Into Film Clubs
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With autumn underway, the cinema is the perfect cosy sanctuary for young people to engage with the wider world through stimulating stories and captivating audiovisuals that nurture their cultural and social development. Hitting big screens across the UK this month are a double-bill of animations about the true nature of robots and friendship, a documentary exploring the difficult consequences of colonialism and climate change, and two fascinating dramas delving into the twisted minds of notorious characters, one from the comic book world and one concerning a certain former US president.
Joker: Folie à Deux (15) - in cinemas 4 October 2024
Expanding the backstory of the clown-faced villain of the Batman franchise, this sequel to the 2019 psychological thriller Joker (available to watch on Into Film+) finds failed comedian Arthur Fleck in a high-security psychiatric hospital. At a music therapy class, he meets Lee Quinzel, a manipulative and deeply disturbed patient who admires Arthur's infamous Joker persona. A romance blossoms between them, as does a shared delusional disorder, imagined through glamorous musical numbers. Emboldened by Lee, Arthur embraces his dark alter-ego in court, and Lee becomes his counterpart, Harley Quinn. But their mythological status may not be all that it seems, as more riots break out in Gotham City. Exploring issues such as mental health, creative outlets and law and order, this genre-bending film is a subversive addition to the DC Universe
The Battle for Laikipia (12A) - in cinemas 4 October 2024
Documentary film offers an accessible way of exploring the contributing factors in a complex issue. In central Kenya, the region of Laikipia is facing a crisis. Climate change has led to severe droughts across the pastures where livestock have been grazing for centuries. The livelihoods of Indigenous farmers are at risk, and tensions are heightened by historical disputes around land ownership. Kenya gained independence in 1964, but the bitter legacy of colonialism is still felt with the descendants of British settlers determined to guard their private ranches from semi-nomadic communities and their cattle. Further factors such as national politics and wildlife conservation weigh into this debate over the future of a shared yet divided land, where ultimately everyone is impacted by the global environmental emergency.
Transformers One (PG) - in cinemas 11 October 2024
Inspired by popular Transformers toy action figures, this high-tech animated adventure presents the untold origin story of Optimus Prime and his sworn enemy Megatron, two alien robots from planet Cybertron. But before they became the powerful leaders of the Autobots and the Decepticons respectively, they were two close friends called Orion Pax and D-16, a pair of lowly miner bots working underground who can't yet transform. Keen to prove themselves, they go up to the surface of their planet with their friends B-127 and Elita-1 and find a mysterious robot who gives them transformation cogs to help them access their full potential. But they also discover a terrible secret, which will lead the two best friends on separate paths, setting their incredible powers against each other.
The Wild Robot (U) - in cinemas 18 October 2024
From robots fighting in outer space to robots learning to be at one with nature: based on an acclaimed children's book, this gorgeous animation explores what happens when the natural world and technology collide. A newly manufactured robot is shipwrecked on an island uninhabited by humans. Programmed to assist people, the robot ROZZUM unit 7134, or simply ‘Roz', is baffled to find herself in these wild natural surroundings, where she is treated with suspicion by the native animals. Nevertheless, Roz learns to communicate with creatures, learning survival skills and becoming an adoptive parent to an orphaned gosling. But just as she makes the forest her home, her mysterious past comes back to haunt her.
Find your nearest free cinema screening of The Wild Robot as part of the 2024 Into Film Festival here, including special events.
The Apprentice (certificate TBC) - in cinemas 18 October 2024
With the US presidential elections coming up next month, this timely biographical film looks at one of its candidates' early days as a cutthroat businessman, long before he went on to become a politician. A young, privileged and ambitious Donald Trump is eager to make his name in 1970s New York. He meets Roy Cohn, a ruthless attorney who helps him build his real estate empire by teaching him how to be utterly brazen and unrelenting. Trump soon learns to apply these tactics beyond his business dealings, pursuing his first wife Ivana and casting aside friends and family when they stop being useful. This fictionalised tragicomedy of the controversial figure's rise to fame and fortune, inspired by real accounts, invites viewers to reflect on how Donald Trump came to be the person that he is today.
