Film Screening 5th September, 2014

Poster for The Trip to Italy

The Trip to Italy 

7:30 PM, 5th September, 2014

  • M
  • 103 mins
  • 2014
  • Michael Winterbottom
  • Michael Winterbottom
  • Rob Brydon, Steve Coogan, Rosie Fellner, Claire Keelan

Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon again play slightly altered versions of themselves as they travel through beautiful scenery once more. Rather than travelling through the lush hills of Northern England as they did in the first film of this nature, The Trip, this time they head along the Italian coastline. They hop between many different restaurants and eat lavishly while doing impersonations of Batman. They both constantly throw witty banter at one another, derisive but playful. It’s wonderful to witness this simply natural form of conversation.

When you’re on a good thing stick to it, so the saying goes. In Hollywood this strategy usually disappoints but in this case British director Winterbottom produces a more rounded effort that contrasts with the improvised nature of the first film. A wonderful film with beautiful scenery, charmed with a free flowing type of chat that isn’t too corny or weird. In a way, it is a most sophisticated comedy.

The chemistry between the two is quite charming too, and makes for good company. As with the first film, the scenes have been hewn from a six-part, six-hour TV series for the BBC; the film is only 103 minutes long, but full of entertaining wit.

Philippe Perez

Poster for The Lunchbox (Dabba)

The Lunchbox (Dabba) 

9:23 PM, 5th September, 2014

  • PG
  • 101 mins
  • 2013
  • Ritesh Batra
  • Ritesh Batra
  • Irrfan Khan, Nimrat Kaur, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Lillete Dubey

In an age when instant messaging, email and social media has made communication easier and quicker, first time writer-director Ritesh Batra relies on scribbled notes tucked in boxes to deliver a charming, old-fashioned love story in The Lunchbox.

There’s a simple line in this film that captures its essence beautifully: “Sometimes even the wrong train can take you to the right destination”. It’s a line that might help interpret the film’s open ending, but one that also nicely sums up its unique premise. Personally I also hope that it’s true as I’m terrible at deciphering public transport so here’s hoping that if my next planned bus ride to Gungahlin finishes with me getting off at Woden then at least that chocolate cafe will be open and there will be sufficient time to down a brownie ice cream sundae before my next bus arrives. But I digress…

This film is from Bollywood without the usual song and dance numbers, and is only a little over an hour and a half (most Indian films are considerably longer than that). But what it does offer is the most honest love story to come out of Bollywood in ages. It is a delightful story of love blossoming slowly, one letter a day, between the two most unlikely but equally despondent characters that you could ever matchmake. That’s pretty much all that needs to be said.

Tamara Lee