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CINDERELLA
You get a lot more background than is strictly necessary in Kenneth Branagh’s re-telling of this much-loved fairytale, and the result is an ever-soslight apologia for the wicked stepmother (Cate Blanchett). Widowed and left with, as she describes them, ‘two idiot daughters’ to raise, she re-marries only to find herself in the shadow of Cinderella’s deceased real mother, thus accentuating her bitterness and meanness. Otherwise, Branagh doesn’t deviate from the well-trodden path, knowing that, at its core, the tale’s theme of revenge is one that should not be tampered with if his audience is to be rewarded with the satisfaction it craves. You can read too much into a simple narrative, but it seems
VINCENT VAN GOGH: A NEW WAY OF SEEING SCREENING AT THE PALACE ON SUNDAY AND WEDNESDAY
that the Cinderella story is particularly pertinent to an age in which everybody feels hard done by – we all want ‘those bastards’ (whoever they are) to get their comeuppance. The centrepiece here is the ball, at which our heroine is reacquainted with the dashing prince, who is unaware of her identity but overwhelmed by her ravishing beauty and purity of heart. Earlier, the fairy-godmother, played by an ageless Helena Bonham Carter, had performed the tricks of turning the pumpkin into a golden carriage and the mice into white horses before decking out Cinders in her fabulous gown and those portentous glass slippers. It’s a fantastic scene, bettered
only by the frantic dash from the palace when the smitten ingénue realises she must return home before the stroke of midnight. As the ideal of every girl’s daggy olde-worlde dream, Lily James (from Downton Abbey) is captivating and gorgeous. Richard Madden as the prince is pretty gorgeous, too, as is the art direction, the cinematography and the costume design by the legendary Sandy Powell. A gal needing a guy to find fulfilment might be horribly outdated, but Cinderella’s lesson – to ‘be courageous and kind’ – is one that should never be out of fashion, especially as we watch our own society slide into callowness and cruelty. ‘When you wish upon a star… ’
VINCENT ON FILM Enjoying complete and unprecedented access to the treasures of Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum. Vincent Van Gogh: A New Way of Seeing is a surprising new film about one of the world’s favourite artists, marking both a major re-showing of the gallery’s collection and a celebration of the 125th anniversary of Van Gogh’s death. The Exhibition on Screen series offers cinema audiences the opportunity to experience masterpieces from
THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER SpongeBob SquarePants first appeared on TV way back in 1999. He made his debut on the big screen 2004 and I can distinctly recall nothing about the movie but plenty about my little nephew’s excitement at being taken to it. That little nephew now has 456 Facebook friends and is playing guitar in a grunge band somewhere in the back lanes of Sydney – and he wouldn’t be caught dead anywhere near SpongeBob’s latest incarnation. Which begs the question – how does a studio (in this case Nickelodeon Movies) maintain a cartoon character’s relevance to an ever-changing market? The short answer is it beats me. All I know is that I couldn’t get a seat at the first session that I rolled up for and was astounded to find that, when I did get to see it (in Lismore) it was still drawing good numbers well into its second week. Unfortunately, this time
the art world on the big screen while specially invited guests, including world-renowned curators and art historians, offer their interpretations and explanations. With exclusive new research revealing incredible recent discoveries, the Van Gogh Museum has helped craft a unique cinema experience. The film also offers exclusive behind-thescenes access to the Van Gogh Museum as it engages in this complete re-hang. Among the key interviewees are Vincent Willem Van Gogh (great grandson of Theo van Gogh),
WEDNESDAY
15 APRIL to
WEDNESDAY MOVIE CLUB PRICES Adult $14.00 / Golden Club $9.00
OPENS TOMORROW
OPENS TOMORROW
PARIS OPERA: CELEBRATE DANCE (CTC) Wed 15 11.00am BIG EYES (M) Wed 15 2.05, 6.50, 9.20pm INHERENT VICE (MA15+) Wed 15 8.50pm
EXHIBITION: VINCENT VAN GOUGH (CTC) Sun/Wed 22 1.00pm IT FOLLOWS (MA15+) (NO FREE TICKETS) Thu-Sat/Mon-Tue 2.00, 4.40, 9.10pm Sun 1.50, 4.40, 9.10pm Wed 22 1.50, 5.00, 9.30pm
around I was not accompanied by an enthusiastic grommet, so the experience was less than illuminating. The secret recipe for SpongeBob’s renowned patties goes missing and SpongeBob and his crew need to leave Bikini Bottom and venture into the ‘real world’, ie, move among real humans rather than animated ones to set matters right. With rapid dialogue and helterskelter plot development, the adventure hurtles along at a pace frantic enough for me to wonder if the kids around me were doing any better than I at keeping
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tabs on all that was going on. But that might possibly be the secret of this type of cartoon’s appeal, for it is genuinely whacky in the (vaguely remembered) childish sense of the word. And it is not short of some terrific sight gags, too – I laughed out loud when, at the beach, they attempt to return a giant hairy porpoise (a man sunbathing) back to the water. The overall effect is, if not quite exhilarating, upbeat enough to lift an adult’s spirits, but it is terribly sobering to see Antonio Banderas acting with cartoon drawings.
Dominique-Charles Janssens (president of the Institute Van Gogh), Axel Rüger (director, Van Gogh Museum) and Van Gogh Museum senior researchers Teio Meedendorp and Louis van Tilborgh. Produced by Phil Grabsky and directed by Australian documentary filmmaker David Bickerstaff, Vincent Van Gogh: A New Way of Seeing screens at Palace Byron Bay Cinema at 1pm on Sunday and Wednesday. Tickets $15–25 available now at Palace box office or online at www. palacecinemas.com.au.
THE AGE OF ADALINE (M) (NO FREE TICKETS) Thu-Tue 12.00, 2.20, 6.50pm Wed 22 11.15am, 1.40, 6.10pm CINDERELLA (G) Wed 15 12.00, 2.10, 6.40pm Thu-Sat/Mon-Tue 11.40am, 4.10, 6.30pm Sun 9.40am, 4.50, 6.30pm Wed 22 9.00am, 4.00, 6.30pm THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER (PG) Wed 15 9.00am, 1.00pm Thu-Sat/Mon-Wed 22 9.50, 11.50am Sun 9.00, 11.00am Enjoy our licensed bar
Lavazza Espresso Coffee
22 APR
19 & 22 APR ONLY
THE DIVERGENT SERIES: INSURGENT (M) Wed 15 4.20, 9.00pm Thu-Sat/Mon-Wed 22 4.00, 8.45pm Sun 4.00, 9.15pm THAT SUGAR FILM (PG) Wed 15 5.00, 7.10pm Thu-Sat/Mon-Tue 6.20pm Sun 7.00pm Wed 22 7.15pm HOME (PG) Wed 15 9.00, 11.00am, 3.00pm Thu-Sat/Mon-Tue 9.40am, 1.50pm Sun 10.00, 11.50am Wed 22 9.00am, 3.00 THE SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL (PG) Wed 15 4.15pm Thu-Sat/Mon-Tue 8.30pm Sun 8.45pm SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE (G) Wed 15 10.00am Thu-Sat/Mon-Tue 10.00am Sun 3.00pm Wed 22 11.00am AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON (CTC) (NO FREE TICKETS) Wed 22 8.30pm Gift cards are the perfect gift
Group Bookings available
108-110 Jonson Street, Byron Bay 6680 8555 | www.palacecinemas.com.au
The Byron Shire Echo April 15, 2015 27