France/2009/115 mins/subtitled/12A. Dir: Rithy Panh. With Isabelle Huppert, Gaspard Ulliel, Astrid Berges-Frisbey.
Rithy Panh’s celebrated period epic set in the rich landscape of French colonial Indochine is a successful adaptation of Marguerite Duras’ acclaimed and semi-autobiographical novel Un barrage contre le Pacifique. Deceived into investing all of her savings in worthless, regularly flooded farmland, a mother must fight to protect her family from destitution at the hands of a corrupt administration. Battling both the colonial bureaucrats and nature itself, she enlists the help of the local villagers to put into place an elaborate scheme: building a dam against the sea to secure both her family’s and the community’s future.
Please note that the screening at 11am on Fri 12 Feb is a Carry on Screaming screening, aimed at people with babies under one year old.