recommend
FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD (PG)
119 minutes/****
The latest in a line of films crafted from Thomas Hardy's 1874 novel keeps the book's story intact. Headstrong Bathsheba Everdene (Carey Mulligan, right, with co-star Matthias Schoenaerts) has to choose among three men.
Danish director Thomas Vinterberg (The Hunt, 2012) extracts visual poetry from the Dorset countryside, with each panorama prettier than the last. Except for one memorable scene in a forest between Everdene and Troy, Vinterberg steers clear of the current trend of making implied sexuality explicit.
There is plenty of desire on display here, conveyed in the tremble of the lip or in the intensity of the gaze, or in the deeply saturated colours of a hayfield.
John Lui
SELMA (PG13)
127 minutes
Playing in cinemas here for the first time, this recreation of a moment in history was lauded for the scope of its portrayal, humanising and expanding on a event many people only know had something to do with the civil rights movement in the deep south of the United States. David Oyelowo (above, standing) plays Martin Luther King.
WHEN: Tomorrow, 9pm WHERE: The Projector, 05-00 Golden Mile Tower, 6001 Beach Road MRT: Nicoll Highway ADMISSION: Tickets by donation at the door.
John Lui
MONSIEUR LAZHAR (PG13)
94 minutes/ ****
Bashir Lazhar (an excellent Mohamed Fellag, right in photo), from Algeria, tries to help the children cope with the suicide of a teacher in an elementary school in Montreal. Both a compelling character study and a clear-eyed film touching on broader themes of immigration, school culture and human connection.
WHEN: Tomorrow and Sunday, various times WHERE: The Projector, Golden Mile Tower, 05-00 Golden Mile Tower, 6001 Beach Road MRT: Nicoll Highway ADMISSION: $13, at theprojector.sg
Boon Chan
TAXI TEHRAN (PG)
82 minutes/ **** 1/2
Dissident director Jafar Panahi blurs the line between fact and fiction in this work. He drives a cab with a dashboard camera and his passengers offer a glimpse into the inner workings of Iran's capital city.
WHEN: Tomorrow5.30pm (lecture and panel discussion from 3pm titled Deliberating The Freedom Of Expression In Singapore) WHERE: The Projector, 05-00 Golden Mile Tower, 6001 Beach Road MRT: Nicoll Highway ADMISSION: Tickets $35, for entry to lecture, discussion and film, at theprojector.sg
John Lui
