Winter Season: November 2011

Director Steve James won an Oscar for Hoop Dreams back in 1994. His new film tackles the issue of black-on-black crime in Chicago and the way it is confronted head on by a group calling themselves ‘The Interrupters’. These are not well-intentioned white social workers, but people who have had experiences that qualify them to try to intervene in potentially deadly disputes while they are happening, and be treated with respect. The most impressive of them all is Ameena Matthews, a woman of such ferocious intelligence and integrity that anyone would do their utmost to avoid her disapproval. Shown at Sundance this year, a winner at Sheffield Britdcocs, and utterly compelling viewing, it seems a strong possibility that the film will be Oscar nominated next spring. “The great strength of The Interrupters is its positivity – its belief in a better future. It trades in that most fickle of currencies: hope.” –Matt Bochenski, Little White Lies.

French director Bertuccelli’s film is located in a remote part of Queensland, where the O’Neil family makes a meagre but happy living. When her husband dies suddenly Dawn is left to manage on her own, and one of the biggest challenges is an enormous fig tree growing right next to their house. For the youngest daughter it has huge significance, but its roots are undermining the building. The Tree is a moving film about loss, grief, and family ties, anchored by the sublime Charlotte Gainsbourg, whose expressive face conveys so much of what a woman in her position might feel. Her performance is matched by that of Morgana Davies as the youngest daughter. The symbolism is impossible to ignore and is the key to our emotional rapport with the story.

The Gamekeeper saw Ken Loach reunited with both writer Barry Hines and cinematographer Chris Menges for the first time since 1969’s Kes on what could almost be a sequel. George Purse might be Billy Casper grown up and escaped the mines, although the style here – penetratingly observant of the detail of daily life - is very different from the essentially dramatic Kes. The film is a beautifully unforced and eloquent insight into the life of a man of torn loyalties, fiercely dedicated to banishing trespassers from the land of his employer yet mixing freely with the same types for a pint and a pie. The kind of political dialectic which emerged to prominence in many of Loach’s films of the ‘90s is muted here, resulting in an understated yet very engaging, and often very funny, film.

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This uplifting documentary follows the rehearsal by 40 German teenagers, none of whom have had any previous involvement with modern dance, of Pina Bausch’s Kontakthof (Contact Zone). Set in a dancehall, the piece is an uncompromising and very visceral exploration of sexual rites of passage, and the surprising thing is that these kids take it in their stride - literally. The film makes a fine companion piece to Wim Wenders’ Pina in 3D which was shooting at around the same time – that film contained almost no footage of Bausch herself whereas Dancing Dreams captures the final images of the dancer before her death in June 2009. A fitting tribute to the practice and ethos of one of modern dance’s iconic choreographers, this is essential viewing for any dance enthusiast.