Season 26, Autumn 2024 – Cork Cine Club

THE TEACHERS’ LOUNGE [Germany], Thursday 26 September, 8pm

By JamieHomepage, Season 26, Autumn 2024

Online booking is appreciated. Click here to buy tickets for THE TEACHERS’ LOUNGE.

Carla [Leonie Benesch] is a dedicated, idealistic young teacher in her first job at a German secondary school. Her relaxed rapport with her first year students is put under stress when a series of thefts occur at the school. A staff investigation leads to accusations and mistrust among outraged parents, opinionated colleagues, and angry students. Caught in the middle of these complex dynamics, Carla tries to mediate—but the more she tries to do everything right, the more desperate her position becomes.

Director İlker Çatak creates a riveting work about school as a microcosm of society. Playing out like a thriller, it is a study in power dynamics, with themes of truth, justice, racism, respect, and children’s rights that demonstrate how individuals are worn down between entrenched positions.

2024 Oscar nominee, Best International Feature Film.

A masterclass in playground politics…Benesch is superb, her face a glazed mask of panic as the shockwaves resulting from her actions shake the very foundations of the school. – The Observer

Gripping…a tense social parable. – Variety

Writer-director Ílker Çatak pulls it off, aided by excellent performances all around and two truly superb ones: Leonie Benesch as an idealistic new teacher and a heart-breaking Leo Stettnisch as her troubled student. – Associated Press

An exemplary film that strikes an emotional and thoughtful chord. – Screen Rant

96% Rotten Tomatoes

THE TEACHERS’ LOUNGE [DAS LEHRERZIMMER]
Germany, 2023 | Language: German | 1 h 38 min | Cert: 12a
Director: İlker Çatak
Cast: Leonie Benesch, Leo Stettnisch, Michael Klammer, Rafael Stachowiak, Eva Löbau
Foreign language films are subtitled.
Cert: CLUB for over 18s.
A short Irish film will be shown before the feature.

BOOKING
Tickets: €8.50/€7 concession.
Click here to book online.
Cork Cine Club absorbs the cost of online booking fees.
Online booking closes at 6pm on the night of the film.
Pay at the door by card or cash. Exact change is appreciated.

July 26, 2024

Love0

MONSTER [Japan], Thursday 3 October, 8pm

By JamieHomepage, Season 26, Autumn 2024

Online booking is appreciated. Click here to buy tickets for MONSTER.

Mysterious and deeply moving, Monster is a breath-taking piece of cinema from master director Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters).

When her young son starts to behave strangely, single mother Saori knows that something is wrong. Discovering that one of his teachers might be responsible, she storms into the school demanding answers. But as the story unfolds through the eyes of mother, teacher and child, shocking truths begin to emerge.

A timely tale of family, false impressions, and ultimately hope, Kore-eda’s typically sensitive
work features powerful performances and a sublime score from the Oscar-winning composer Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Clarity gradually arrives and the film, like all Kore-eda’s best work, submerges itself in heartfelt humanism and quiet understanding. – The Times [UK]

The performances drawn from child actors are perfect, while their section of the film takes place in colours so bold and vivid it feels as if only children see the world that way. Thanks to Kore-eda, so can we. – The Financial Times

Monster is Hirokazu Kore-eda channelling Christopher Nolan: twisty storytelling in the service of wise empathy. – Empire

Winner, Cannes Film Festival 2023, Best Screenplay

96% Rotten Tomatoes

MONSTER
Japan, 2023 | Language: Japanese | 2 h 05 min | Cert: 12A
Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda
Cast: Sakura Andō, Eita Nagayama, Sōya Kurokawa, Hinata Hiiragi
Foreign language films are subtitled.
Cert: CLUB for over 18s.

BOOKING
Tickets: €8.50/€7 concession.
Click here to book online.
Cork Cine Club absorbs the cost of online booking fees.
Online booking closes at 6pm on the night of the film.
Pay at the door by card or cash. Exact change is appreciated.

July 26, 2024

Love0

SLOW [Lithuania], Thursday 10 October, 8pm

By JamieHomepage, Season 26, Autumn 2024

Online booking is appreciated. Click here to buy tickets for SLOW.

When dancer Elena meets sign language interpreter Dovydas their instant connection bodes well for a romantic relationship. But when Doyvdas reveals he’s asexual, their dynamic changes as both try to find a way to be together while fulfilling their respective needs.

