whether historical films or contemporary dramas and comedies. Whether it is ‘Whisky Galore!’ or a tale from the vineyards of France, this tasting session will provide a few surprises, some classic vintage films and almost certainly leave the audience pining for a glass of something or other.

100m inc Q&A

Sat 15 Feb 10:00 - In the Auditorium

La Dégustation

A very enjoyable wine-based romantic comedy about two awkward singles who form an unlikely couple and inadvertently find love.

Jacques (Bernard Campan) is divorced and runs a small wine shop on the verge of bankruptcy in a small French town. Hortense (Isabelle Carré) is also single, full of life and eager to find true love. One day she walks into his store looking for a good drop of wine to share with a group of homeless people that she regularly cooks for, and before too long she has signed up for a tasting workshop at Jacques’ store. The road to romance though, is not exactly smooth, especially when both of them are harbouring secrets – and nursing past hurts. Carré ('L'Enfant de Personne') and Campan ('Tous Inconnus') are both César award-winning actors and have convincing on-screen chemistry for an unlikely couple. Just like a good wine, ‘The Tasting’ has a lasting finish. (Subtitles)

France 2023 Ivan Calbérac 92m

Director Robert Zemeckis (‘Forrest Gump’, ‘Back to the Future’) brings a mind-bending, visually inventive story to life, adapting Richard McGuire’s acclaimed graphic novel. Known for pushing cinematic boundaries, Zemeckis explores time, memory and the idea of “home” in an experimental, emotionally charged way.

The film stars Tom Hanks and Robin Wright as multiple characters across different eras, all connected to the same ordinary room over centuries. From the distant past to the far future, moments of love, loss and everyday life unfold within these four walls, each scene adding new layers to the meaning of place and belonging. With seamless transitions between time periods and captivating visual effects, ‘Here’ creates a moving, almost surreal experience that celebrates life’s fleeting, interconnected moments. Zemeckis’s latest work is a cinematic puzzle, blending the familiar and the extraordinary in a way only he can.

USA 2024 Robert Zemeckis 98m

Oscar favourite for Best Film. This is a visually arresting drama that tells the story of ambition, art and survival in the aftermath of World War II, exploring the life of a visionary architect as he seeks to leave his mark on postwar America.

László Toth (Adrien Brody) is a Hungarian architect who emigrates to America with his wife Erzsébet (Marion Cotillard), in search of a fresh start and creative freedom. As Toth’s career takes off, he faces the dark intersections of art and politics, grappling with personal sacrifice and ethical compromises. With stunning cinematography that mirrors the stark and monumental style of brutalist architecture, ‘The Brutalist’ is both a character study and a meditation on art’s power and cost. Corbet’s ambitious storytelling and the film’s haunting aesthetic make this an unforgettable cinematic experience.

USA/Hungary 2024 Brady Corbet 205m

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

A musical drama directed by Barry Jenkins (‘Moonlight’) that sees a lost cub meet a sympathetic lion named Taka, and their chance meeting setting in motion an expansive journey of a group of misfits searching for their destiny.

‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ enlists Rafiki to relay the legend of Mufasa to young lion cub Kiara, daughter of Simba and Nala, with Timon and Pumbaa lending their signature schtick. Told in flashbacks, the story introduces Mufasa as an orphaned cub, lost and alone until he meets a sympathetic lion named Taka - the heir to a royal bloodline. This is a prequel to ‘The Lion King’ story we all love, set in the pride lands of Tanzania. Aaron Pierre voices Mufasa, a lion who grows up to become the future king and the father of Simba, and Kelvin Harrison Jr. voices Taka, who later becomes known as Scar.

USA 2024 Barry Jenkins 120m

Karumen Kokyo ni Kaeru

A city girl storms a quiet rural village in this iconic light-hearted comedy, which endures as one of Kinoshita Keisuke’s most beloved films.

Just after WWII, in a rural mountain village, the arrival of a girl (Takamine Hideko) and her friend (Kobayashi Toshiko) attracts curiosity from the locals. The girl’s name is Okin, and although originally a village girl, she claims she has now become an artistic dancer in Tokyo going by the stage name of Carmen. The principal of the village school (Chishu Ryu from ‘Tokyo Story’), who considers himself a champion of the arts, is overjoyed to learn that his small village produced such an artist. However, it turns out that Carmen is not a true artistic dancer, but rather a stripper. This film was Japan’s first ever feature produced in full colour, and in Takamine Hideko, had an actress that was loved by many era-defining Japanese filmmakers.

