Luna Leederville, Freo's Luna on SX and the Windsor Cinemas are all set to open their doors to socially distant patrons on Thursday, July 2.
Perth's leading boutique cinemas are back in business, and although we love our Netflix, there's nothing quite like shutting yourself off from the real world for a couple of hours to really immerse yourself in the entertainment experience that is going to the cinema. Luna Leederville, Luna on SX and the Windsor are some of the few cinemas in Perth to show small and independent films, so you're sure to see something unique on your visits. Here's what you have to look forward to!
Shirley
Director Josephine Decker makes an exciting return with a biographical portrait brought alive with energy and imagination, based on a novel by Susan Scarf Merrell and screenplay by Sarah Gubbins. Shirley is a fresh take on the period drama, full of contemporary intrigue and dynamic in style. It features a stellar lead cast—Elisabeth Moss, Michael Stuhlbarg, Odessa Young, and Logan Lerman—who all give memorable performances.
Fred and Rose move to a small Vermont college town in pursuit of a job for Fred as an assistant professor of literature. The young couple receives an offer for free room and board from professor Stanley Hyman, as long as Rose agrees to spend time cleaning up the home and looking after his wife, acclaimed horror author Shirley Jackson. At first Fred and Rose detest the rocky household of the eccentric couple, but they eventually establish deep bonds with their counterparts, which will test the limits of their young love.
With 97% on Rotten Tomatoes and having won the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Auteur Filmmaking, this is not to be missed.
Screening at Luna Leederville from July 9.
A White, White Day (Hvítur, Hvítur Dagur)
An Icelandic film with English subtitles and the overwhelming Scandinavian success story of the recent Cannes Film Festival Festival, writer/director Hlynur Pálmason confirms the considerable promise of his multi-award-winning debut Winter Brothers with this spellbinding and darkly humorous new drama about a stoic grandfather whose emotional reserves are pushed to their limits.
Former police chief Ingimundur (Ingvar E. Sigurdsson) has struggled ever since he lost his wife to a tragic accident two years earlier. Busying himself with the task of renovating a homestead in the remote Icelandic wilderness, he finds solace in time spent with his spirited young granddaughter Salka (Ída Mekkín Hlynsdóttir). But when Ingimundur begins to suspect a local man may have had an affair with his late wife, his detective instincts kick in, fuelling behaviour that becomes increasingly unpredictable…
Anchored by Ingvar E. Sigurdsson’s towering, white-hot lead performance, a visceral score from Edmund Finnis and utterly breathtaking cinematography, Pálmason’s gripping and powerful tale of unconditional love is an unforgettable big-screen experience that is not to be missed.
“Visually arresting and emotionally rewarding. A perfectly controlled sense of place permeates every frame.” SCREEN INTERNATIONAL
WINNER: 2019 Cannes International Film Festival, Best Actor (Critics’ Week).
Screening at Luna Leederville & Luna on SX from July 2.
Love Sarah
Determined to fulfil her late mother's dream of opening a bakery in charming Notting Hill, 19-year-old Clarissa enlists the help of her mother's best friend Isabella and her eccentric estranged grandmother Mimi. These three generations of women will need to overcome grief, doubts and differences to honour the memory of their beloved Sarah while embarking on a journey to establish a London bakery filled with love, hope and colourful pastries from all over the world.
Starring Celia Imrie (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel).
Screening at Luna Leederville & Windsor Cinema from July 2; Luna on SX from July 3-5.
The Booksellers
Bibliophiles, dreamers and lovers of drifting through book stores for hours on end take note - this is one for you. The Booksellers brings us a fascinating insight into the world of rare book dealers. A dash of armchair travel, a big spoon of nostalgia, and more than a light pepper of eccentrics talking about what they love most in the world - all of it makes for one big recipe for a charming documentary that speaks of love and beauty
Antiquarian booksellers are part scholar, part detective and part businessperson, and their personalities and knowledge are as broad as the material they handle. They also play an under-appreciated yet essential role in preserving history.
Screening at Luna Leederville from July 2.
Romantic Road
One English couple. One battered English car. 5000 miles through the heart of India.
Meet Rupert and Jan Grey, a free-spirited and eccentric upper-class English couple in their sixties, married for 35 years and on the verge of retirement.
Not content to live out their autumn years by the fire, this intrepid couple ignore everyone’s advice and embark on a remarkable journey – to drive Rupert’s father’s 1936 Rolls Royce across India on their way to a human rights festival in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Over six months and some 5000 miles, they fall into company with tea-wallahs and maharajahs, dodge tribal conflicts, negotiate with border officials and make constant mechanical repairs.
With its mix of road-movie, biopic, travelogue and madcap adventure, Romantic Road is at once a rare glimpse into a uniquely inspired expedition that redefines later-life, a study of a love story 35 years in the making and a reminder to never stop embracing the possibilities of life.
WINNER: Best Feature Documentary, Edmonton International Film Festival 2017
WINNER: Best Of The Fest Award, Victoria Film Festival 2017
Screening at Windsor Cinema from July 2; Luna on SX from July 3-5.