This Sundance award-winner is a modern love story about two people exploring how to build their own kind of intimacy.

Winner, Sundance World Cinema Dramatic Directing Award 2023

Slow is terrific – an honest and affecting portrait of an atypical romance. – The Guardian ★★★★

A supremely confident piece of filmmaking that negotiates the tricky terrain of non-typical sexualities with sensitivity, humour and a refreshing lightness of touch. – Screen International

The immediate, intimate chemistry between Grinevičiūtė and Cicėnas, and Kavtaradze’s careful use of close-ups, reminds us what it looks like when two perfectly matched stars ignite cinematic magic. – RogerEbert.com

Intimate and touching… a tender portrait of love and companionship, of what our bodies yearn and want in others, and how we could do well to upend the stories we tell each other about living and loving another. – Variety

92% Rotten Tomatoes

SLOW [TU MAN NIEKO NEPRIMENI – You Don’t Remind Me of Anything]
Lithuania, 2023 | Language: Lithuanian | 1 h 48 min | Cert: CLUB
Director: Marija Kavtaradze
Cast: Greta Grineviciute, Kestutis Cicenas, Pijus Ganusauskas
Foreign language films are subtitled.
Cert: CLUB for over 18s.

BOOKING
Tickets: €8.50/€7 concession.
Click here to book online.
Cork Cine Club absorbs the cost of online booking fees.
Online booking closes at 6pm on the night of the film.
Pay at the door by card or cash. Exact change is appreciated.

July 26, 2024

Love0

SHAYDA [Iran/Australia], Thursday 17 October, 8pm

By JamieHomepage, Season 26, Autumn 2024

Online booking is appreciated. Click here to buy tickets for SHAYDA.

An Iranian woman living in Australia, Shayda finds refuge in a women’s shelter with her frightened six-year-old daughter, Mona. Having fled her husband, Hossein, and filed for divorce, Shayda struggles to maintain normalcy for Mona. Buoyed by the approach of Nowruz (Persian New Year), she tries to forge a fresh start with new and unfettered freedoms. But when a judge grants Hossein visitation rights, he re-enters their lives, stoking Shayda’s fear that he’ll attempt to take Mona back to Iran.

Drawn from personal experiences, Iranian-Australian filmmaker Noora Niasari’s powerful debut feature is a beautifully crafted, poetic vérité portrayal of courage and compassion, anchored by a heart-rending performance by Zar Amir Ebrahimi (2022 Cannes’ best actress award winner for Holy Spider). Ebrahimi captures the vulnerability and confliction, but also the radiant soul of an Iranian woman who boldly reclaims her human rights: to divorce her husband, keep her child, and dress as she chooses.

Tension is skilfully sustained throughout and the drama has a pressurising effect, the air intensifying in a long, slow rise towards crescendo, Niasari never quite releasing the pressure valve and never taking the easy route. – The Guardian

In her first narrative feature, Niasari, who based the story in part on her own experiences, demonstrates an astounding control of pacing and mood. – New York Times

Made with a striking sensitivity to mood and moment, Shayda marks a strong debut for Iranian-Australian writer-director Noora Niasari, who mines her own experience and that of her mother for a gripping yet tender suspense drama. – Washington Post

A tug-of-war between hope and fear that gives Ebrahimi the platform to carve out a completely three-dimensional character. – RogerEbert.com

One of the most masterful debuts of a filmmaker that I’ve seen in a long time. – Film Week

The greatest asset of Shayda is its unmistakably feminine spirit of perseverance, one that runs wild and free in this promising debut. – Variety

97% Rotten Tomatoes

SHAYDA
Iran/Australia, 2023 | Language: Persian/English | 1 h 57 min | Cert: CLUB
Director: Noora Niasari
Cast: Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Osamah Sami, Leah Purcell, Jillian Nguyen, Mojean Aria, Selina Zahednia, Rina Mousavi
Foreign language films are subtitled.
Cert: CLUB for over 18s.

BOOKING
Tickets: €8.50/€7 concession.
Click here to book online.
Cork Cine Club absorbs the cost of online booking fees.
Online booking closes at 6pm on the night of the film.
Pay at the door by card or cash. Exact change is appreciated.

July 26, 2024

Love0

AMA GLORIA [France/Cape Verde], Thursday 24 October, 8pm

By JamieHomepage, Season 26, Autumn 2024

Online booking is appreciated. Click here to buy tickets for ÁMA GLORIA.

