Barossa Film Club

Barossa Film Club is showing a 1985 Argentinean film next Friday 16th July. “La Historia Officiall” or “The Official Story” was stars Norma Aleandro, Hector Alterio and Chunchuna Villafane. The film won an Academy Award for best Foreign Film.
In this powerful film, Director Luis Puenzo tells the story of a teacher’s awakening to conscience at the end of Argentina’s “Dirty War” of the late 70s and early 80s. As in Pinochet’s Chile, the military secret police sought to consolidate their power by routinely torturing and murdering students, political activists, opponents of the regime, and even expectant mothers. Many ended up as desaparecidos, people taken by the government and not returned. The film is about one mother’s search for the truth about her adopted daughter and her discovery brings harsh political reality very close to home.
As renowned critic Roger Ebert wrote, “The Official Story” is part polemic, part thriller, part tragedy. It belongs on the list with films like “Z” “Missing” and “El Norte” which examine the human aspects of political unrest. It is a movie that asks some very hard questions. Should Alicia search for the real mother of her daughter? Is her own love no less real? What would be “best” for the little girl?
“The Official Story” will screen on Friday at 7.30 pm at the Faith College Wine Centre, Magnolia Road, Tanunda, with the doors opening at 7 pm. Admission is free for Film Club Members, and membership is obtainable at the door. Due to covid restrictions, seating is limited and attendees must book with front-of-house Allan Pearce on 0417 002 708 or email allan_jill @bigpond.com

“The King’s Choice” (“Kongens Mai”) is a film made in 2017. Directed by Erik Poppe and starring Jesper Christensen and Anders Baasmo, it based on the true story of three dramatic days in April, 1940, when the King of Norway is presented with an ultimatum from the German armed forces: surrender or die. The Royal family is forced to flee Oslo to escape the Nazi soldiers.
Film critic Allan Turan said, “Strongly performed by unfamiliar actors and crisply directed by Norway’s Erik Poppe, “The King’s Choice” is a dramatic tale about a pivotal World War II moment, a story infused with tension and psychological conflict that’s all the more engrossing for being fresh to us. The king in question is Norway’s Haakon VII, and the choice he came to during three hectic days in April of 1940 not only determined his country’s specific fate during the war, it speaks to broader questions about the moral role of leaders, whether they be constitutional monarchs or not.As written by Jan Trygve Royneland and Harald Rosenlow-Eeg, “The King’s Choice” gives short shrift to hindsight. Its intent is to show us how difficult it is to see clearly during times of crisis, how what seems as simple as black and white today was the source of uncertainty and soul-searching when it happened.”
The film will be shown at the Faith College Wine Centre on Friday 21st May commencing at 7.30 pm (Doors open at 7 pm). Because of covid restrictions, it is necessary to book in advance, by contacting Allan Pearce on 0417002708 or email allan_jill@bigpond.com Admission is free to members and membership is obtainable at the door.

The audience enjoyed “Sunday Too Far Away”, and its portrayal of the Australian way of life 50 years ago. For its time, it was quite a hard-bitten and confronting story, showing the characters, particyularly Jack Thompson’s gun shearer, as uncompromisingly macho, particularly in front of other men. The quote which provided the title was particularly apt: “Friday he’s too tired, Saturday he’s too drunk, Sunday he’s too far way”.

Barossa Film Club presents one of the iconic Australian films, the classic 1975 “Sunday Too Far Away’, directed by Ken Hannam and starring Jack Thompson and a host of other Australian actors. This was the first film ever produced by the South Australian Film Corporation and made history by being the first Australian film selected for the Director’s Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.
The film is set on a sheep station in the Australian outback in 1955 and its action concentrates on the shearers’ reactions to a threat to their bonuses and the arrival of non-union labour. Acclaimed for its understated realism of the work, camaraderie and general life of the shearer, Jack Thompson plays the knock-about Foley, a heavy drinking gun shearer, and while he makes a play for the station owner’s daughter Sheila (Lisa Peers), the film is a presentation of various aspects of Australian male culture and not a romance; the film’s title itself is reputedly the lament of an Australian shearer’s wife: “Friday night [he’s] too tired; Saturday night too drunk; Sunday, too far away”.
Sunday Too Far Away won three 1975 Australian Film Institute awards: Best Film, Best Actor in a Leading Role and Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
The film will screen at 7.30 pm on Friday 9th April at the Faith College Wine Centre; doors will open at 7 pm. Due to ongoing covid restrictions it is essential to book in advance by contacting Front of House Allan Pearce on email allan_jill@bigpond.com or phone 0417 002 708. Entry is free for Club Members and membership is obtainable at the door.

