15th European Union Film Festival 2005
Shades Of Happiness (Onnen Varjot)
Directed by Claes Olsson, Finland, 2005, 98 minutes, NC16
Told with a painful yet comic touch, this is the story of two couples whose lives and destinies become intertwined in surprising ways. Paula, an arts teacher, and her therapist husband, Jarkko, have tried for years to have a child. Helena and her husband, Mikko, both work at an IT company, and are both career-minded, enjoying a perfect relationship until Helena realises that she wants a child. An obsessive dream and an unintended affair have unexpected consequences.
From Zero To Ten (Da Zero A Dieci)
Directed by Luciano Ligabue, Italy, 2002, 99 minutes, M18
Biccio, a doctor. Giove, an aspiring rock star. Baygon, a worker and sex maniac. Libero, an aspiring pilot. These four friends return to Rimini to finish a weekend that was interrupted twenty years ago. Rimini represents a return to their youth. Rimini is like a mirror of one's true self. The reunion becomes a report card of sorts, allowing the four friends to exchange notes and calibrate their lives, achievements, disappointments and triumphs. Festivals: Annecy Cinema Italien; Cannes; Cinema Mediterranean Montpellier.
Children (Hijos-Figli)
Directed by Marco Bechis, Italy, 2001, 100 minutes
Argentina. A woman in labour. Two soldiers wait to take the child…but she bears twins. The soldiers take the boy, while the girl is hidden and saved. Twenty years later, Rosa finds and contacts her brother, Javier, who lives in Milan. He is a student, loves parachuting, and has an apprehensive mother and a pilot father. Rosa decides to meet him. Doubts enter his life…..Festivals: Caracas; Shanghai; Tokyo; Rio; Sao Paolo; Stockholm; Awards: David di Donatello for Best Supporting Actress.
In Orange (In Oranje)
Directed by Joram Lürsen, The Netherlands, 2004, 93 minutes, PG
Remco is 12 years old, a talented and fanatical soccer player with only one dream - to play on the Dutch national team. His equally fanatical father, Erik, coaches him. His mother, Sylvia, mediates between the two when there are arguments. Remco's world falls apart when his father dies, but the grandmother of his soccer mate, Winston, tries to help the boy contact his father's spirit. Then Remco gets injured. His girlfriend, Anneke, daughter of the local chemist, will try to help him make his dream come true.
Aftermath
Directed by Paprika Steen, Denmark, 2004, 104 minutes, M18
A couple in their mid-thirties lose their only child, and struggle to overcome their grief in different ways. Britt buries herself in her job as a social worker, and far exceeds the boundaries of her professional interest in a young single mother and her baby. Claus is unable to function at work, and is sent home on leave. He begins to stalk the woman who ran over their daughter. When Britt clashes with the young mother and Claus finally confronts the woman, it becomes clear that revenge cannot conquer grief.
Beware Of Greeks Bearing Guns (Fovou Tous Ellines)
Directed by John Tatoulis, Greece, 2000, 88 minutes
A charming, romantic comedy about a vendetta that goes wrong. The story begins on the island of Crete in 1943, where Maria vows vengeance on Vassilis Philipakis, the man who killed her husband, and raises her twin grandsons to continue her vendetta. Years later, when Philipakis is spotted in Melbourne, it is the duty of the elder grandson Manos to kill the fugitive. The problem is Manos is a gentle soul and the exact opposite of his brother George, a gun-toting, lazy, drunken lout. Cast: Lakis Lazopoulos, Zoe Carides, Tasso Kavadia.
Everybody Famous! (Iedereen Beroemd!)
Directed by Dominique Deruddere, Belgium, 2000, 100 minutes, NC16
Seventeen-year-old Marva is a regular at singing contests, which she never wins. Nevertheless, her father, Jean Vereecken, dreams of a beautiful career for his daughter. But one day, Jean gets laid off. By way of revenge, he decides to kidnap the number one singer in the country, Debbie. The kidnapping sends great waves of turmoil through the country, and sales of Debbie's latest single soar sky-high, much to the pleasant surprise of Michael, Debbie's manager, who proposes a secret deal to make Marva a star if Jean agrees to keep Debbie out of the way for as long as Michael wants. Oscar-nominated for Best Foreign Language Film.
