Directed by Guillermo del Toro, The Devil’s Backbone (2001) is a haunting and poetic ghost story set during the final days of the Spanish Civil War. Blending supernatural horror with historical tragedy, the film tells the story of Carlos, a young boy who arrives at a remote orphanage and discovers that it harbours dark secrets—both living and dead.

Rather than relying on jump scares, del Toro crafts a slow-burning atmosphere filled with melancholy and tension. The ghost at the center of the story is not merely a source of fear, but a symbol of innocence lost and the lingering scars of war. The orphanage itself feels alive—isolated, fragile, and overshadowed by an unexploded bomb sitting ominously in the courtyard.

Visually, the film is rich with warm, dusty tones that contrast with its chilling subject matter. The performances, particularly by the young cast, feel natural and emotionally grounded. At its heart, The Devil’s Backbone is less about ghosts and more about cruelty, betrayal, and the vulnerability of childhood in times of conflict.

Subtle, atmospheric, and deeply human, the film stands as one of del Toro’s most poignant works and a powerful precursor to his later masterpiece, Pan’s Labyrinth.

All We Imagine as Light is a hushed, luminous film that lets emotion surface through atmosphere rather than plot. Set in Mumbai, Payal Kapadia follows the quiet lives of three women, capturing loneliness, intimacy, and resilience in moments that feel almost overheard. The film’s strength lies in its restraint: gentle performances, dreamlike imagery, and a soundscape that blurs memory with the present. It’s less a conventional narrative than a mood you slowly sink into—tender, political without being didactic, and deeply human. A film to be felt as much as watched.

Reviewers say ‘Dog Day Afternoon’ is celebrated for Al Pacino’s compelling performance and Sidney Lumet’s direction. It explores themes like crime, media influence, and social issues. The film is praised for its realistic depiction, strong characters, and blend of drama and humour. However, some find it overly long and uneven. Despite mixed opinions on pacing and length, it is generally regarded as a significant work in American cinema, capturing the 1970s spirit.

Some people felt that Mike Leigh’s films Mr. Turner and Peterloo represented the best in his career in cinema. He finally had a high budget and his artistic craft met them perfectly.  Hard Truths is a step back from this scale back into the social dramas he used to make, although this feels totally new for him at the same time.  If you have a dark sense of humour, you will find it extremely funny when she is nasty and yelling at everyone. They put her in one environment after another, almost like Mr Bean but she causes mayhem everywhere she goes. The furniture store, the doctor, the grocery store. I loved these scenes because the fouler she gets, the funnier the movie becomes.  It is such a simple and ingenious idea.  Yet outside of these comic vignettes, the film is extremely bitter.   It is so well acted and well staged. The supporting characters around her bring the depth in their reaction against her forming a film where we are drawing our own meaning. It is another solid classic in his filmography that it is worth revisiting.

Often movies have a magical quality as you’re viewing them. Some will demand your undivided attention, others will hypnotize your senses, leaving them to simply wash over you with their exuberance and classic filmmaking procedures. In the case of John Crowley’s “Brooklyn,” the latter is certainly the case. There comes a moment in the film when you are taken in by the film’s classic style filmmaking, and tenderly thought-provoking performances from its cast. Director Crowley, in partnership with Oscar-nominated scribe Nick Hornby, create a beautiful and sensitive love story that is everything a Nicholas Sparks film adaptation wishes it could be. With a vibrant turn from Academy Award nominee Saoirse Ronan at the helm, “Brooklyn” utilizes all of its tools in its arsenal to convey a potent message of love and family.

Every day life, however ‘real’ and gritty it may be, is rarely portrayed on film and was certainly a rarity in the 1950’s. In Europe however, there was a movement in film-making that embraced this realism and searched for the deeper meaning in the ‘here and now’. This is about the most basic and miniscule portion of the meaning behind the French New Wave of the 1950’s – films that explored the filmmaker’s surroundings, and eventually became an inspiration for filmmakers around the world. Francois Truffaut’s ‘The 400 Blows’ is one of the most well-known films of this movement, and has been embraced and hailed as one of the greatest films of all time.

Every frame a picture

It’s a bit of a cliché but it is literally true in this case! Here are some interesting facts about Loving Vincent:

The movie consists of 65,000 frames, each one of which is an oil painting.

The movie took 100 painters to complete.

Over 130 paintings by Van Gogh were used to create the film, the vast majority of which without needing any significant adaptation.

All this resulted in a magical film, which looks so good that it hardly matters what the actual story of the film is. But that is a good one too. Delving into Van Gogh’s final days, an initially reluctant man becomes more and more involved trying to make sense of the painter’s troubled life.

Now if that doesn’t want to make you come to our AGM night on 16 May, then nothing will!

Jollities

We’ve had a run of rather sad, intense and gloomy films, so it’s high time we had some unadulterated fun. And fun we’ll have with The Birdcage! Thanks to Robin Williams of course, who’s always good for a laugh. But if you’re one of those who think a little of him goes a long way, then don’t worry, for he’s outshone in hilariousness by Nathan Lane, who’s the one really bringing the goods. As is so often the case, though, talent shines more brightly when tempered by restraints, so playing second fiddle helps Williams a lot in this film.

Right, so we have Lane and Williams sparkling off the screen and who knew that our next film night would turn out to be our little homage to Gene Hackman. But there it is.

So yes, do come and join us on the 25^th of April for an evening of jollity!

Well, there goes that dream…

The Banshees of Inisherin is a most beautiful film in so many ways: it captures the beauty of the west coast of Ireland, it brings Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson together again after their In Bruges adventure.  It has the first tapping into his sensibility and vulnerability, and the second showing off his actual fiddling talents.  It leads us into a Bergmanesque daydream of islands and silence, and it lets us ponder the messiness of relationships.  How we have responsibilities to our family and friends but also to ourselves and how we balance this, which choices we make.  Do we dump our frustration with our lives onto others or do we just go away and in that way choose our own destiny?

Don’t worry though, there’s no real need to ponder all this, just come to us on the 4^th of April and enjoy this wonderful film.  And have your heart go out to Dominic, played by Barry Keoghan, who turns a part which could be seen as some light relief in amongst the darker scenes, into the most heartbreaking role of all.

It’s about love

Our March film is Still Alice, starring the wonderful Julianne Moore. It’s dealing with a heavy subject: early onset Alzheimer’s, but as it is an American film, it is sort of done in a vaguely smooth way. There is really only one raw moment (I don’t know you), but blink and you’ll have missed it.

Julianne Moore shines in what must be one of her best film roles ever. Moving from confident, successful woman to a woman whose life is falling apart. Her film daughter Kristen Stewart also needs a special mention here, in a beautifully supporting role.

So all in all there’s plenty to enjoy and/or appreciate, so don’t let the subject matter scare you off. Just come to us on the 14^th of March and if nothing else, let’s all just have a bit of a cry together. And then we will all have our spirits lifted up again by the real message of this film: it’s about love.