FOR PARENTS MAROONED WITH THEIR BABIES, STARVED OF THE CHANCE TO SEE EXCELLENT FILMS FOR MONTHS ON END, COMES FOR CRYING OUT ALLOWED. ONCE A MONTH, THE IFI WILL PUT ON A SPECIAL SCREENING FOR PARENTS-WITH BABIES.
Simply bring your bundle with you, park your buggy or pram with us, and enjoy the best film we have on that week. As the title suggests, there is no need to worry about the noise. Baby-changing facilities are provided, and we have a cafe for lunch afterwards. Babies must be 12 months or younger, and adults pay normal admission price. RESERVATIONS STRICTLY REQUIRED: 01-6795744

APRIL SCREENING: GENOVA

IT’S A TRUISM OF MICHAEL WINTERBOTTOM’S CAREER THAT YOU NEVER QUITE KNOW WHERE HE’S GOING NEXT, AND AFTER THE GEO-POLITICAL DRAMAS OF THE ROAD TO GUANTANAMO AND A MIGHTY HEART, HE’S TURNED TO THIS PRECISELY FOCUSED, INTIMATE VIGNETTE OF BEREAVEMENT AND REGENERATION.
After a car crash leaves academic Colin Firth a widower, he moves his two girls — a precocious 16-year old, and the more fragile sibling six years her junior — to sunny Genova for a year where he has a new university post. The Italian city is also home to an old college friend (the ever-wonderful Catherine Keener) who helps them settle in but may also have thoughts of rekindling an old college crush on Firth. Meanwhile, his younger daughter (Perla Haney-Jardine) seems to be the only one outwardly traumatised by the family’s tragedy, since her sister (Willa Holland) has discovered the delights of Italian boys, scooters and the beach, while dad can hardly take the moral high ground since he’s gradually warming to the advances of one of his female students.
Winterbottom lets his camera wander down the claustrophobic back alleys of this intriguingly photogenic old town, bringing a sense of adventure mixed with foreboding that’s a keynote for the whole film. Rather than exploit the situation for full-on melodrama, it’s a story of simmering tensions, as everyone finds themselves caught between the duties of mourning, the immediate pang of loss, and the opportunities for self-reinvention presented by their tantalising new milieu. The two young actresses are utterly believable, and Firth is a revelation in his most persuasive performance in years. — Trevor Johnston.