A Feast of Italian Film

GWLEDD O FFILMIAU EIDALEG

Sadwrn – Saturday, 17 Ionawr – January, 2pm

BWCIO TOCYNNAU – ONLINE BOOKING – Pontardawe Arts Centre

Gwledd o ffilmiau moethus ac wedyn pryd o ddanteithion blasus ar thema Eidaleg. Tocynnau £12 i aelodau, £15 i’r rhai nad ydynt yn aelodau (yn cynnwys lluniaeth).

A sumptuous feast of film followed by a spread of delicious Italian themed delicacies. Tickets £12 members, £15 non members (includes catering).

THE BICYCLE THIEF (Ladri di biciclette)

Eidal – Italy, 1948, (U), 93 mins, (isdeitlau – subtitles)
Cyf – Dir: Vittorio De Sica

Bicycle Thief

Mae dyn a’i fab yn chwilio am ei feic a ladratwyd. Heb y beic, ni fydd y tad yn gallu cadw ei swydd.

A man and his son search for his stolen bicycle. Without a bike he won’t be able to keep his job.

Trailer:

LINKS:

AUDIENCE RESPONSE – The Bicycle Thief   82%

  •  Beautiful black and white films, were able to identify with the characters, especially the little boy who was brilliant.
  • Loved this film  a very sad ending but a good representation of values, struggles and nostalgia.
  • One of cinema’s great achievements. Lovely film.
  • Superb.
  • Great acting, humour and heart rending.
  • A film of which one will never tire, a tribute to the human spirit also fantastic frwod scenes which I would imagine are done mainly by non professional actors.
  • Fantastic film.
  • Beautiful venue.
  • Good story line very sad at end, really enjoyed.
  • I can see why it is regarded as a classic, kept you gripped until the end.
  • A niaive and good man who is tempted by life, the boy is excellent and must have become an adult actor!
  • Excellent music, very real plot.
  • A wonderful film, very moving, stunning photography, great music and the little boy was superb. I’d watch it again.
  • Lovely film, so sad one felt such pathos for the characters.
  • This is so brilliant it has layers and layers o implications. I need to contemplate it a lot.
  • Simple story with a lot of meaning. Was very drawn in to the characters and felt for him – something lacking in many modern ‘mainstream’ movies. Very real and emotional.
  • This film should be showed to a wider audience to remind us what we gained after the second WW.
  • Beautiful film – poignant – wonderful portrayal of childhood – what a moral dilemma!
  • An excellent neo-realism film, every bit as good as I Vitellone – any chance of showing this sometime?
  • Excellent commentary on the plight of the poor and the bond between father and son. It seemed that the boy was showing the father the correct way to behave.
  • Really good  enjoyable   insight into Italian social history.
  • Conveyed unrelenting poverty and the desperation that can cause very well  – the child conveyed his feelings well.
  • Very sad,  young boy excellent,   sound could have been clearer.
  • Atmospheric and uplifting!  Spells out the dangers of a poor economy which can turn otherwise honest people to desperate measures.
  • Very well made – first part was like watching a NH patients treatment – life is reality enough.
  • Young boy excellent – very sad, the disappointments of the son in his father – not a hero after all.
  • Completely different to anything else    evocative.  Stunning photography – quite moving – dog played a wonderful part!
  • Quite enjoyable.
  • A bit bleak,  the ending was inconclusive – was there a moral?
  • Can we have some more comedy please??  I enjoyed it but it was a bit miserable.
  • Poor sound,   poor story,  very disappointed with the film in general. There are better quality Italian films to be found.

LE QUATTRO VOLTE

Eidal – Italy, 2010, (U), 88 mins, (isdeitlau – subtitles)
Cyf – Dir: Michelangelo Frammartino

Le Quattro Volte

Mae hen fugail yn treulio ei ddyddiau olaf mewn hen bentref tawel ym mynyddoedd Calabria.

An old shepherd lives his last days in a quiet medieval village perched high on the hills of Calabria.

Trailer:

Links:

AUDIENCE RESPONSE – Le Quattro Volte  59%   

  • Very different – carried by the cycle of ashes to ashes.
  • Different – thought provoking.
  • Seemed quite clever, arty, but I didn’t quite get it. Not a tourist spot and what about the kid?  What was the point?
  • Quite a depressing film. No dialogue made it worse.
  • A bit sad and depressing  but interesting all the same.
  • Beautifully filmed – loved the patterns and shapes of the wood   but what happened to the little kid?
  • Different – liked photography, cycle of life, well portrayed.
  • In spite of some rather baffling moments and very good use of B & W to emphasise textures and changes in the weather/landscape.
  • Visual feast.
  • Very thought provoking.
  • Full of symbolism.
  • I loved it – very relaxing to just sit back and watch – no plot to follow – lovely.
  • It took a while to get used to this one   the pace of life linking things up,  the austerity of it all,  but ultimately I got more involved.
  • Beautifully shot lovely film   – but what happened to the dog?
  • Oddly compelling didn’t quite understand it  but enjoyed it ,  thank you.
  • Calming contemplative,   reminded me of my childhood – simple, self sufficient.
  • V sad that a young animal was used in that way. 2 superb films.
  • Really enjoyed it,  great cinematography and a beautiful depiction of a humble existence . Will watch again.
  • Pontardawe arts centre is a beautiful venue.
  • Beautiful extraordinary, surprising, challenging and completely satisfying   this film challenges our accepted (Western) preoccupation with explaining everything in words.
  • Nice change from usual cinema  – loved the ‘scenes’ and especially the main character,  pity there wasn’t a resolution.
  • Interesting cinematography   – old man, young goat – turns 3 and 4 are open to interpretation.
  • A lot of symbolism – the man dies and his spirit moves on to the kid – the kid dies and the spirit moves to the tree – the tree is cut down and turned into charcoal which is then burnt and the spirit is released in the atmosphere.
  • An hour and half of my life which I’ll not get back. Re. Italian Film Fest – the 2 films were too similar  i.e. B & W, not much dialogues, atmospheric  would have been nice to have 2 different films that the Indian film festival.
  • Unfortunately I found the film boring – not for me.
  • Must have missed the point – found it tedious in the extreme – though some interesting photography.
  • Did not enjoy this   – it didn’t work on any level for me.
  • Very disappointing.
  • Don’t know whether I would have understood, had it not been explained before…. Not sure about this one at all.
  • Not sure about the purpose – went on a bit, but beautiful shots of trees.
  • No good beating about the bush – it got my goat! No kidding.
  • Appreciate the B & W filming and why it was filmed but although it is critically acclaimed it was boring.

Tickets:

Booking of tickets is essential so we know how many to cater for.

And just to clarify matters, there is a charge for members for this event (to cover the cost of the food). The price of the ticket really only covers the meal. The films are an added bonus!

It is the same price if you see just one film or both. So once again, tickets are £12 for members, £15 for non-members and the price of the ticket includes Italian themed catering.

BWCIO TOCYNNAU – ONLINE BOOKING – Pontardawe Arts Centre

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