NEWS

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The Davidson Film Club is pleased to in you to a screening and discussion of the five Oscars-nominated British film Secrets & Lies on Saturday, July 29, at 7:00 p.m. in the Armour Street Theatre.

“A masterful dramedy about that wonderfully, terribly complex thing we call family.” James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk”

Directed by Mike Leigh
UK (1996, 2h20)
In English

Discussion of the film will be led by Dr. Brenda Flanagan, Edward M. Armfield, Sr. Professor of English, Davidson College, Cultural Ambassador for the U.S. Dept. of State.

*Given the length of this film, we will begin the program promptly at 7:00 p.m. Please try to arrive and take your seat(s) before this time.

This is the first film in the 22^nd series of films at the Davidson Film Club. Membership-subscriptions ($35 for the five films) are still available for this series and can be purchased at the box office at the Armour Street Theatre (check or cash, no credit cards) the evening of the screening if you are not yet a subscriber. Up to this time, subscriptions can still be made on our website using the PayPal buttons and your own credit card: www.davidsonfilmclub.com.

Walk-ins are welcome, $9 at the door, cash or check. Walk-ins must apply for a seat in advance at [email protected]. Walk-in seats are limited by availability.

 Refreshments (red and white wine, bottled water, and snacks) will be made available by the Film Club.

Film Summary:
After her adoptive mother dies, Hortense, a successful black optometrist in London, seeks out her birth mother. She’s shocked when her research leads her to a lower-class white woman, Cynthia, who lives with her sullen street-sweeper daughter Roxane. Her younger brother Maurice, whom she raised, has been successful with his photographer’s business and now lives nearby in an upper-middle class house, but his wife can’t stand Cynthia (and it’s mutual). At first Cynthia denies Hortense’s claim, but she eventually admits to birthing her as a teenager, and the two begin to bond. However, when Cynthia invites Hortense to a family barbecue, Cynthia’s already tense relationship with her family becomes even more complicated. The family has to confront shocking secrets and lies. . .

Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (Critical Opinion): 95%, Audience Score: 91%.

 Nominated for 5 Oscars, 36 wins and 47 nominations. BAFTA (British Oscars) awards for Best British Film, Best Screenplay, and Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role. Palme d’Or, Best Actress Prize, and Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at Cannes. Golden Globes prize for Best Performance by an Actress, Goya Awards Best European Film, London Critics Circle Film Awards for British Film of the Year, British Actress of the Year, and British Director of the Year, ETC.

 “A benchmark for comedy dramas, this award-winning 1996 film is a bonafide masterpiece.” Tom Cassidy, Common Sense Media

 “It’s a beautifully performed British film which sensitively explores issues surrounding identity, race, roots and class.” Nick Levine, NME

“Secrets and Lies is a beautifully constructed sentimental melodrama, with none of the rough edges that Mike Leigh has insisted on in the past.” Adam Mars-Jones, Independent (UK)

 “Secrets & Lies is a mesmerizing film, with the emotional stakes raised so high that each confrontation or revelation generates as much (or more) genuine suspense as anything found in Hollywood’s latest thriller-of-the-week.” Matt Brunson, Film Frenzy

 “This is exactly the challenge taken up by Leigh: bring film back to its community calling and remember that, beyond the confusion of images and identities, there are… people with pasts, sufferings, things to say, families — and we are all part of it.” Noël Herpe, Positif

Our website www.davidsonfilmclub.com features the whole current series and film descriptions. Have you Bookmarked it?

We are a non-profit, tax-exempt organization run by volunteers that only exists to bring you fine international fiction films and engage in stimulating discussion about them.

Hope that many of you will be at the July 29 screening of this deeply poignant tragi-comic film!

Alan
Alan Singerman
President, Davidson Film Club
[email protected]
(704) 231-6736