The Missing Half (L'autre)
Directed by Benoît Mariage, Belgium, 2003, 71 minutes, PG
Claire is pregnant with twins. Strangely enough, this gives her feelings of profound anguish. Little by little, she loses her grip on life. Faced with his wife's neurosis, Pierre, the father-to-be, feels helpless. As a last resort, they decide to do a 'pregnancy reduction', terminating one of the embryos. Filled with remorse, Pierre transfers all his affection away from Claire and the unborn baby, to the 20-year-old Laurent from his ophthalmology clinic. Laurent's personality has an unexpected effect on the estranged couple...
Cuban Rafters (Balseros)
Directed by Carles Bosch and Josep Ma Domènech, Spain, 2002, 120 minutes
In the summer of 1994, a team of public television reporters filmed and interviewed seven Cubans and their families, beginning a few days before their risky venture of setting out to sea on homemade rafts to reach the coast of the United States. The film crew recorded their months of confinement at a naval base, as well as their subsequent migration to various U.S. cities. Seven years later, the film crew visits them again, to discover what their destiny has been. Theirs is a true story about some of the authentic survivors of our times, the adventure of people shipwrecked between two worlds.
Festivals
Toronto, Sundance.
Mensaka
Directed by Salvador García Ruiz, Spain, 1998, 105 minutes
Set against the backdrop of Madrid's sizzling urban rock 'n' roll scene, MENSAKA is a spicy tale of a group of young aspiring musicians trying to strike it rich, while holding on to their creative ideals and friendships. David is a mensaka (motorbike messenger) who also plays the drums in a band with Fran and Javier. The band is on the verge of signing a record contract with a sleazy agent, but tempers flare over their being promoted as young urban poets. As David, Fran and Javi struggle to find their professional identities, each also faces the changing demands of their personal relationships.
Kebab Connection
Directed by Anno Saul, Germany, 2004, 96 minutes
Kebabs, kung fu and forbidden romance are the ingredients of this multicultural comedy set in Hamburg. Young Turk Ibo is a film director who dreams of making the first German kung fu epic. To convince investors he's up to the task, Ibo makes a spectacular martial arts flavoured commercial for his uncle's take-away kebab shop. The ad is a raging success, and everything on Ibo's horizon looks bright until his German girlfriend, Titzi, tells him she's pregnant. Thrown out of home, his follow-up commercial is a flop, and Titzi leaves him. In desperation he agrees to make a "comeback" ad for a rival Greek restaurant. Cast: Nora Tschirner, Denis Moschitto, Güven Kirac. Winner of Audience Awards at the Turkish-German Film Festival in Nuremberg and Festival of German Cinema in Madrid (both in 2005).
One Day In Europe
Directed by Hannes Stoehr, Germany, 2005, 100 minutes
Four colourful and light-hearted stories about quirky characters and the amusing misunderstandings that cross-cultural communication often entails. All take place on one single day in different cities, and in each case those language barriers are compounded by chaos of another sort: on this particular day, the whole of Europe is in high fever over soccer's Champion's League final between Galatasaray Istanbul and Deportivo La Coruña, which is taking place in Moscow. Cast: Megan Gay, Luidmila Tsvetkova, Florian Lukas. Nominated for a Golden Bear in Berlin this year.
A Good Woman
Directed by Mike Barker, United Kingdom, 2004, 93 minutes, PG
Based on Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan, A GOOD WOMAN is set in New York and on the Amalfi coast during the 1930s. Mrs Erlynne is an audacious woman of a certain age, with a reputation for entertaining wealthy, married men. Leaving her problems and unpaid bills in New York, she sets sail for the Amalfi Coast to pursue Meg and Robert Windermere, one of the most prominent couples in high society. Once in Europe, she becomes embroiled in a family scandal which becomes an intriguing story of betrayal, and, ultimately, surprising loyalty. With sterling performances from Helen Hunt, Scarlett Johansson, Milena Vukotic, Stephen Campbell Moore.
Playtime
Directed by Jacques Tati, 1967/restored in 2003, France, 126 minutes
Monsieur Hulot has to contact an American official visiting Paris, but he gets lost in the maze of modern architecture filled with the latest gadgets and a balletic roundabout of cars. Roaming around a high-tech Paris of the 1960s, Hulot causes chaos everywhere, in his usual manner. This is one of the most famous and influential movies by Jacques Tati, reflective of his signature style. This restored version had its world premiere in Cannes in 2003. The 15th European Union Film Festival in Singapore is proud to present its Southeast Asian premiere. Cast: Jacques Tati, Barbara Dennek, Rita Maiden.
