Ticket price £7.00
The Second Mother (15) – 6.30pm
2015 ( Brazil ) ( Comedy, Drama )
(Portuguese with English subtitles)
STARRING: Regina Casé, Camila Mardila, Helena Albergaria
DIRECTOR: Anna Muylaert
The second Mother is a terrific Brazilian comedy-drama about a live-in maid whose daughter comes to stay.
This warm-hearted, often uncomfortably funny Brazilian film plunges into the life of a well-off São Paulo family, all seen from the perspective of their long-serving live-in maid, Val (Regina Case). Val is a more loving parental figure to her employers’ teenage boy than his own parents. However she hardly knows her own teenage daughter, Jessica (Camila Mardila), who’s been living with her dad and absent from her life for a decade.
When Jessica turns up at her mum’s workplace and asks to stay a few nights while preparing for university exams, sparks begin to fly and relationships begin to shift. Ignoring her mother’s pleas to remember her place, Jessica worms her way into the family’s good graces, plops down at the family dining table, swims in the pool and moves into the family guest suite, and catches the roving eyes of the upper-crust menfolk.
Sharply observant, funny, poignant and always surprising; The Second Mother mixes dry humour, aching drama, and stinging social commentary in its clashes between classes and generations.
(1hr 52min)
followed by…
Hector (15) – 9.00pm
2015 ( UK ) ( Drama )
STARRING: Peter Mullan, Keith Allen, Natalie Gavin
DIRECTOR: Jake Gavin
The spirit of Ken Loach hangs over this surprisingly warm and rewardingly aware tale of homelessness at Christmas. The title character, Hector (Peter Mullan), is a homeless Scotsman, in failing health, making his annual trip from Glasgow to London to stay in a men’s hostel for Christmas.
Peter Mullan is quietly wonderful as Hector, a wry, world-weary teetotaller, whose homelessness, we learn, stems from a breakdown which in turn was triggered by a family tragedy. He has long been estranged from his brother and sister, but now he wants to see them again. His journey is propelled by small acts of kindness.
Mullan makes the film a delight by portraying the mysterious yet friendly Hector with great warmth. It’s a touching, superbly acted movie which will remind you that Christmas is a time for family and giving.
(1hr 27min)