Feb 27th  
Sarafina!**   
(US/GB/Fra/South Africa 1992)
Hollywood Pictures/Miramax/Distant Horizon. 98m.

A Soweto schoolgirl dreams of becoming a star amidst the background against the Apartheid regime.
Refreshingly unusual political musical which works best away from the violent moments by expressing its political points in song and dance.

Written by: William Nicholson, Mbongeni Ngema, based on his stage musical. 
Producer: Anant Singh.
Director: Darrell James Roodt.
Starring: Leleti Khumalo, Whoopi Goldberg, Miriam Makeba, Mbongeni Ngema, Dumisani Diomini, John Kani, Sipho Kunene.
Photography: Mark Vicente.
Music: Stanley Myers.
Songs: Mbongeni Ngema, Hugh Masekala.
Choreography: Mbongeni Ngema, Michael Peters.

Preceded by:
The Perils of Pauline*
(Chapter 1: Trial by Fire)
(US 1914. Electic Films. 29m. bw; First instalment of the quintessential damsel in distress story in serial form, quite daringly film in places and with sincere enough performances within its rudimentary melodramatic function.; w: Charles W. Goddard, George B. Seitz; d: Louis J. Gasnier, Donald MacKenzie; s: Pearl White, Crane Wilbur, Paul Panzer, Francis Carlyle; ph: Arthur C. Miller.)

(US 1914. 

Feb 10th   
The Boys in the Boat*  (12A)      
(Electric Palace, Harwich)     

(US 2023)       
MGM/Smokehouse/Spyglass Media Group. 124m. ws

An impoverished student joins the University of Washington junior rowing team, that becomes strong enough to compete in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
Well filmed sporting drama with most of the cliches firmly in place. A little more of the context of the period might have helped.

Written by: Mark L. Smith, from the book by Daniel James Brown.
Producers: Grant Heslov, George Clooney.
Director: George Clooney.
Starring: Callum Turner, Joel Edgerton, Peter Guinness, Jack Mulhern, James Wolk, Hadley Robinson, Alec Newman.
Photography: Martin Ruhe.
Music: Alexandre Desplat.
Editing: Tanya M. Swerling.

+ shot mostly in UK

Feb 6th  
Krull*   

(GB 1983)                
Columbia/Barclays Mercantile. 121m. Panavision

A planet-marauding beast kidnaps the bride of the King of planet Krull, and he tries to rescue her with the aid of rogues and wizards.
Dull science fantasy combining familiar elements of Star Wars and Tolkien. Engaging and not unimaginative, but also uneven.

Written by: Stanford Sherman. 
Producer: Ron Silverman.
Director: Peter Yates. 
Starring: Ken Marshall, Lysette Anthony, Freddie Jones, Alun Armstrong, David Battley, Bernard Bresslaw, Francesca Annis, Liam Neeson, Robbie Coltrane, Todd Carty, John Welsh, Bernard Archard.
Photography: Peter Suschitzky.
Music: James Horner.
Special Effects: Derek Meddings, Brian Johnson.

Preceded by:
Tom and Jerry in  
Professor Tom*  
(US 1948. 7m.; d: William Hannah, Joseph Barbera; p: Fred Quimby.)