100% Rotten Tomatoes

Six-year-old Cléo lives in Paris with her widowed father and her beloved nanny, Gloria, who is her main source of comfort and stability. When Gloria has to return to Cape Verde permanently to care for her own children following her mother’s death, she invites Cléo to visit for the summer.

There, Cléo discovers not only a different culture but that Gloria has her own family and that the world – especially Gloria’s world – does not revolve around Cléo. It’s a harsh lesson and one that both of them have to face as the consequences of their changed dynamic plays out.

Enriched by charming animated sequences and a deeply moving performance by six-year-old Louise Mauroy-Panzani, Ama Gloria is a tender, vibrant drama.

It’s tempting to read a colonial narrative in Cléo’s reluctant surrender of the only maternal figure she has ever known. But Louise Mauroy-Panzani’s uncanny performance ensures we’re solely fixated on the child’s psychodrama. – Irish Times ★★★★

Ama Gloria is a small-scale film, barely over 80 minutes, but it leaves an almighty impression. Everything is so unforced and effortlessly convincing. – The Guardian

The considerable power of Ama Gloria lies not in its take on colonial conscience, nor even in its insights into the complex economical and emotional dynamics of the child-nanny bond. It is in its unmatched portrait of one brave little heart. – Variety

It is a small film, but one whose subtle touch and generous spirit proves captivating. – Screen International

AMA GLORIA
France/Cape Verde, 2023 | Language: French/Kabuverdianu | 83 mins | Cert: CLUB
Director: Marie Amachoukeli
Cast: Louise Mauroy-Panzani, Ilça Moreno Zego, Abnara Gomes Varela, Fredy Gomes Tavares, Arnaud Rebotini, Domingos Borges Almeida
Foreign language films are subtitled.
Cert: CLUB for over 18s.
A short Irish film will be shown before the feature.

BOOKING
Tickets: €8.50/€7 concession.
Click here to book online.
Cork Cine Club absorbs the cost of online booking fees.
Online booking closes at 6pm on the night of the film.
Pay at the door by card or cash. Exact change is appreciated.

July 26, 2024

Love0

ROSE [Denmark], Thursday 7 November, 8pm

By JamieHomepage, Season 26, Autumn 2024

Online booking is appreciated. Click here to buy tickets for ROSE.

Set in the late 1990s, Rose is the story of two Danish sisters and how their relationship is challenged on a coach trip to Paris. Inger is schizophrenic, and lives in a care home coddled by her overprotective mother. Ellen sees their holiday as an opportunity to reconnect, and to find out if Inger might be able to live more independently. When Inger announces her struggles with mental health to the group, the sisters are faced with pity from some and discrimination from others.

On arrival in Paris, it soon becomes clear that Inger has a hidden agenda concerning a figure from her past, ultimately involving the entire group in her hunt for answers.

Based on the director’s own family history, Rose is a film about love and care for each other, in spite of our differences, adroitly balancing humour and drama. Sofie Gråbøl inhabits Inger, bringing her to life and presenting all her complications, impulses and anxiety with grace.

Carried by a brilliant lead performance from Sofie Gråbøl, it’s a fine depiction of mental health and a heartening espousal of our shared humanity. – The Independent [UK]

A good road movie is expected to do more than just cross distance; by film tradition, it also involves personal growth and revelations. Few films have fulfilled those expectations better than this Danish comedy-drama. – Far Out Magazine

Balancing out the bleaknes is [the director’s] compassion and his depiction of the tenderness, rather than the prejudice, that Inger’s condition elicits from others. – The Times [UK]

The writer-director based the film in part on his own experiences, and the movie keenly illustrates how stigma surrounding mental illness hurts neurodivergent people and their families. – The New York Times

92% Rotten Tomatoes

ROSE
Denmark, 2022 | Language: Danish | 1 hr 46 mins | Cert: CLUB
Director: Niels Arden Oplev
Cast: Sofie Gråbøl, Lene Maria Christensen, Anders W Berthelsen, Soren Malling
Foreign language films are subtitled.
Cert: CLUB for over 18s.

BOOKING
Tickets: €8.50/€7 concession.
Click here to book online.
Cork Cine Club absorbs the cost of online booking fees.
Online booking closes at 6pm on the night of the film.
Pay at the door by card or cash. Exact change is appreciated.

