FALL 2025 SEASON

SEPTEMBER 17: THE LIFE OF CHUCK

Directed by Mike Flanagan
United States of America | 2024 | 110m | English
With The Life of Chuck, Mike Flanagan takes a detour from the macabre to explore one of Stephen King’s alternate sensibilities in an adaptation that carries the spirit of his most optimistic work. The world feels like it’s ending and everybody’s saying goodbye to Chuck. Wherever Marty (Chiwetel Ejiofor) goes, he can’t get away from Charles Krantz (Tom Hiddleston). His face is showing up on billboards, window signs — even TV commercials. What’s so special about this seemingly ordinary accountant and why does he warrant such a sendoff? The Life of Chuck starts grand and ends intimate, like a setting sun. It’s a Stand By Me for the multiple lives within each of us, pulled between our dreams and down-to-earth pragmatism. Fans of Flanagan’s skillful storytelling in The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass, and Doctor Sleep will easily see why he gravitated towards the unorthodox structure of this King novella. Coupled with his impressive knack for elevating simple conversations and interactions into memorable set pieces, Flanagan manages a rare feat: finding warmth in melancholy.

OCTOBER 15: DON’T LET’S GO TO THE DOGS TONIGHT

Director by Embeth Davidtz
South Africa | 1hr 38mins | English
Based on Alexandra Fuller’s memoir of the same name, this film captures the childhood of 8-year-old Bobo on her family farm in Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) at the end of the Zimbabwean War for independence in 1980. Growing up in the midst of this long running war, Bobo internalizes both sides of the struggle. Conflicted by her love for people on opposing sides, she tries to make sense of her life in a magical way. Through her eight-year-old gaze we witness Rhodesia’s final days, the family’s unbreakable bond with Africa, and the deep scars that war leaves on survivors.

NOVEMBER 19: EAST OF WALL

Directed by Kate Beecroft
USA | 1hr 37mins | English
In the Badlands of South Dakota, Tabatha, a young, rebellious rancher, who rescues and resells horses, must make hard decisions to deal with her fractured family, financial uncertainty, and unresolved grief, all while providing refuge for a group of wayward neighbourhood teens. EAST OF WALL is an authentic portrait of female resilience in the 'New West' inspired and played by the women and girls who live it.

DECEMBER 10: JANE AUSTEN WRECKED MY LIFE

Directed by Laura Piani
France | 1hr 38mins | French with English subtitles
Agathe, hopelessly clumsy yet charming and full of contradictions, finds herself in desperate singlehood. Her dream is to experience love akin to a Jane Austen novel and her ultimate aspiration is to become a writer. Instead, she spends her days selling books in the legendary British Bookshop, Shakespeare & Co, in Paris. Invited to the Jane Austen Writers' Residency in England, she must confront her insecurities to finally fulfill her ambition of becoming a novelist and put an end to wasting her sentimental life.

2025 WINTER/SPRING SEASON

JANUARY 15: Widow Clicquot

Directed by: Thomas Napper
France, United Kingdom | 2023 | 89m | English
Widow Clicquot is based on the true story of the “Grande Dame of Champagne,” Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin (1777–1866) who, at the age of 20, became Madame Clicquot after marrying the scion of a winemaking family. Though their marriage was arranged, a timeless love blossomed between Barbe-Nicole (Haley Bennett) and her poetic, unconventional, and erratic husband, François (Tom Sturridge).
In the weeds after her spouse’s untimely death, and now a mother to Clémentine, Barbe-Nicole is still enamoured and enthralled with François’ avant-garde experiments. Named Veuve (the French word for widow) at age 27, she is determined to protect her family’s legacy and boldly challenge the men — as well as the state — set on stripping her of her vineyards.
Determined to advance her husband's theories about soil chemistry, the configuring of vines, and revolutionary techniques in bottling, Barbe-Nicole wagers on the next harvest and her own blend of sparkling wine. Challenged by the capriciousness of the seasons, the aggressive competitor Monsieur Moët, and the Napoleonic Code of 1804 barring women from running businesses, the elegant and luminous widow must succeed or lose everything.

FEBRUARY 19: The Outrun

Directed by: Nora Fingscheidt
UK/Germany // 1hr 58mins
After living life on the edge in London, Rona (Saoirse Ronan) attempts to come to terms with her troubled past. She returns to the wild beauty of Scotland’s Orkney Islands — where she grew up — hoping to heal. Adapted from the bestselling memoir by Amy Liptrot this recovery drama puts one of our greatest screen actresses centre stage in a stunning natural setting.

