March - 'Belfast' and 'King Richard'
Our films for discussion this month were Belfast and King Richard
All the class had seen Belfast. It was based on the troubles in Belfast at the end of 1969. Filmed predominantly in B&W, it fitted the era well. It did show some of the violence, but this was not in your face and was necessary to bring our what was happening at the time. Performances were excellent. Themes brought out were the living conditions, the importance of family, difficulties around migration and that religious differences did not matter if the people were caring and good.
Everyone found it a film worth seeing, rating mainly around 4/5 to - 4.5/5, although there was one 5/5.
A few people had seen King Richard. It is the story of how Richard Williams coached Serena and Venus to bring them to top ranked tennis players. We were given a new picture of Richard Williams. Media have over the years made him out to be an ogre when it came to their training (he might not have always been a very pleasant person outside the era covered). The film showed a different side. He was certainly single minded about their coaching, but also wanted the girls to have a childhood and education. As a result he did not allow them to join the junior tennis circuit as young as some other tennis players. For example he saw how Jennifer Capriati who struggled after her initial entry into professional tennis and he did not want this for his daughters. Performances were good.
Generally it was well received, with a rating of 3/5.
We also briefly discussed Spencer. It covered just three days at Sandringham as the marriage between Prince Charles and Diana finally broke. It was not sympathetic towards Diana, focussing more on her mental and physical problems. The character of Diana seemed to be overplayed, with some of her mannerisms too repetitive. The only redeeming feature was the comparison between Diana and Anne Boleyn when her marriage with Henry VIII came to an end.
We are again looking at two films for our April class. These are Marry Me, a light romantic comedy, and Death on the Nile, a new version of the Agatha Christie book starring Kenneth Branagh as Poirot. Class members can watch either of both the films for discussion on 13 April.
​Joy Shirley
About our Film Discussion Group
Do you enjoy watching films? Do you find discussing films adds to your enjoyment? Do you find that you can better understand a movie by hearing and sharing thoughts about the film? We certainly do. At our Film Discussion classes we discuss a film we have watched during the month. In 2023:
We will select a film screening at BPACC
Participants will attend the film at a time that works with their individual commitments
We will meet in the Library on the 2nd Wednesday at 2 pm to discuss the film
If a participant cannot attend a specific film, they can come along to learn about the film, or add to the discussion by talking about another film they have seen.
BPACC sell books of ten tickets for $100.00 (Meaning the films only cost $10 each) or I will have individual tickets available for $10 from a book prepurchased. ​
Joy Shirley 0417065351​
2 pm to 3.30 pm
Benalla Library
The things we will watch for in viewing the film include:
Did you enjoy the film? What in particular did you like?
Was there anything that you did not like?
What did you think about the cinematography?
What did you think of the performances? Any strong performances that stand out? Any weak performances that spoilt the film?
Overall rating out of 5.
Films over time:
A Call To Spy
'Buckley's Chance'
COVID 19 Virus
'Death On The Nile'
'Downton Abbey - A New Era'
'Dream Horse'
'Falling For Figaro'
'From The Vine'
'Good Luck To You
'House Of Gucci'
June Again
'King Richard'
Leo Grande'
'Marry Me'
'Mothering Sunday'
'No Time To Die'
'Off The Rails'
'Operation Mincemeat'
Penguin Bloom
'Please Murder Me'
'Rams'
'Six Minutes To Midnight'
'Spencer'
'The Dry'
'The Duke'
'The Father'
'The Last Duel'
'The Railway Children'
'Ticket To Paradise'
'To Olivia'
'Where The Crawdads Sing'
Photo used under Creative Commons from comedy_nose