Japan 1951 Kinoshita Keisuke 86m

A beautifully made drama exploring the complex dynamics of a sprawling family near the wartime border with Germany.

The lush and breathtaking beauty of the Alps, filmed with painterly grace under natural light from frigid winter to redemptive spring, provides the physical and emotional backdrop for Maura Delpero’s visionary film. In the last days of WWII, we see a series of dramatic, consequential events after the arrival of deserting Sicilian soldier (Giuseppe De Domenico). Including a romance with Lucia (Martina Scrinzi). This was a richly deserving winner of the 2024 Grand Jury prize at the Venice film festival. It is a richly compassionate, emotional and detailed drama of family secrets in wartime Italian countryside, in the manner of Ermanno Olmi or the Taviani brothers. It is wonderfully acted with unaffected naturalism by its cast of professionals and newcomers and plays an extravagant pizzicato on the audience’s heartstrings. (Subtitles)

Italy 2024 Maura Delpero 119m

NT Live

Three-time Olivier Award-winner Sharon D Clarke is joined by Ncuti Gatwa (‘Doctor Who’, ‘Sex Education’) in this joyful reimagining of Oscar Wilde’s most celebrated comedy.

Thu 20 Feb 19:00

Sun 23 Feb 14:30

Legendary British filmmaker Mike Leigh skilfully presents a tragicomic study of human strengths and weaknesses.

Reunited with Leigh for the first time since Oscar-nominated ‘Secrets and Lies’, the astonishing Marianne Jean-Baptiste plays Pansy, a woman wracked by fear, tormented by afflictions and prone to raging tirades against her husband, son, and anyone who looks her way. Meanwhile, her easy-going younger sister (Michele Austin), is a single mother with a life as different from Pansy's as their clashing temperaments. After ‘Mr. Turner’ (2014) and ‘Peterloo’ (2018) Leigh returns to the contemporary world with a fierce, compassionate, and often darkly humorous study of family and the thorny ties that bind us. Marianne Jean-Baptiste delivers what is sure to be one of the best performances of the year, in this stunning film full of heart and compassion.

UK 2024 Mike Leigh 97m

During the 1972 Munich Olympics, an American sports broadcasting crew finds itself thrust into covering the hostage crisis involving Israeli athletes.

After another day of Mark Spitz winning swimming gold medals, gunshots are heard at the Olympic Village, just a few blocks away from ABC’s temporary headquarters. The broadcast team includes the executive in charge Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard); smart and testy head of operations Marvin (Ben Chaplin); local German translator Marianne (Leonie Benesch); and young producer Geoff (John Magaro), meant to cover an uneventful day of boxing and volleyball, who winds up landing on something much more significant. The film details all the logistical hurdles the team needed to scale so they could capture the crisis as it happened, relying on massive TV cameras, smuggled 16mm film stock, a slew of walkie talkies and plenty of ingenuity. Even more importantly, the movie tackles the tough questions faced by several hardworking newsmen - and one vital female translator - as they dealt with a situation in which many human lives hung in the balance. The film focuses mainly on the coverage of the situation, not really concerning itself with the politics behind it – it can be compared to Spielberg’s ‘The Post’. (Some subtitles)

Germany 2024 Tim Fehlbaum 91m

In this psychological thriller, two young women of religion are drawn into a game of cat-and-mouse in the house of a strange man.

Hugh Grant is arguably delivering career-best work here as the sinister Mr. Reed, a theologist who engages in a riveting game of matching wits and beliefs with Sisters Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Paxton (Chloe East), two Mormon missionaries, who visit his seemingly humble abode with the initial intention of converting him. ‘Heretic’ brings an incredibly sharp religious thriller script to life through a chilling and charismatic performance by Grant. Most of the movie's horror and tension is achieved through dialogue and conversations about faith and power. It's provocative, divisive and challenges the audience to question their own convictions when it comes to faith.

USA 2024 Scott Beck & Bryan Woods 110m