The Wedding
Directed by Wojtek Smarzewski, Poland, 2004, 109 minutes, PG
In contemporary Poland, a peasant from the Carpathians prepares for his daughter's marriage, buying a brand new Audi TT for her. On the way from the church to the wedding banquet, the father of the bride pays the priest's brother-in-law what he owes for the luxury car. Unfortunately, it's not quite a done deal, since there are a couple of acres missing from what's been agreed, that are still in the possession of the bride's grandfather. The father promises it will all be worked out during the wedding meal, but the mistrustful seller holds on to the car's papers. Negotiations and celebrations proceed in parallel.
As White As In Snow (Så Vit Som En Snö)
Directed by Jan Troell, Sweden, 2000, 160 minutes
Elsa Andersson grows up with her father, his new wife, and two siblings, on a farm at the beginning of this century. When Elsa turns 21, she decides to become a pilot and enrols, as the only female student, at the new flying school at Ljungbyhed. Several men at the school fall in love with Elsa, and, after a tragic love affair, she returns home. In her twenties, she spends some time in Berlin. Back in Sweden, she is offered a job parachuting with a travelling circus. Won three prestigious Guldbagge awards in 2002, for Best Film, Director, and Cinematography. Cast: Amanda Ooms, Björn Granath, Stina Ekblad.
Cosy Dens (Pelíšky)
Directed by Jan Hrebejk, Czech Republic, 1999, 115 minutes, PG
Set at the end of the 1960s, this film is about everyday family fun and hardship; the drama inherent in relationships and differing opinions; and the awakening of first love. The story unfolds in a gently poetic and humorous way. The Šebeks and Krauses live side by side. Mr Šebek is a simple-minded, good-natured officer. Mr Kraus is a former resistance fighter with bitter war experience. The Soviet invasion of August 1968 radically changes the world of these two families. Cast: M. Donutil, J.Kodet, S.Stašová.
Accumulator I (Akumulator I)
Directed by Jan Sverák, Czech Republic, 1994, 102 minutes, M18
Ridiculed and overlooked, protagonist Olda spends his evenings alone in front of his TV set, and his life becomes emptier and emptier until, one day, he is unable to leave his bed, and is taken to hospital with an unidentified ailment. Folk therapist Fisarek finds a name for his strange disease - "total loss of energy". When Olda manages to successfully recharge himself from trees, art, and people, what remains is to find out why and to where his vitality disappears so quickly. It soon becomes apparent that the mysterious 'vampire' is the television screen. Cast: Zdenek Sverák, Petr Forman, Edita Brychta.
Stop Mom Theresa!
Directed by Péter Bergendy, Hungary, 2004, 127 minutes
Bridget Jones goes to Budapest in this romantic comedy. Kata Kéki (Cathy) is an attractive girl with a loving mother, a younger brother, and three girlfriends who stick to her like sisters. She also has a reliable boyfriend who is eager to become bridegroom, husband, and even father. Nevertheless, Cathy is not happy at all, because she has no real job and no real love. She is, all at once, a sensitive woman to whom unpredictable things happen all the time, and a gifted story-teller with an irresistible sense of humour.
Control
Directed by Antal Nimród, Hungary, 2003, 106 minutes
This film is a unique blend of science fiction and reality. It is about a strange young man, Bulcsú, his mates, and a rival group of ticket inspectors; about the sometimes dramatic, sometimes comic relationship between travellers and inspectors. The strange character makes an appearance from time to time, annoying the inspectors and inciting them to chase him across corridors, platforms, escalators, and tunnels. At stake is public confidence in the underground transit system.
Festivals
Edinburgh, Toronto, Copenhagen, Warsaw, Helsinki, Vancouver (all 2004).
Night Train
Directed by John Lynch, Ireland, 1999, 92 minutes
Poole, just released from prison, owes his former gangster boss a lot of money. Before long, his whereabouts are discovered by his acquaintances, and Poole finds himself on the run. Homeless, he takes a room in the quiet, suburban home of a middle-aged woman and her irascible mother. When Alice, his landlady, is invited into Poole's room, she is charmed by the world he has created there. They find themselves falling in love. Inevitably, Poole's past catches up with him, and Alice finds herself drawn into the murky intrigue of his unsavoury friends. Cast: John Hurt, Brenda Blethyn, Pauline Flanagan.