MARCH 19: All We Imagine As Light

Directed by: Payal Kapadia
India/France // 2hrs 3mins

The light, the lives, and the textures of contemporary, working-class Mumbai are explored and celebrated by writer/director Payal Kapadia, who won the Grand Prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival for her revelatory fiction feature debut. Centering on two roommates who also work together in a city hospital--head nurse Prabha (Kani Kusruti) and recent hire Anu (Divya Prabha)--plus their coworker, cook Parvaty (Chhaya Kadam), Kapadia's film alights on moments of connection and heartache, hope and disappointment.

APRIL 16: SHEPHERDS

Directed by: Sophie Deraspe
Canada/France // 1hr 53 mins

Following a medical wake-up call, Montréal copywriter Mathyas (Félix-Antoine Duval) abandons his life in Canada to reinvent himself as a sheep herder in the French Alps. After a rough start, he’s joined by Élise (Solène Rigot), a civil servant tempted by his stories of pastoral life, and together they commit to a summer on the mountainside. Just the two of them. And one border collie. And 800 sheep.

MAY 21: THE PENGUIN LESSONS

Directed by: Peter Cataneo
Spain, United Kingdom | 2024 | 110m | English, Spanish

The year is 1976. Tom (Steve Coogan) lands in Buenos Aires to take up a teaching position at a prestigious English boarding school. The city is in the midst of political violence, but the headmaster (Oscar nominee Jonathan Pryce) insists his school simply keep calm and carry on. That suits Tom just fine. When a coup d’état shuts down the school, he hops next door to Uruguay to party. A romantic foray leads to a walk along the beach, which leads to the sight of a penguin drenched in oil from a spill. Against his better judgment, Tom rescues the bird, which unlocks its undying loyalty. He's forced to sneak the flightless beast back to Argentina, and thus begins a strange and beautiful friendship. Against the backdrop of crackdowns from the new dictatorship and echoes from Tom’s long-repressed past, the penguin becomes a sounding board and an unwitting agent of change for him and, ultimately, the whole school. The Penguin Lessons delivers this delightful true story with wit, warmth, and subtle insight into just how rewarding it can be to do the right thing.

JUNE 18: AINDA ESTOU AQUI (I’M STILL HERE)

Directed by: Walter Salles
Brazil, France | 2024 | 136m | Portuguese with English subtitles

The latest from The Motorcycle Diaries director Walter Salles focuses on the real-life story of Eunice Paiva (Fernanda Torres), whose terrifying experience of sequestration and loss during Brazil’s military dictatorship transformed her into an activist, lawyer, and hero. Based on Marcelo Rubens Paiva’s memoir, I’m Still Here transports us to Rio de Janeiro in the early 1970s when Brazil’s dictatorship sought to exert its authority through detentions and disappearances. When I’m Still Here begins, life in the merrily crowded Paiva household is warm and jovial, despite the threat of spot checks and arrests that loom over every outing. All this changes when patriarch Rubens (Selton Mello), a former congressman forced to live in exile during the previous decade, is ushered away to provide a mysterious deposition to military interrogators. Soon after, officers come for Eunice (a superb Fernanda Torres), holding her 12 days in a windowless prison as they try to persuade her to incriminate friends and associates accused of leftwing activities. Eunice emerges from prison transformed, embarking on a journey to expose the government’s illegal activities and refusals to acknowledge their role in the disappearances of thousands of innocent citizens.

 Previous Films

Ezra
Ezra follows Max Bernal (Bobby Cannavale), a stand-up comedian living with his father (Robert De Niro), while struggling to co-parent his autistic son Ezra (introducing William Fitzgerald) with his ex-wife (Rose Byrne). When forced to confront difficult decisions about their son's future, Max and Ezra embark on a cross-country road trip that has a transcendent impact on both their lives.
Director: Tony Goldwin
Language: English
Country: USA 100 mins

The Great Escaper
In the summer of 2014 -- the 70th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings -- octogenarian Bernie Jordan (Michael Caine) made global headlines. He'd staged a "great escape" from his care home to join fellow war veterans on a beach in Normandy, commemorating their fallen comrades. It was a story that captured the imagination of the world -- Bernie seemed to embody the defiant, "can-do" spirit of a generation that was fast disappearing. The bitter-sweet script explores the reality with wit and a very big heart.
Starring: Michael Caine
Director: Oliver Parker
Country: UK 96 mins

The King Tide
Ten years after a child with miraculous gifts arrives at an isolated East Coast island town, her adoptive parents must decide whether her safety is more important than their community's prosperity.
A struggling East Coast island community is given a mysterious lifeline when an infant washes up on their beach. The baby radiates a rejuvenating aura, healing anyone who spends a few moments in her presence. But after a decade of prosperity, Isla's adoptive parents must decide whether her safety takes precedence over their community's expectations.
Director: Christian Sparkes
Country: Canada 100mins