July 26, 2024

Love0

RADICAL [Mexico], Thursday 14 November, 8pm

By JamieHomepage, Season 26, Autumn 2024

Online booking is appreciated. Click here to buy tickets for RADICAL.

Sergio (Eugenio Derbez, who also starred in Oscar winner CODA) is the new teacher at a poor school in a Mexican border town. Ravaged by negligence, corruption and violence, neither the town nor the school offer many options for the lost youth. Frustrated by a general sense of apathy, Sergio turns to drastic methods to gain the students’ interest and help them realise their potential. However, he soon finds out that he’ll have to overcome obstacles he never saw coming.

Based on the story of real-life teacher Sergio Juárez Correa, Radical is an uplifting and optimistic film about fighting the status quo. Featuring a wonderful central performance from Derbez, the film won the audience Festival Favourite Award at Sundance.

Hardly radical filmmaking. But like teaching, if it reaches just one struggling student or one burned-out teacher, the film argues, it could well change the world. – Washington Post

Boosted by lovely performances from its young actors, writer-director Christopher Zalla’s sometimes-creaky feel-good film is most affecting when it explores how some children can have their future taken away only too soon. – Screen International

Christopher Zalla is never other than smart and sensitive, while drawing fine performances from his young cast — a sweet echo of this model relationship between teacher and student. – Financial Times

Radical isn’t so much an irresponsibly magical against-the-odds yarn as a truthful one, in which a well-intentioned outsider can only go so far in protecting underprivileged students from certain grim paths. – Variety

94% Rotten Tomatoes

RADICAL

Mexico, 2023 | Language: Spanish | 2 hr 05 mins | Cert: CLUB
Director: Christopher Zalla
Cast: : Eugenio Derbez, Daniel Haddad, Jennifer Trejo, Mia Fernanda Solis, Danilo Guardiola
Foreign language films are subtitled.
Cert: CLUB for over 18s.

BOOKING
Tickets: €8.50/€7 concession.
Click here to book online.
Cork Cine Club absorbs the cost of online booking fees.
Online booking closes at 6pm on the night of the film.
Pay at the door by card or cash. Exact change is appreciated.

July 26, 2024

Love0

SLEEP [South Korea], Thursday 21 November, 8pm

By JamieHomepage, Season 26, Autumn 2024

Online booking is appreciated. Click here to buy tickets for SLEEP.

What if the place you thought was safest suddenly became a battleground for your sanity?

Young couple Hyun-su and Soo-jin are about to become new parents when, one night, heavily pregnant Soo-jin wakes up from a deep slumber to her husband’s first act of parasomnia [disruptive sleep-related disorders].

In the weeks and months that follow, Hyun-su’s behaviour gets increasingly more disturbing, transforming him into someone unrecognisable once he falls asleep, with no recollection of what he gets up to. The couple try multiple approaches to combat his condition, but nothing seems to work.

After their child is born Hyun-su’s actions grow more grotesque and bizarre, and Soo-jin begins to fear the worst. Desperate and sleep-deprived, she turns for help to a shaman, someone connected to the supernatural world.

Debut director Jason Yu, who was the assistant director for Academy Award-winning Bong Joon Ho [Parasite], brings audiences a clever, well-crafted and genre-bending thriller that rachets up a creeping horror towards its fantastically bonkers finale. It features one of the final performances from Parasite star Lee Sun-kyun, who tragically died in 2023.

We end with a hectic denouement that satisfies all desire for catharsis as it makes an art of creative doubt spreading. A fine chamber piece. – The Irish Times

The sleep of reason is what’s supposed to produce monsters…but not as many as sleep deprivation. That is the awful paradox driving this elegant, intimate, gleefully brash Korean chiller from feature first-timer Jason Yu. – The Guardian

It’s an impressive first feature from Jason Yu, who is as adept at wielding the sly observational comedy of the film’s first half as he is at ratcheting up the claustrophobic tension later on. – The Observer

Despite sleepiness being part of its premise, the pacing of Yu’s film is propulsive, and the deft detours into dark comedy – especially a reveal involving PowerPoint slides – are a highlight. – Little White Lies

94% Rotten Tomatoes

SLEEP
South Korea, 2023 | Language: Korean | 1 hr 35 mins | Cert: 15-A
Director: Jason Yu
Cast: Lee Sun-kyun, Jung Yu-mi
Foreign language films are subtitled.
Cert: CLUB for over 18s.
A short Irish film will be shown before the feature.