Directed by Claes Olsson, Finland, 2005, 98 minutes, NC16
Told with a painful yet comic touch, this is the story of two couples whose lives and destinies become intertwined in surprising ways. Paula, an arts teacher, and her therapist husband, Jarkko, have tried for years to have a child. Helena and her husband, Mikko, both work at an IT company, and are both career-minded, enjoying a perfect relationship until Helena realises that she wants a child. An obsessive dream and an unintended affair have unexpected consequences.
From Zero To Ten (Da Zero A Dieci)
Directed by Luciano Ligabue, Italy, 2002, 99 minutes, M18
Biccio, a doctor. Giove, an aspiring rock star. Baygon, a worker and sex maniac. Libero, an aspiring pilot. These four friends return to Rimini to finish a weekend that was interrupted twenty years ago. Rimini represents a return to their youth. Rimini is like a mirror of one's true self. The reunion becomes a report card of sorts, allowing the four friends to exchange notes and calibrate their lives, achievements, disappointments and triumphs. Festivals: Annecy Cinema Italien; Cannes; Cinema Mediterranean Montpellier.
Children (Hijos-Figli)
Directed by Marco Bechis, Italy, 2001, 100 minutes
Argentina. A woman in labour. Two soldiers wait to take the child…but she bears twins. The soldiers take the boy, while the girl is hidden and saved. Twenty years later, Rosa finds and contacts her brother, Javier, who lives in Milan. He is a student, loves parachuting, and has an apprehensive mother and a pilot father. Rosa decides to meet him. Doubts enter his life…..Festivals: Caracas; Shanghai; Tokyo; Rio; Sao Paolo; Stockholm; Awards: David di Donatello for Best Supporting Actress.
In Orange (In Oranje)
Directed by Joram Lürsen, The Netherlands, 2004, 93 minutes, PG
Remco is 12 years old, a talented and fanatical soccer player with only one dream - to play on the Dutch national team. His equally fanatical father, Erik, coaches him. His mother, Sylvia, mediates between the two when there are arguments. Remco's world falls apart when his father dies, but the grandmother of his soccer mate, Winston, tries to help the boy contact his father's spirit. Then Remco gets injured. His girlfriend, Anneke, daughter of the local chemist, will try to help him make his dream come true.
Aftermath
Directed by Paprika Steen, Denmark, 2004, 104 minutes, M18
A couple in their mid-thirties lose their only child, and struggle to overcome their grief in different ways. Britt buries herself in her job as a social worker, and far exceeds the boundaries of her professional interest in a young single mother and her baby. Claus is unable to function at work, and is sent home on leave. He begins to stalk the woman who ran over their daughter. When Britt clashes with the young mother and Claus finally confronts the woman, it becomes clear that revenge cannot conquer grief.
Beware Of Greeks Bearing Guns (Fovou Tous Ellines)
Directed by John Tatoulis, Greece, 2000, 88 minutes
A charming, romantic comedy about a vendetta that goes wrong. The story begins on the island of Crete in 1943, where Maria vows vengeance on Vassilis Philipakis, the man who killed her husband, and raises her twin grandsons to continue her vendetta. Years later, when Philipakis is spotted in Melbourne, it is the duty of the elder grandson Manos to kill the fugitive. The problem is Manos is a gentle soul and the exact opposite of his brother George, a gun-toting, lazy, drunken lout. Cast: Lakis Lazopoulos, Zoe Carides, Tasso Kavadia.
Everybody Famous! (Iedereen Beroemd!)
Directed by Dominique Deruddere, Belgium, 2000, 100 minutes, NC16
Seventeen-year-old Marva is a regular at singing contests, which she never wins. Nevertheless, her father, Jean Vereecken, dreams of a beautiful career for his daughter. But one day, Jean gets laid off. By way of revenge, he decides to kidnap the number one singer in the country, Debbie. The kidnapping sends great waves of turmoil through the country, and sales of Debbie's latest single soar sky-high, much to the pleasant surprise of Michael, Debbie's manager, who proposes a secret deal to make Marva a star if Jean agrees to keep Debbie out of the way for as long as Michael wants. Oscar-nominated for Best Foreign Language Film.
