ROGER’S FAVOURITES

Booking Ref

Jour De F Te

Jacques Tati’s ‘Jour de Fête’ is still one of the most truly delightful comedies ever made. It was expanded from his marvellous short, ‘L’École des Facteurs’ (‘School for Postmen’), made two years earlier. The majority of the film is a beautifully observed portrait of a small village as it gets ready for and enjoys its annual Bastille Day fair.

There’s not much plot, just a series of little vignettes – trying to raise a flagpole; an unspoken flirtation between the merrygo-round man and a local girl under the watchful eye of his wife; a jukebox that won’t work; paint that won’t dry – while a crookbacked old goose woman passes the odd comment. Yet it’s filled with beautiful sight gags, with the whole town, its animals and even balloons and bicycles seeming, with their uncanny comic timing, to conspire with the filmmaker.

FRANCE 1949 JACQUES TATI 70M

Wed 16 Aug 16:30 – (B&W Version) Studio Thu 17 Aug 15:45 – (Colour Version) Pic Palace

“I was immediately attracted to the silent humour of Jacques Tati many years ago. I loved the character he created in Monsieur Hulot and consider ‘Playtime’ an absolute masterpiece. Some of his films have unfortunately become a little dated, so I have gone back and selected his debut feature, which is still so fresh and imaginative. I would also have chosen a Woody Allen film, but there are already two examples elsewhere in the programme.” – RG

A Matter Of Life And Death

A classic Powell and Pressburger film in which an RAF pilot (David Niven) must argue for his life in a celestial trial.

National stereotypes are lampooned as the angelic justices squabble over his fate. In a neat reversal of expectations, the heaven sequences are black and white, while Earth is seen in technicolour. Daring cinematography mixes including time-lapse images, and even toys with background ‘time freezes’ 50 years before ‘The Matrix’. Kim Hunter also stars in what is one of the undoubted jewels of British cinema.

UK 1946 MICHAEL POWELL AND EMERIC PRESSBURGER 106M

Sun 13 Aug 12:45 – Studio

Fri 25 Aug 10:45 – Studio

“I have always loved the extraordinary imagination of Powell and Pressburger, the predecessors to Ken Russell, who might have been another favourite, but we already have ‘The Music Lovers’ elsewhere in the programme. I had the privilege of inviting Michael Powell to Chichester for a day school on censorship more than 40 years ago. This was much before Martin Scorsese promoted Powell – such a charming man – unlike Ken Russell, with whom I also tried to have a Q&A at one of our Festivals. He was irascible and mischievous but such fun!” – RG

Sat 19 Aug 16:15 – Studio

Sun 20 Aug 13:15 – Pic Palace

Merci Pour Le Chocolat Night Cap

Claude Chabrol’s thriller, starring a superb Isabelle Huppert, is based on Charlotte Armstrong’s novel ‘The Chocolate Cobweb’. In Chabrol’s hands it becomes a vehicle for the unsettling, disturbed qualities of Huppert, who has been one of his most important muses over the years. She plays Mika, married to a world-class concert pianist André (Jacques Dutronc). She is the owner of a Swiss chocolate factory obsessive about making the family’s drinking chocolate, and it soon becomes clear that Mika is damaged goods. When her husband acquires a piano student (Anna Mougalis), Mika escalates her secret agenda. Huppert is fascinating throughout in this sinewy and, clever film, evoking shades of Hitchcock and Clouzot.

FRANCE 2000 CLAUDE CHABROL 101M

“Of all the French New Wave directors that emerged in the ‘60s I enjoyed Claude Chabrol the most, although he was the least revolutionary. I think he was less appreciated than his contemporaries. He is definitely the French Hitchcock, and not surprisingly wrote the first book on Hitch (in French) long before the latter became fashionable as an “auteur”. Many of Chabrol’s films are shamefully unavailable to license, but ‘Merci pour le Chocolat’ is one of his best.” – RG

The Vanishing Spoorloos

Rex and Saskia, a young couple in love, are on vacation. They stop at a busy service station and Saskia is abducted. After three years and no sign of Saskia, Rex begins receiving letters from the abductor. This disturbing 1988 Dutch thriller revolves around the simple premise of a young Dutch couple who go on holiday, only for the woman to mysteriously disappear. Cut to three years later, and the man is still trying desperately to find out what happened to her. He (and we the audience) duly find out over the course of this riveting and disturbing thriller. (Subtitles)

NETHERLANDS 1988 GEORGE SLUIZER 107M

“Practically from the beginning of the film, we know more than the husband does, and yet the more we know, the more we wonder and fear. Everything leads up to a climax that is as horrifying as it is probably inevitable. Is this a thriller or a horror film?

Tue 22 Aug 20:30 – Studio

Wed 23 Aug 13:15 – Studio

Although I am very fond of the latter genre, its films rarely scare me, but when I saw this originally in 1988, it was one of the most frightening, disturbing and creepy movies I had ever seen. There was quite a controversy about it being given only a 12 certificate, but the BBFC defended their decision not to have given it an 18 as there were no “graphic” images. More recently it has been upgraded to a 15 for video.” – RG

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