BOOKING
Tickets: €8.50/€7 concession.
Click here to book online.
Cork Cine Club absorbs the cost of online booking fees.
Online booking closes at 6pm on the night of the film.
Pay at the door by card or cash. Exact change is appreciated.

July 26, 2024

Love0

THE GOLDMAN CASE [France], Thursday 28 November, 8pm

By JamieHomepage, Season 26, Autumn 2024

Online booking is appreciated. Click here to buy tickets for THE GOLDMAN CASE.

November 1975, Paris. The appeal hearing of Jewish far-left activist Pierre Goldman is set to begin. Sentenced to life imprisonment for four armed robberies, one of which resulted in the death of two women, Goldman pleads not guilty to the murder charges. The massively covered court proceedings transform Goldman into a romantic figure and a hero of the intellectual left, even as the relationship with his young attorney Georges Kiejman frays.

Ever the agitator for his ideals, the elusive and mercurial Goldman throws his own trial into chaos, risking a death sentence. The Goldman Case paints a psycho-pathological portrait of a militant revolutionary, but also of a society torn apart by patterns of racism and injustice that are still virulent today.

The action is situated in the 1970s, but the movie echoes with the debates and scars of France today. It couldn’t be more contemporary. – Guardian pick, Best European Culture of 2023

Riveting and politically relevant. – The Hollywood Reporter

The acting, the very hurling of words across a small room, drives all the paradoxical points home, with Worthalter magnetic as the mercurial Goldman – a hard man to like but also to look away from. – Screen International

Enthralling…a courtroom drama that finds equal intrigue in legal order and human chaos. – Variety

93% Rotten Tomatoes

THE GOLDMAN CASE [LE PROCÈS GOLDMAN]
France, 2023 | Language: French | 1 hr 55 mins | Cert: 12A
Director: Cédric Kahn
Cast: Ariel Worthalter, Arthur Harari
Foreign language films are subtitled.
Cert: CLUB for over 18s.

BOOKING
Tickets: €8.50/€7 concession.
Click here to book online.
Cork Cine Club absorbs the cost of online booking fees.
Online booking closes at 6pm on the night of the film.
Pay at the door by card or cash. Exact change is appreciated.

July 26, 2024

Love0

THE CRIME IS MINE [France], Thursday 5 December, 8pm

By JamieHomepage, Season 26, Autumn 2024

Online booking is appreciated. Click here to buy tickets for THE CRIME IS MINE.

Paris in the 1930s is a playground for industrial heirs and debonair architects, but the City of Lights does not shine on all. Struggling actress Madeleine and her best friend Pauline, an unemployed lawyer, live in a cramped flat and owe five months rent. Opportunity knocks after a lascivious theatrical producer who made an inappropriate advance towards Madeleine turns up dead. Madeleine stands trial for murder and ascends to decadent stardom, with Pauline serving as defence counsel and media circus ringmaster. A new life of fame, wealth, and tabloid celebrity awaits — until the truth comes out.

Adapted from a 1934 play and featuring a supporting cast including Isabelle Huppert, Dany Boon, and Fabrice Luchini, The Crime Is Mine is a rollicking farce and scabrous satire with a wily feminist edge from one of French cinema’s most chameleonic stylists, François Ozon.

Ozon, as ever, is not just having fun. He is also making mischief with the sexual politics of the plot. – The New Yorker

Ozon proves once again that he’s a master of sophisticated comedy laced with irony and drama. This is one of his most engaging films. – The Australian

As silly as Ozon’s The Crime is Mine may be, the French farce is still wildly entertaining. – RogerEbert.com

A sly slice of feminist triumph… A surprisingly wholesome amoral romp. – Screen Daily

The epitome of a comfort film, decked out in old-Hollywood nostalgia and unfolding at an auctioneer’s clip. – The New York Times

99% Rotten Tomatoes

THE CRIME IS MINE [MON CRIME]
France, 2023 | Language: French | 1 hr 42 mins | Cert: TBC
Director: François Ozon
Cast: Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Rebecca Marder, Isabelle Huppert, Fabrice Luchini, Dany Boon
Foreign language films are subtitled.
Cert: CLUB for over 18s.

BOOKING
Tickets: €8.50/€7 concession.
Click here to book online.
Cork Cine Club absorbs the cost of online booking fees.
Online booking closes at 6pm on the night of the film.
Pay at the door by card or cash. Exact change is appreciated.

July 26, 2024

Love0