The Missing Half (L'autre)
Directed by Benoît Mariage, Belgium, 2003, 71 minutes, PG
Claire is pregnant with twins. Strangely enough, this gives her feelings of profound anguish. Little by little, she loses her grip on life. Faced with his wife's neurosis, Pierre, the father-to-be, feels helpless. As a last resort, they decide to do a 'pregnancy reduction', terminating one of the embryos. Filled with remorse, Pierre transfers all his affection away from Claire and the unborn baby, to the 20-year-old Laurent from his ophthalmology clinic. Laurent's personality has an unexpected effect on the estranged couple...
Cuban Rafters (Balseros)
Directed by Carles Bosch and Josep Ma Domènech, Spain, 2002, 120 minutes
In the summer of 1994, a team of public television reporters filmed and interviewed seven Cubans and their families, beginning a few days before their risky venture of setting out to sea on homemade rafts to reach the coast of the United States. The film crew recorded their months of confinement at a naval base, as well as their subsequent migration to various U.S. cities. Seven years later, the film crew visits them again, to discover what their destiny has been. Theirs is a true story about some of the authentic survivors of our times, the adventure of people shipwrecked between two worlds.
Festivals
Toronto, Sundance.
Mensaka
Directed by Salvador García Ruiz, Spain, 1998, 105 minutes
Set against the backdrop of Madrid's sizzling urban rock 'n' roll scene, MENSAKA is a spicy tale of a group of young aspiring musicians trying to strike it rich, while holding on to their creative ideals and friendships. David is a mensaka (motorbike messenger) who also plays the drums in a band with Fran and Javier. The band is on the verge of signing a record contract with a sleazy agent, but tempers flare over their being promoted as young urban poets. As David, Fran and Javi struggle to find their professional identities, each also faces the changing demands of their personal relationships.
Kebab Connection
Directed by Anno Saul, Germany, 2004, 96 minutes
Kebabs, kung fu and forbidden romance are the ingredients of this multicultural comedy set in Hamburg. Young Turk Ibo is a film director who dreams of making the first German kung fu epic. To convince investors he's up to the task, Ibo makes a spectacular martial arts flavoured commercial for his uncle's take-away kebab shop. The ad is a raging success, and everything on Ibo's horizon looks bright until his German girlfriend, Titzi, tells him she's pregnant. Thrown out of home, his follow-up commercial is a flop, and Titzi leaves him. In desperation he agrees to make a "comeback" ad for a rival Greek restaurant. Cast: Nora Tschirner, Denis Moschitto, Güven Kirac. Winner of Audience Awards at the Turkish-German Film Festival in Nuremberg and Festival of German Cinema in Madrid (both in 2005).
One Day In Europe
Directed by Hannes Stoehr, Germany, 2005, 100 minutes
Four colourful and light-hearted stories about quirky characters and the amusing misunderstandings that cross-cultural communication often entails. All take place on one single day in different cities, and in each case those language barriers are compounded by chaos of another sort: on this particular day, the whole of Europe is in high fever over soccer's Champion's League final between Galatasaray Istanbul and Deportivo La Coruña, which is taking place in Moscow. Cast: Megan Gay, Luidmila Tsvetkova, Florian Lukas. Nominated for a Golden Bear in Berlin this year.
A Good Woman
Directed by Mike Barker, United Kingdom, 2004, 93 minutes, PG
Based on Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan, A GOOD WOMAN is set in New York and on the Amalfi coast during the 1930s. Mrs Erlynne is an audacious woman of a certain age, with a reputation for entertaining wealthy, married men. Leaving her problems and unpaid bills in New York, she sets sail for the Amalfi Coast to pursue Meg and Robert Windermere, one of the most prominent couples in high society. Once in Europe, she becomes embroiled in a family scandal which becomes an intriguing story of betrayal, and, ultimately, surprising loyalty. With sterling performances from Helen Hunt, Scarlett Johansson, Milena Vukotic, Stephen Campbell Moore.
Playtime
Directed by Jacques Tati, 1967/restored in 2003, France, 126 minutes
Monsieur Hulot has to contact an American official visiting Paris, but he gets lost in the maze of modern architecture filled with the latest gadgets and a balletic roundabout of cars. Roaming around a high-tech Paris of the 1960s, Hulot causes chaos everywhere, in his usual manner. This is one of the most famous and influential movies by Jacques Tati, reflective of his signature style. This restored version had its world premiere in Cannes in 2003. The 15th European Union Film Festival in Singapore is proud to present its Southeast Asian premiere. Cast: Jacques Tati, Barbara Dennek, Rita Maiden.
