Releases
'The Long Day Closes,' with Director Terence Davies in Person, Plays One Day Only, March 8 at SF Film Society Cinema
New 35mm Print of Davies’s Expressionistic Autobiographical Scrapbook of Working-Class Family Life in Northern England in the Mid-1950s
2/9/2012
The Long Day Closes (England 1992), Terence Davies’s beautifully poetic collection of memories from his childhood in postwar industrial England, plays March 8 at SF Film Society Cinema (1746 Post Street). Terence Davies will appear in person at the 8:30 pm screening.
Continuing through territory masterfully illuminated in Distant Voices, Still Lives and his earlier Terence Davies Trilogy (SFIFF 1984), The Long Day Closes excavates more of the rich ore of the director’s Liverpool childhood. It focuses on his shy, daydreaming alter ego, Bud, growing up poor and Catholic during a time in the mid ’50s after the death of his brutal father. Composed of the details and small moments that make up a life—a mother’s favorite song sung softly to herself; a hot cup of cocoa on a cold rainy night; a family get-together; or a joyful trip to the cinema—the film is infused with a sense of contentment occasionally darkened by the shadow of sadness. The youngest in a large family, Bud often can’t be part of his siblings’ activities and, at a new school, is just starting to face conflicts and realizations that will bring him into his own adulthood. Davies’ muted colors, austere camera movements, painterly still lifes, snatches of dialogue and ripe, eclectic soundtrack—containing everything from Mahler to popular songs to traditional melodies to slivers of soundtracks from The Magnificent Ambersons and Great Expectations—are meticulously crafted into a sublime evocation of the imprint of time and place on one man. According to the director, “the film is a story of paradise, but the story of a paradise that’s already being lost and will only survive as a memory.” Written by Terence Davies. Photographed by Michael Coulter. With Marjorie Yates, Leigh McCormack, Anthony Watson. 85 min. New 35mm print. Distributed by Film Desk.
Showtimes 2:30, 8:30 pm
Tickets $9 for SFFS members, $11 general, $10 senior/student/disabled. Box office opens February 13 online at sffs.org and in person at SF Film Society Cinema.
Davies will be in San Francisco in connection with the opening of his new film The Deep Blue Sea starring Rachel Weisz, opening in late March/early April. For interviews contact larsenassc@aol.com.
For photos and press materials visit sffs.org/pressdownloads.
At SF Film Society Cinema, the stylish state-of-the art theater located in the New People building at 1746 Post Street (Webster/Buchanan) in Japantown, the San Francisco Film Society offers its acclaimed exhibition, education and filmmaker services programs and events on a daily year-round basis. For complete up-to-date information on all SFFS Cinema programming, including buying tickets, visit sffs.org/cinema.
Upcoming San Francisco Film Society programs
Through February 9: Domain This moody, contemplative, superbly acted drama explores the unusually intimate relationship between a magnetic and alcoholic woman and her 17-year-old nephew who is coming to terms with his sexuality.
Opening February 10: Once Upon a Time in Anatolia Masterful police procedural from acclaimed Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan yields a quietly poignant portrait of the human condition.
Opening February 17: Margaret Anna Paquin stars in Kenneth Lonergan’s drama about a young woman grappling with her feelings of guilt over her role in a tragic accident.
Opening February 24: Roadie Michael Cuesta’s compellingly honest look at youthful rock ‘n’ roll dreams gone awry.
Opening March 16: Kill List Ben Wheatley’s non-traditional approach to the horror genre moves effortlessly from kitchen-sink realism to gritty thrills.
March 20: The Island President Jon Shenk’s beautifully shot documentary follows the globe-trotting journey of Mohamed Nasheed, former president—he was forced to resign on February 7, 2012—of the Maldives, the lowest-lying country in the world, who, after bringing democracy to his country, takes up the fight to keep it from disappearing under the sea.
Opening March 23: Sound of Noise A delightful comic cocktail mixing a modern urban symphony, a police procedural and a love story.
Opening March 30: House of Pleasures Ambitious and elegantly made, Bertrand Bonello’s film depicts life in a Paris brothel at the turn of the 20th century.
Opening April 13: The Turin Horse This apocalyptic story of the domestic life of a horse-cart driver and his daughter is purportedly Béla Tarr’s last film.
San Francisco Film Society
Building on a legacy of more than 50 years of bringing the best in world cinema to the Bay Area, the San Francisco Film Society is a national leader in exhibition, education and filmmaker services.
The Film Society presents 365 days of exhibition each year, reaching a total audience of 130,000 people. Its acclaimed education program introduces international, independent and documentary cinema and media literacy to more than 15,000 teachers and students and presents 120 classes and workshops annually. Through the filmmaker services program essential creative and business services, and funding totaling millions of dollars, are provided to deserving filmmakers of all levels.
