Well, it’s all go this month on Rialto Channel. German films take over Monday evenings, the second series of the excellent Danish/Swedish co-production The Bridge kicks off next Tuesday evening and you get to program Wednesday evenings - all part of Rialto’s Sweet 16 celebration! A new British drama Run staring Olivia Coleman starts on Sunday evening, and classic anime features continue to light up Friday nights. Phew.
My first pick of the week is French film Turning Tide.
Well, it’s all go this month on Rialto Channel. German films take over Monday evenings, the second series of the excellent Danish/Swedish co-production The Bridge kicks off next Tuesday evening and you get to program Wednesday evenings - all part of Rialto’s Sweet 16 celebration! A new British drama Run staring Olivia Coleman starts on Sunday evening, and classic anime features continue to light up Friday nights. Phew.
My first pick of the week is French film Turning Tide.
Tuesday 30th June … Turning Tide
For his directorial debut, French cinematographer Christophe Offenstein (Little White Lies and Tell No One) chose a tricky story to tell. Turning Tide follows Yann Kermadec (François Cluzet), a French sailor and competitor in the Vendée Globe round the world yacht race. When Yann damages his rudder, he’s forced to stop in the Canary Islands to repair it, and unbeknownst to him, takes on a stowaway who could ruin his dream of winning this prestigious race. Offenstein and his producers originally thought about recreating an 18 meter-long boat in a studio, with water ramps and hydraulic cylinders for the waves, but then decided this would be completely crazy. Instead, they bought a yacht that had previously raced in the competition and filmed at sea. It was the right decision. The narrative ebbs and flows, but the action on the water is fabulous, and as you’d expect from a cinematographer/director feels authentic and exhilarating.
Friday 3rd July … Akira
Throughout June and July, Rialto Channel has been celebrating the world of anime on Friday evenings, and this week screens one its all time classics; Akira. Set in Neo Tokyo in 2019, Akira tells the story of two high school drop outs who contemplate the meaning of their existence while fighting government controlled telekinetic humans. Filled with violence, sex and exhilarating animation, the film was based on the manga by Katsuhiro Otomo, who oversaw a consortium of Japan’s finest animation studios known as the Akira Committee to create this modern masterpiece. It was the most expensive anime feature ever created, and is still regarded as the quintessential cyber-punk anime feature – don’t miss it.
Sunday 5th July … Run
I really like Olivia Coleman – she can do anything from comedy to serious drama – and in Run, she is in devastatingly good form. She’s the lead character in the first episode of this four part drama series made for Britain’s Channel 4. Set in a South London council estate, Run is a rather grim look at life in the underclass with Coleman playing a solo mother torn between protecting her thuggish teenage sons and doing the right thing. Needless to say, there’s plenty of misery to enjoy here, but a glimmer of hope shines through in the end. Run is the first show created by Daniel Fajemisin-Duncan and Marlon Smith – who grew up together in Brixton. This might have something to do with Run’s sense of authenticity and attention to detail. Don’t be put off by the grit – Coleman and her colleagues are worth watching.