The Wedding
Directed by Wojtek Smarzewski, Poland, 2004, 109 minutes, PG
In contemporary Poland, a peasant from the Carpathians prepares for his daughter's marriage, buying a brand new Audi TT for her. On the way from the church to the wedding banquet, the father of the bride pays the priest's brother-in-law what he owes for the luxury car. Unfortunately, it's not quite a done deal, since there are a couple of acres missing from what's been agreed, that are still in the possession of the bride's grandfather. The father promises it will all be worked out during the wedding meal, but the mistrustful seller holds on to the car's papers. Negotiations and celebrations proceed in parallel.
As White As In Snow (Så Vit Som En Snö)
Directed by Jan Troell, Sweden, 2000, 160 minutes
Elsa Andersson grows up with her father, his new wife, and two siblings, on a farm at the beginning of this century. When Elsa turns 21, she decides to become a pilot and enrols, as the only female student, at the new flying school at Ljungbyhed. Several men at the school fall in love with Elsa, and, after a tragic love affair, she returns home. In her twenties, she spends some time in Berlin. Back in Sweden, she is offered a job parachuting with a travelling circus. Won three prestigious Guldbagge awards in 2002, for Best Film, Director, and Cinematography. Cast: Amanda Ooms, Björn Granath, Stina Ekblad.
Cosy Dens (Pelíšky)
Directed by Jan Hrebejk, Czech Republic, 1999, 115 minutes, PG
Set at the end of the 1960s, this film is about everyday family fun and hardship; the drama inherent in relationships and differing opinions; and the awakening of first love. The story unfolds in a gently poetic and humorous way. The Šebeks and Krauses live side by side. Mr Šebek is a simple-minded, good-natured officer. Mr Kraus is a former resistance fighter with bitter war experience. The Soviet invasion of August 1968 radically changes the world of these two families. Cast: M. Donutil, J.Kodet, S.Stašová.
Accumulator I (Akumulator I)
Directed by Jan Sverák, Czech Republic, 1994, 102 minutes, M18
Ridiculed and overlooked, protagonist Olda spends his evenings alone in front of his TV set, and his life becomes emptier and emptier until, one day, he is unable to leave his bed, and is taken to hospital with an unidentified ailment. Folk therapist Fisarek finds a name for his strange disease - "total loss of energy". When Olda manages to successfully recharge himself from trees, art, and people, what remains is to find out why and to where his vitality disappears so quickly. It soon becomes apparent that the mysterious 'vampire' is the television screen. Cast: Zdenek Sverák, Petr Forman, Edita Brychta.
Stop Mom Theresa!
Directed by Péter Bergendy, Hungary, 2004, 127 minutes
Bridget Jones goes to Budapest in this romantic comedy. Kata Kéki (Cathy) is an attractive girl with a loving mother, a younger brother, and three girlfriends who stick to her like sisters. She also has a reliable boyfriend who is eager to become bridegroom, husband, and even father. Nevertheless, Cathy is not happy at all, because she has no real job and no real love. She is, all at once, a sensitive woman to whom unpredictable things happen all the time, and a gifted story-teller with an irresistible sense of humour.
Control
Directed by Antal Nimród, Hungary, 2003, 106 minutes
This film is a unique blend of science fiction and reality. It is about a strange young man, Bulcsú, his mates, and a rival group of ticket inspectors; about the sometimes dramatic, sometimes comic relationship between travellers and inspectors. The strange character makes an appearance from time to time, annoying the inspectors and inciting them to chase him across corridors, platforms, escalators, and tunnels. At stake is public confidence in the underground transit system.
Festivals
Edinburgh, Toronto, Copenhagen, Warsaw, Helsinki, Vancouver (all 2004).
Night Train
Directed by John Lynch, Ireland, 1999, 92 minutes
Poole, just released from prison, owes his former gangster boss a lot of money. Before long, his whereabouts are discovered by his acquaintances, and Poole finds himself on the run. Homeless, he takes a room in the quiet, suburban home of a middle-aged woman and her irascible mother. When Alice, his landlady, is invited into Poole's room, she is charmed by the world he has created there. They find themselves falling in love. Inevitably, Poole's past catches up with him, and Alice finds herself drawn into the murky intrigue of his unsavoury friends. Cast: John Hurt, Brenda Blethyn, Pauline Flanagan.
posted by Joa at
Thursday, September 22, 2005