The Film Society seeks to elevate all aspects of film culture, offering a wide range of activities that engage emotions, inspire action, change perceptions and advance knowledge. A 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation, it is largely donor and member supported. Patronage and membership provides discounted prices, access to grants and residencies, private events and a wealth of other benefits.
For more information visit sffs.org.
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Continuing through territory masterfully illuminated in Distant Voices, Still Lives and his earlier Terence Davies Trilogy (SFIFF 1984), The Long Day Closes excavates more of the rich ore of the director’s Liverpool childhood. It focuses on his shy, daydreaming alter ego, Bud, growing up poor and Catholic during a time in the mid ’50s after the death of his brutal father. Composed of the details and small moments that make up a life—a mother’s favorite song sung softly to herself; a hot cup of cocoa on a cold rainy night; a family get-together; or a joyful trip to the cinema—the film is infused with a sense of contentment occasionally darkened by the shadow of sadness. The youngest in a large family, Bud often can’t be part of his siblings’ activities and, at a new school, is just starting to face conflicts and realizations that will bring him into his own adulthood. Davies’ muted colors, austere camera movements, painterly still lifes, snatches of dialogue and ripe, eclectic soundtrack—containing everything from Mahler to popular songs to traditional melodies to slivers of soundtracks from The Magnificent Ambersons and Great Expectations—are meticulously crafted into a sublime evocation of the imprint of time and place on one man. According to the director, “the film is a story of paradise, but the story of a paradise that’s already being lost and will only survive as a memory.” Written by Terence Davies. Photographed by Michael Coulter. With Marjorie Yates, Leigh McCormack, Anthony Watson. 85 min. New 35mm print. Distributed by Film Desk.
Showtimes 2:30, 8:30 pm
Tickets $9 for SFFS members, $11 general, $10 senior/student/disabled. Box office opens February 13 online at sffs.org and in person at SF Film Society Cinema.
Davies will be in San Francisco in connection with the opening of his new film The Deep Blue Sea starring Rachel Weisz, opening in late March/early April. For interviews contact larsenassc@aol.com.
For photos and press materials visit sffs.org/pressdownloads.
At SF Film Society Cinema, the stylish state-of-the art theater located in the New People building at 1746 Post Street (Webster/Buchanan) in Japantown, the San Francisco Film Society offers its acclaimed exhibition, education and filmmaker services programs and events on a daily year-round basis. For complete up-to-date information on all SFFS Cinema programming, including buying tickets, visit sffs.org/cinema.
Upcoming San Francisco Film Society programs
Through February 9: Domain This moody, contemplative, superbly acted drama explores the unusually intimate relationship between a magnetic and alcoholic woman and her 17-year-old nephew who is coming to terms with his sexuality.
Opening February 10: Once Upon a Time in Anatolia Masterful police procedural from acclaimed Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan yields a quietly poignant portrait of the human condition.
Opening February 17: Margaret Anna Paquin stars in Kenneth Lonergan’s drama about a young woman grappling with her feelings of guilt over her role in a tragic accident.
Opening February 24: Roadie Michael Cuesta’s compellingly honest look at youthful rock ‘n’ roll dreams gone awry.
Opening March 16: Kill List Ben Wheatley’s non-traditional approach to the horror genre moves effortlessly from kitchen-sink realism to gritty thrills.
March 20: The Island President Jon Shenk’s beautifully shot documentary follows the globe-trotting journey of Mohamed Nasheed, former president—he was forced to resign on February 7, 2012—of the Maldives, the lowest-lying country in the world, who, after bringing democracy to his country, takes up the fight to keep it from disappearing under the sea.
Opening March 23: Sound of Noise A delightful comic cocktail mixing a modern urban symphony, a police procedural and a love story.
Opening March 30: House of Pleasures Ambitious and elegantly made, Bertrand Bonello’s film depicts life in a Paris brothel at the turn of the 20th century.
Opening April 13: The Turin Horse This apocalyptic story of the domestic life of a horse-cart driver and his daughter is purportedly Béla Tarr’s last film.
San Francisco Film Society
Building on a legacy of more than 50 years of bringing the best in world cinema to the Bay Area, the San Francisco Film Society is a national leader in exhibition, education and filmmaker services.
The Film Society presents 365 days of exhibition each year, reaching a total audience of 130,000 people. Its acclaimed education program introduces international, independent and documentary cinema and media literacy to more than 15,000 teachers and students and presents 120 classes and workshops annually. Through the filmmaker services program essential creative and business services, and funding totaling millions of dollars, are provided to deserving filmmakers of all levels.
The Film Society seeks to elevate all aspects of film culture, offering a wide range of activities that engage emotions, inspire action, change perceptions and advance knowledge. A 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation, it is largely donor and member supported. Patronage and membership provides discounted prices, access to grants and residencies, private events and a wealth of other benefits.
For more information visit sffs.org.
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