Feb 22ndThe Fountain* US 2006. Warner Bros/Regency/Protoza Pictures. 96m.

A Spanish Conquistador is sent by Queen Isabella to find the Tree of Life hidden in the Mayan jungle, so that they can be together forever.
Intriguing and also baffling love story through the ages with pretentious spiritual overtones, too complex to be dismissed just as slushy nonsense. Hauntingly made, with a very softly underplayed soundtrack. The 2001 of romance.

Written and Directed by: Darren Aronofsky.
Producers: Eric Watson, Arnon Milchan, Iain Smith.
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz, Ellen Burstyn, Mark Margolis, Stephen McHattie, Cliff Curtis.
Photography: Matthew Libatique.
Music: Clint Mansell.
Editing: Jay Rabinowitz.
Production Design: Renee April.

Feb 13th
The Harder They Fall*
US 1956. Columbia. 109m. bw

An unemployed sports writer agrees to promote an inadequate contender for the World Heavyweight Title.
Disappointing boxing melodrama ostensibly about the corruption of promoters, with Bogart (in his last film) acquitting himself well with the new generation of "Method" actors, but the athlete at the centre of the drama, alas, is just a little too mincey to convince even the most corrupt of managers that he could become a World Champ.

Written/Produced by: Philip Yordan, from the novel by Budd Schulberg.
Director: Mark Robson.
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Rod Steiger, Jan Sterling, Mike Lane, Max Baer, Jersey Joe Walcott, Edward Andrews, Harold J. Stone, Carlos Montalban, Nehemiah Persoff, Pat Comiskey, Joe Greb.
Music: Hugo Friedhofer.
Photography: Burnett Guffey.

Feb 2nd
Lust, Caution** (18)

Hollywood Film Theatre, Ipswich

China/US/Taiwan/Hong Kong 2007. Focus Features/Hai-Sheng Film. 157m(uncensored version).

In Japanese-occupied Shanghai of World War II, a Chinese patriot agrees to become the mistress of a collaborator in order to assassinate him, but her feelings are compromised when she starts to fall in love with him.
Another dose of the ever-rewarding Ang Lee; like Brokeback Mountain, a tragic love story where the characters once again struggle with duty over their own natural desires (a common Ang Lee theme), reminiscent of thrillers such as Notorious, but much more complex, and the notable sex scenes actually add to the empathy between the two main characters. Quite long, with a lengthy main flashback, and the political background isn't quite as well sketched as the central relationship, but full of quality.

Written by: Hui-Ling Wang, James Schamus, from the story by Eileen Chang.
Producers: William Kong, Ang Lee.
Director: Ang Lee.
Starring: Wei Tang, Tony Leung, Lee-Hom Wang, Joan Chen, Chung Hua Tou, Anupam Kher.
Photography: Rodrigo Prieto.
Music: Alexandre Desplat.
Editing: Tim Squyres.
Production Design: Lai Pan.