The Shuswap Film Society rolls out its 40th year with great films.
As 40 years marks a ruby anniversary, the society will hold a special celebration at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 1 by showing Ruby Sparks at the society’s longtime home, the Salmar Classic.
This romantic comedy with a strong streak of magic realism is a story of a young novelist who’s struggling with writer’s block. He finds romance in a most unusual way: by creating a character he thinks will love him and then willing her into existence.
The society will roll out the carpet for special guests and faithful audience members – some of whom are still attending after all these years.
They offers a special note of appreciation for Georgia McLeod, who with her husband Dick Riach, has been a volunteer for 40 years.
Other films on the fall slate include:
• The Hundred-Foot Journey, until Sept. 18 – The Kadam family clashes with Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren), proprietress of a celebrated French restaurant, after they open their own eatery nearby, until undeniable chemistry causes the Madame to take gifted young chef Hassan (Manish Dayal) as her apprentice. Also starring Om Puri as Hassan’s father.
• A Most Wanted Man, Saturday, Sept. 20 at 5 p.m. – When a half-Chechen, half-Russian immigrant turns up in Hamburg’s Islamic community, laying claim to his father’s ill-gotten fortune, both German and US security agencies take a close interest. As the clock ticks down and the stakes rise, the race is on to establish this most wanted man’s true identity – oppressed victim or destruction-bent extremist.
• Boyhood, Saturday, Sept. 27 at 5 p.m. – Filmed over 12 years with the same cast, this is a groundbreaking story of growing up, as seen through the eyes of a child named Mason. Starring Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette as Mason’s parents, Boyhood charts the terrain of childhood, from road trips and family dinners to birthdays and graduations and more.
• Ida, Saturday, Oct. 4 at 5 p.m. – Filmed in black and white, the story centres on Anna, a young novitiate nun in 1960s Poland, who is advised by her mother superior to visit her aunt before taking her vows.
Anna learns of her Jewish heritage and that her real name is Ida. Together her aunt and Ida embark on a road trip in search of forgotten identities and family secrets that go back to the years of the Nazi occupation.
• Calvary, Saturday, Oct. 11 at 5 p.m. – In this dark film, with some black humour and searing one-liners, Brendan Gleeson plays a good-natured but troubled priest who is threatened during a confession. He ultimately questions his own faith while having to face up to the complexity and brutality of the world.
• The Trip to Italy, Wednesday, Oct. 8 at 7:30 p.m. – A sequel to Michael Winterbottom’s The Trip, this drama/comedy, has the two friends on a gastronomic tour of Italy, partly following in the footsteps of the great romantic poets. As they drive their convertible mini through the vineyards of Tuscany, the bustling streets of Rome and eventually to the Isle of Capri, the two men talk about music, poets, infidelity, careers, and family and engage in movie-star improvisations.
• Love is Strange, Saturday, Oct. 25 at 5 and 7:30 p.m. – After nearly four decades together, Ben (John Lithgow) and George (Alfred Molina) get married in an idyllic wedding ceremony in lower Manhattan.
But when George loses his teaching job, the couple must sell their apartment and temporarily live apart until they can find an affordable new home. Struggling with the pain of their separation, Ben and George are further challenged by the intergenerational tensions and capricious family dynamics of their new living arrangements.
• Life Itself, Wednesday, Oct. 29 at 7:30 p.m. – The documentary recounts the surprising and entertaining life of world-renowned film critic Roger Ebert—a story that is by turns personal, wistful, funny, painful and transcendent.
• The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out Of the Window and Disappeared, Saturday, Nov. 1 at 5 p.m. – a black comedy, full of twists and turns. Allan Karrisson, former dynamite expert, escapes from his birthday party in an old folks’ home and wanders to the train station with no set destination in mind.
He quickly ends up getting involved in a drug-money adventure sought by both the police and criminals.
Tickets are available in advance at Wearabouts and at the door before the films are shown.
