Cinema

I don't find most mainstream films (super-heros & car racing etc.) appealing. Sometimes there are good ones like Dunkirk.

I study the film reviews in Fridays papers (print and online) to get a fair idea of what films may be to my liking. The non mainstream films usually tell their story in a more drawn out / atmospheric fashion. These are shown at cinemas such as Picturehouse or Curzon or similar places, if you are fortunate to have such a place nearby.

It is certainly a lot pleasanter and cheaper watching films in non major-company cinemas, as the audiences are better behaved (no talking or eating)!

A Quiet Passion was full of wit, that it could have written by Oscar Wilde.

Manchester By The Sea was one of the Oscar nominated films. Another very good one was Lion (a true story about a young Indian boy who got separated from his brother while working at a rail station overnight). The Oscar films are shown in January & February each year.

Foreign language films are good as all the dialogue is written on the screen. I find this sometimes better to follow than English spoken films, as I can lose concentration at times. There is a very good French film on BBC 2 next Saturday called Untouchable (you would need to record or view on demand, as it's on at 1.15 am!

I don't know any of these films. I'd like to see them, there probably more interesting than the mainstream films nowadays. Some seem to be overcliched with the typical storylines.

I saw the Q&A discussion too that was very interesting! I can't remember if I've been in the National Gallery, but I've been in the two Tate museums. I have to visit sometime, the virtual tour looks good on their website.

I'd like to see more of the art house/ foreign language films. I'd like to see the films you've recommend. Where do you watch these type of films?

I intend to watch it as soon as I can.  Movies are my obsession.  I watch hundreds a year.  I don't have a TV, so every night I watch one or two movies.  I was fascinated by this project from the start.

I like Wycliffe's choices, too.  MBTS I've already seen four times.  'A Ghost Story', also with Casey Affleck, is another favourite.  'Blade Runner 2049' was a disappointment, considering that the first movie is one of my favourites.  Too long and talkie.  And, whilst I'm usually bad at understanding character motivation and plot direction, these were obvious to me from the start in this one.  One of my favourite movies that I've seen this year is 'The Accountant', starring Ben Affleck as an Aspie maths savant.

Hi Zatanna,

I adored Loving Vincent, which I  watched on the night that it was premiered at the National Gallery and broadcast to cinemas around the country. After the film there was a discussion with 2 of the actors, the producer and one of the artists. The film took over 5 years to make. The actors were filmed and then each frame (12 frames per second) was hand painted in the style of Van Gogh. The artist said she spent about 6 months painting for which amounted to 30 seconds of the film!

I find watching the so-called art house and foreign language films a very uplifting experience. Usually there are only about 20 people at these, but Loving Vincent was full. I attend alone and am usually not bothered by anyone.

Some other good films I've seen this year are Manchester by the Sea (beautiful scenes and acting), A Quiet Passion (about the poet Emily Dickenson) and A Man Called Ove (from Finland about an old man whose life turns bad when his son dies in an accident, but the film has a tremendously happy/moving ending! - I think this film is being remade in the US with Tom Hanks.