Perfect Days

Dir: Wim Wenders
Japan 2023 | 125 minutes | Cert PG
Japanese with English subtitles

Hirayama lives a life of blissful contentment, spending his days balancing his job as a caretaker of Tokyo’s public toilets with his passion for music, literature, and photography. His structured routine is slowly interrupted by unexpected encounters that force him to reconnect with his past.

Mubi wrote “Kôji Yakusho won Best Actor in Cannes for this heart-warming, Oscar®-nominated drama from Wim Wenders, who lends his humanist gaze to the inhabitants of his beloved Tokyo.

Charged with a superb soundtrack of classic rock and pop, Perfect Days finds beauty and serenity in the most unexpected places”

“an achingly lovely and unexpectedly life-affirming picture” — Wendy Ide, The Observer

Fallen Leaves

Dir: Aki Kaurismäki
Finland 2023 | 81 minutes | Cert 12
Finnish with English subtitles

In modern-day Helsinki, Ansa and Holappa, two lonely souls in search of their first love, meet by chance in a local karaoke bar. However, the pair’s path to happiness is beset by numerous obstacles — from lost phone numbers to mistaken addresses, alcoholism, and a charming stray dog.

“A ‘quiet masterpiece’ and possibly Kaurismäki's greatest film” – Time Magazine

Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry

Dir: Elene Naveriani
Georgia 2023 | 110 minutes | Cert 15
Georgian with English subtitles

Etero, a 48-year-old woman living in a small village in Georgia, never wanted a husband. She cherishes her freedom as much as her cakes. But her choice to live alone is the cause of much gossip among her fellow villagers. Unexpectedly, she finds herself passionately falling for a man, and is suddenly faced with the decision to pursue a relationship or continue a life of independence. Etero must grapple with her feelings and decide how to find her own path to happiness.

“a beguiling tale of midlife love from Georgia” — Wendy Ide, The Guardian

Robot Dreams

Dir: Pablo Berger
Spain 2023 | 103 minutes | Cert PG
No Dialogue

An animated tragicomedy film from 2023 written and directed by Pablo Berger. A Spanish-French co-production, it is based on the 2007 comic of the same name by Sara Varon. The film follows an unusual friendship between a dog and a robot in New York City in 1984.

The Settlers

Dir: Felipe Gálvez Haberle
Chile 2023 | 97 minutes | Cert 15
Spanish with English subtitles

In 1893, Segundo, a Chilean mestizo; MacLennan, an English army captain; and Bill, an American mercenary; embark on an expedition on horseback to delimit and reclaim the lands that the State has granted to José Menéndez. What appears to be an administrative expedition turns into a violent hunt for Onas, the natives of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago.

“a fierce, stark, almost primitive parable of cruelty and power” — Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

Banel and Adama

Dir: Ramata-Toulaye Sy
Senegal 2023 | 87 minutes | Cert 12A
Pilaar (Fulani) with English subtitles

An elemental love story with the air of a parable. A young Senegalese couple’s love is tested when their village is struck by drought in a visually rich debut from Ramata-Toulaye Sy.

“one of those pictures to which the phrase ‘every frame a painting’ might apply” — Glen Kenny, RogerEbert.com

Made in England

Dir: David Hinton
UK 2024 | 133 minutes | Cert 12A
English

Directed by two-time BAFTA and Emmy winning David Hinton, this is Martin Scorsese’s personal and moving look at two of British cinema’s greatest filmmakers.

Producing, writing, and directing, Powell and Pressburger created some of great classics of the British golden age including The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus, A Matter of Life and Death and The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp.

Brought to life with a treasure trove of rare archival material from the personal collections of Powell, Pressburger and Scorsese, the story is told using diaries, audio recordings, home movies, personal snapshots and of course the films themselves.

***** — The Guardian

The Taste of Things

Dir: Tran Anh Hung
France 2023 | 135 minutes | Cert 12
French with English subtitles

Both passion and food simmer and smoulder in this gorgeous culinary romantic drama from Tran Anh Hùng, the award-winning director of The Scent of Green Papaya. In a warm and busy kitchen of a 19th-century French manor house, gourmet Dodin and his cook Eugénie prepare a lavish four-course meal. Together they have perfected their craft, working in a magical, almost wordless harmony. More than Dodin’s cook, Eugénie is his love, but she won’t marry him.

“so rich and romantic it will leave you woozy” — Timeout

The Eight Mountains

Dir: Felix Van Groeningen, Charlotte Vandermeersch
Italy 2022 | 147 minutes | Cert 12A
Italian with English subtitles

An epic journey of friendship and self-discovery set in the breathtaking Italian Alps, The Eight Mountains is a landmark cinematic experience as intimate as it is monumental, as deep as it is expansive. Based on the award-winning novel by Paolo Cognetti, the film is about the relationship between Pietro (Luca Marinelli) and Bruno (Alessandro Borghi), who first meet as children, yet despite their connection, the purity of nature and the demands of society both threaten to drive the men to pursue different, possibly irrevocably divergent paths on the vertiginous terrain of life.

Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.

Linoleum

Dir: Colin West
USA 2022 | 101 minutes | Cert 12
English

Cameron Edwin (Jim Gaffigan), the host of a failing children’s science TV show called ‘Above and Beyond’, has always had aspirations of being an astronaut. Surreal events begin unfolding around him and he slowly starts to piece these events together to ultimately reveal that there’s more to his life story than he once thought.

“a heartfelt and touching movie about finding joy and fulfillment in life.” — Alan Ng, Film Threat