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New Films<br />
White Elephant<br />
Elefante blanco<br />
Fri 10 – Thu 16 May<br />
After his compelling looks at life in a women’s<br />
prison (Leonera) and insurance scams (Carancho)<br />
Argentinean filmmaker Pablo Trapero continues<br />
his trajectory of tackling difficult issues. White<br />
Elephant takes a serious look at the ever<br />
widening financial gulf between the social<br />
classes in his native country.<br />
Bringing together Trapero’s regular leading actor<br />
Ricardo Darín and the incomparable Martina<br />
Guzman (the director’s wife), White Elephant<br />
recounts the everyday problems encountered by<br />
those unsung heroes who are trying to make a<br />
difference in the community. Two priests (Darin<br />
and Belgian actor Jérémie Renier) who live in a<br />
shanty town called Villa Virgin are desperately<br />
working to open a new hospital in the region.<br />
When gang-related violence and growing<br />
tensions between the people on the streets come<br />
to breaking point, the two men find inspiration in<br />
the work of local social worker Luciana (Gusman),<br />
who brings hope and optimism to the project.<br />
As with all his work, Trapero focuses on the<br />
impact larger social problems have on the<br />
individuals who live with them on a daily basis.<br />
There is a sense of optimism in this film which<br />
centres around faith: not just in a religious sense,<br />
but in the possibility of people working together<br />
for a common good.<br />
Dir: Pablo Trapero<br />
Argentina / Spain / France 2012 / 1h50m /<br />
Digital / cert tbc<br />
Spanish with English subtitles<br />
8 www.dca.org.uk<br />
Mud<br />
Fri 17 – Thu 23 May<br />
Following the atmospheric marvel that was Take Shelter,<br />
writer-director Jeff Nichols’ new film Mud is a coming-of-age<br />
adventure story set in the deep South. It explores the very<br />
essence of the American male, codes of honour and<br />
traditional communities being threatened by modernity.<br />
Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and his best friend Neckbone (Jacob<br />
Lofland) live in an idyllic setting that most boys can only dream<br />
of. But their small community on the banks of the Arkansas<br />
Delta is far from a paradise, as their parents struggle with<br />
unemployment and inertia. When a mysterious stranger turns<br />
up on an island the boys are forbidden to visit, they find their<br />
quiet lives changed for ever. Ellis is drawn to Mud (Matthew<br />
McConaughey) and agrees to help him hide from the<br />
authorities and old enemies while they wait for Mud’s long-lost<br />
love Juniper (Reese Witherspoon) to show up. Their friendship<br />
will become a defining one in Ellis’ life as he learns that in the<br />
adult world, truth can be as murky as the water he calls home.<br />
While the perfectly cast McConaughey shows us once again<br />
that he was wasting his considerable talent for years with<br />
forgettable rom-coms, Mud’s rural setting is as important as<br />
the bit players who round out this great cast (including Sam<br />
Shepard and Michael Shannon). The film’s gentle pace allows<br />
the viewer to understand the complex history which motivates<br />
its characters. With references to Night of the Hunter and<br />
Huckleberry Finn, Nichols weaves a rich narrative and<br />
cements his reputation as a great American cinematic<br />
storyteller.<br />
Dir: Jeff Nichols<br />
USA 2012 / 2h10m / Digital / 12A<br />
Bring a Baby screening Thu 6 June, 10:30
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