FILM GROUP 2021

June

Corpus Christi (MA15+) Poland
1hr 56mins - Sub-titled

Thursday 17th June: 7.30pm
Friday 18th June: 2:00pm

Director: Jan Komasa

2020 ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEE - BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
Inspired by true events, Jan Komasa's multi award-winning drama CORPUS CHRISTI is a remarkable tale of morality and redemption, about a charismatic young ex-convict who fooled an entire Polish village by falsely posing as a priest.

20-year-old Daniel (Bartosz Bielenia, a major screen discovery) has found God whilst incarcerated in a youth detention centre, but his criminal record excludes him from entering the seminary. At the end of his sentence he is sent to a small town to take up a position in a woodworking factory, but thanks to a stolen collar is mistakenly taken as the parish's new clergyman. It's a seemingly God-given opportunity for transformation, and Daniel - whilst wholly unconventional in his approach (and after a shaky start) - takes to the pulpit with a fervour and compassion that his predecessor has clearly lacked.

Meanwhile, the arrival of this magnetic young preacher seems to be the spark needed for the town to acknowledge a recent tragedy that has affected the entire community, one that few have been able to speak about. But not everyone is open to his approach, and Daniel learns the hard way that following the road to salvation can also lead one astray…

Astutely navigating themes of faith, virtue and forgiveness, Komasa's disciplined and unflinching direction is exponentially enhanced by the simply jaw-dropping lead performance from young Bielenia. Widely hailed by critics and audiences as the stand-out discovery of the 2019 Venice and Toronto Film Festivals, CORPUS CHRISTI became a box office sensation in Poland, overtaking Pawel Pawlikowski's 'Cold War' by achieving over 1.35 million admissions. It demands - and deserves - equal international attention.

"It's been a while since the choice of what movie to see has been so clear. 'Corpus Christi' is that movie. Just go." - Paul Byrnes, THE SMH/THE AGE

July

Heroic Losers (M) Spain
1hr 57mins - Sub-titled

Thursday 15th July: 7.30pm
Friday 16th July: 2:00pm

Director: Sebastian Borensztein

Featuring an all-star Argentinian cast (including Ricardo Darín and his real-life son Chino on screen together for the first time), the new comedy from Sebastián Borensztein (Chinese Take-Away) is a rousing tale of working-class solidarity and collective revenge, based on a novel by Eduardo Sacheri (The Secret In Their Eyes).

The year is 2001, and Argentina is hitting the lowest point in its great depression. His glory days far behind him, retired soccer star Fermín (Darín senior) now runs a service station in a sleepy provincial town. Hoping to pull his family and their community out of decline, Fermín seeks to convert some abandoned grain silos into a viable storage facility. He convinces friends to invest in the cooperative, but is railroaded by a conniving bank manager into placing their cash into a savings account just as the banks are about to be frozen by the government, rendering their money useless and their plans quashed.

For a time things seem only to get worse, until rumours spread of a secret depository containing the cooperative's pilfered cash and much, much more. With Fermín as their Robin Hood-esque leader, the group conspires to infiltrate the cache, but it's going to take some serious resolve, a little inspiration, and a lot of luck to pull off this honest-person heist. Revenge has never felt so satisfying - or sweetly ironic.

"A crowdpleaser. Generous, cathartic entertainment. What really gives 'Heroic Losers' a boost is its expression of national character, the way it attaches itself to this rousing fantasy to score one for the downtrodden" - Scott Tobias, VARIEY

Evening and Matinee screenings

Film Group movies are screened third Thursday of the month at 7:30pm. If the evening screening doesn't suit, you can catch the movie the next day at 2:00pm.