Barossa Film Club presents Academy Award winning Danish film “Haevnen” or “In a Better World” on Friday 19th March. The Oscar was for best foreign film.
The story tells of Anton (Mikael Persbrandt) who is a doctor who travels frequently between his home in Denmark and a refugee camp in Africa. His domestic life is complicated by the fact that he and his wife, Marianne (Trine Dyrholm), are experiencing marital strife and his son, Elias (Markus Rygaard), is a victim of school bullying. When a new boy, whose mother recently died, moves to town and befriends Elias, it provides solace for both father and son. After a reckless act, however, things turn tragic. Impeccably acted and set against a background of the contrasting scenery of Denmark and Africa, the film examines the difficult choice between revenge and forgiveness that one family must make.
The film will screen at the Faith College Wine Centre, commencing at 7.30 pm, with no preceding short film; doors will open at 7 pm. Entry is free to Club members and membership is obtainable at the door. Please note that because of restrictions on gatherings, it is essential to book in advance, by contacting Allan Pearce on 0417002708 or allan_jill@bigpond.com Attendees are welcome to bring their own refreshments.

39 members attended Barossa Film Club’s screening of “La Femme du Boulanger” last Friday evening. It was a deligjhtful film, filled with very real and human characters. The only glamorous people in it were the young wife and the handsome shepherd she ran off with – the rest were orinary-looking villagers we could all identify with. We had 37 “Starbox” votes, giving an average rating of 4.57 out of 5, which is high. Next film: “In a Better World” on March 19th.

Screening 7.30 pm Friday 19th February:
“La Femme du Boulanger” (“The Baker’s Wife”}
This is an undisputed classic from the Golden Age of French Cinema. A simplr story: Aimable the baker is married to a much younger Aurelie. Aurelie runs off with the local hunk and Aimable refuses to bake any more bread until she returns. Faced with the crisis the villagers set about getting her back. Husband and wife are eventually reconciled in one of the greatest scenes ever put on film and Amiable resumes baking “le pain extraordinaire”.
Seating is limited so please book with Allan Pearce 0417002 708 ot allan_jill@bigpond.com

Like most Film Clubs and other voluntary groups Barossa Film Club virtually closed doiwn in 2020, with only 2 films being shown. The Annual General Meeting was held in November and a new Committee elected. Imelda Carson stepped down from the President’s position after 9 years at the helm, but is still a Committee member. We have a great programme for 2021, with our first screening of “La Femme du Boulanger” (“The Baker’s Wife”) on Friday 19th February. We will still be screening in the Faith College Wine Centre, commencing at 7.30 pm. However, obviously covid restrictions will continue to apply and therefore it is vital that you book your seat in advance, by contacting our new Front of House Allan Pearce on 0417 002 708 or emailing allan_jill@bigpond.com. We will no longer be able to offer supper but you are welconme to bring your own drinks and food.
Because we were not able to show many films last year, the Committee has decided to carry over the 2020 Membership fees to 2021, so last year’s members will not have to pay a new fee. Membership is obtainable at the door.
Here’s to a great year of films in 2021. Please come and join us!

Barossa Film Club has reached a significant milestone of seventeen seasons since it was founded in 20o3 by long time Barossa resident and arts supporter, Paddy Carter, as a branch of the Barossa Arts Council.  The very first film was screened on 21^st February 2003 in the Brenton Langbein Theatre (part of the Faith Secondary College).  The short film was “James Joyce – Poet and novelist” made in UK in 1988 and the main feature was a Chinese film “Ju Dou” directed by Zhang Yi_mou and released in 1993.  The April feature was 1997 French film “Ridicule” and the next screening was the 1997 Mike Leigh film from the UK, “Topsy Turvy”.

Initially, there were six screenings for the year and annual membership subscription was $30.  There was an enthusiastic take-up of membership by 48 people and it is interesting that there are 4 people who are still members 17 years later:  Paddy Carter (who is a life member), Susan Raven, Ingrid Glastonbury and Pam O’Donnell.

Obviously, this initial format has been successful.  The Club’s annual membership fee is now $35, which includes ten screenings, and films are still shown at the Faith College, albeit in the Wine Centre rather than the theatre.  We are still a branch of the Barossa Arts Council and our emphasis is still on films which are interesting because of their historical value or their rarity or their intellectual value.  Members still debate the merits of the films shown which can lead to some interesting discussions.

Our first screening for 2020 will be on 21^st February, with the acclaimed Taiwanese film “Eat Drink Man Woman”.  Wine and cheese will be offered to attendees, as at our last meeting in November ( a delicious spread of coffee and cake is available at our other meetings0.  The evening commences with a short film at 7.30 pm and then the main feature is shown after a break for refreshments.  Membership is obtainable at the door.