Wicked Little Letters
In this riotous mystery-comedy, residents in a 1920s seaside town begin to receive wicked letters full of hilarious profanities. Foul-mouthed Rose is charged with the crime. However, as the town's women investigate, they suspect that something is amiss, and that Rose may not be the culprit after all.
Starring: Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley
Director: Thea Sharrock
Country: UK 102 mins

KIMITACHI WA DO IKIRUKA (THE BOY AND THE HERON)
directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Japan | 124m | Japanese with English subtitles
Already acclaimed as a masterpiece in Japan, Hayao Miyazaki’s new film begins as a simple story of loss and love, and rises to a staggering work of imagination. As a boy, Miyazaki read Genzaburo Yoshino’s novel How Do You Live? and embraced it as his favourite. This film was initially announced as an adaptation of that book, but Miyazaki uses it instead as one of many layers in a dazzling tapestry that draws even more upon his own youth. During the Second World War, young Mahito Maki (Soma Santoki) suffers a heartbreaking family tragedy and must move immediately to the countryside, where his father (Takuya Kimura) works for a family making planes for Japan’s military, as Miyazaki’s own father did. Isolated, Mahito begins exploring the mysterious landscapes and encounters a grey heron, persistent in its presence. The boy also happens upon an abandoned tower. Curious, he enters. From there, The Boy and the Heron expands into a wondrous, often-startling phantasmagoria.

May 15: ONE LIFE
directed by James Hawes
United Kingdom | 110m | English
In 1938, Nicholas Winton was a mild-mannered British stockbroker who became increasingly unsettled by the news of what was happening in continental Europe. After a spur-of-the-moment decision to join friends in Prague to help a growing number of refugees, his life — and the lives of hundreds of Jewish children facing the threat of Hitler’s regime — changed forever. Resolving to take whatever action he could, Winton returned to London and conscripted his indefatigable mother, Babette (Helena Bonham Carter) for what would become years of fundraising and fighting bureaucracy in order to begin transporting children to safety in the UK.

April 17: RU
directed by Charles-Olivier Michaud
Canada | 116m | French, Vietnamese with English subtitles
Based on the Governor General’s Award–winning novel by Kim Thúy, Ru is the story of the arduous journey of a wealthy family fleeing from Vietnam in 1975 after the fall of Saigon, then spending time at a refugee camp in Malaysia, before landing in Quebec.
This film adaptation, directed by Charles-Olivier Michaud, tracks the events through the eyes of the daughter of the family, Nguyen An Tinh. She’s trying to make sense of her new French-speaking life while also fully aware of the horrors that she and her family have escaped.

March 20: KAIBUTSU (MONSTER)
directed by Kore-eda Hirokazu
Japan | 126m | Japanese with English subtitles
Quiet and reserved Minato (Sōya Kurokawa) — no longer a kid, but not yet an adolescent — lost his father when he was a young child and lives with his mother (Sakura Andō). When he starts behaving strangely, obsessed with the idea his brain has been switched with a pig’s, the mother suspects his teacher Hori (Eita Nagayama) and calls a meeting with the school principal (Tanaka Yūko) only to face a wall of silence and stiff apologies. Someone must have put that idea in Minato’s head, but something doesn’t add up. Is Minato telling the truth, or is his professor innocent?

February 21: SCRAPPER
directed by Charlotte Regan
United Kingdom | 84m | English
Set in London, the 12-year-old protagonist, Georgie (Lola Campbell), makes a living off a lucrative bike theft business to pay the rent while living on her own. When Georgie’s absentee father (Harris Dickinson) suddenly reappears due to the untimely death of her mother, she must learn to confront reality and open up again. Regan crafts a creatively charged coming-of-age story that’s both side-splittingly funny and truthfully tragic. This quick-witted comedy will strike your heart only to rebuild it again.

January 17: KUOLLEET LEHDET (FALLEN LEAVES)
directed by Aki Kaurismäki
Finland, Germany | 81m | Finnish with English subtitles
In modern-day Helsinki, two lonely souls in search of love meet by chance in a local karaoke bar. The pair’s path to happiness is beset by numerous obstacles - from lost numbers to mistaken addresses, alcoholism, and a charming stray dog.

Most past 4Eyes Film Selections are available to loan at our library on DVD!

In addition to our film series at Lacombe City Cinemas, our library has an extensive collection of independent, international, and other non-mainstream movies. Request a dvd from our online catalogue, or email miranda.cl@prl.ab.ca to arrange a pick up of a specially selected film to view at home.