January 2019 at Belmont Filmhouse

Happy New Year to all from Aberdeen's independent cinema! 

As ever, there's no time to waste, as we plunge headlong into another year of terrific cinema and awards season beckons once again... 

BROWSE A PDF OF THE NEW BROCHURE HERE

NEW RELEASES 

THE FAVOURITE

The first new film to arrive on our screens in 2019 is Yorgos (The Lobster) Lanthimos' riotous period comedy The Favourite - a truly irreverent take on the bubbling rivalry between Queen Anne's two young confidantes and a hot tip for big awards this year. Olivia Colman is tremendous as the misanthropic monarch and both Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone produce terrific performances to match. It's definitely the first must-see movie of the year. 

PAPILLON, LIZZIE, STAN & OLLIE

Also arriving on our screens in early January are Papillon - starring Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy) and Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody) - and Lizzie, which tells the notorious story of Lizzie Borden (Chloë Sevigny), whose blossoming intimacy with housemaid Bridget Sullivan (Kristen Stewart) in a repressive household leads to consequences most deadly... 

Aberdeenshire's own Jon S. Baird directs Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly in Stan & Ollie - a highly entertaining and touching biopic of Laurel and Hardy as they embark on a landmark tour of Great Britain - a trip that would ultimately prove to be their farewell. Sweet when needed and funny throughout, the lead pair are perfectly cast and more than ably backed up by Shirley Henderson and Nina Arianda as their wives Lucille and Ida - a formidable double act in their own right. This ought to be one of the most popular films of the month and it screens from 11-24 January.

COLETTE, MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS

Also on our screens in mid-January is Wash Westmoreland's enthralling Colette, in which Keira Knightley plays the talented turn-of-the-20th-century writer Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, who is forced to publish her popular 'Claudine' stories under her husband's name. Safe to say, this arrangement is soon found to be sorely lacking, and his (Dominic West) reticence to give her due credit for these successful works drives a wedge between them. A smart, feisty drama, based on true events. 

The top-notch dual lead performances keep coming thick and fast with Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie as Mary Stuart and Queen Elizabeth I in Mary Queen of Scots - a bold historical drama from debuting director Josie Rourke (National Theatre Live) and screenwriter Beau Willimon (House of Cards, The Ides of March) that also features top Scots David Tennant (Doctor Who, Jessica Jones) and Jack Lowden (Dunkirk). 

RETURN OF THE HERO, THE 12TH MAN, BEAUTIFUL BOY

European cinema fans are well-served too this month, as the very popular French comedy Return of the Hero (quite appropriately) returns to our screens for the last week of January. Also, Norwegian World War II survival thriller The 12th Man (Den 12. Mann) screens from 25-29 January. The story of a lone survivor from a squad of twelve Norwegian Resistance cohorts, whose plan to sabotage the occupying Nazi forces goes horribly wrong, this is some of the most gripping cinema you'll see all month - and also features Jonathan Rhys Meyers as a Gestapo officer doggedly pursuing him to the last...

2017/2018 was truly a breakout time in the career of Timothée Chalamet, who found stardom and adoration for his lead role in Call Me By Your Name (screening in Kino Bar for Valentine's Day next month, see HERE) and small but memorable appearances in Lady Bird and Hostiles. He returns to our screens with a heart-rending performance in Beautiful Boy. Felix Van Groeningen's first English-language feature is based on a pair of best-selling memoirs from father and son David and Nic Sheff, unravelling a wrenching true story of parenthood, challenges and crippling addiction, and also stars the excellent Steve Carell - another major marker on his road from comedy stardom to more serious fare.

SPECIAL EVENTS & SEASONS

FILMHOUSE JUNIOR

There's plenty for younger filmgoers to get stuck into in January as well, with our first Filmhouse Junior screening of 2019 KIki's Delivery Service on Saturday 5 January setting the tone for another year of great family picks. The next few weekends include classic Spielberg Jurassic Park, spellbinding animation Song of the Sea and emotionally charged claymation gem My Life as a Courgette - an excellent array of films that will entertain, delight and challenge kids of various ages (big kids always welcome, too!). 

KINO BAR

Our much-loved Kino Bar whirrs into life again for more cozy nights of drinks and movies - and our early picks are all rather grisly... 
Takashi Miike's notorious cult hit Audition is the first screening of the year on 3 January, followed by Lamberto Bava's giallo fest Demons (11 January) and Clive Barker's 1980s horror classic Hellraiser (16 January). We then pivot delightfully to a Burns Night screening of Russell Mulcahy's cheesy action fantasy Highlander (25 January) - there can be only one, so book your tickets now! All Kino Bar screenings cost £5/£4 and are for audiences 18 years and over. 

THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD

Back by popular demand this month is Peter Jackson's stunning, sobering World War I documentary They Shall Not Grow Old - which features incredible restored and colourised footage from the trenches and testimony from the soldiers who were there. Screening on Saturday 12 January at 1.15pm and Sunday 13 January at 3.30pm. INFO/TICKETS

HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY 2019

1945 proved a very popular new release in late 2018 - a beautifully-framed Hungarian tale, set just after WWII, about a village that begins to totally unravel when two Jewish men arrive at the railway station with two large trunks, and begin to make their way into the town centre. Think High Noon but in post-war eastern Europe and with a keen eye for a striking camera shot. There will be a free & ticketed screening of 1945 on Sunday 27 January at 1.00pm to mark Holocaust Memorial Day. Tickets available HERE.

ARTS ON SCREEN - LIVE THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE

Top live broadcast theatre continues in the new year with two National Theatre productions and two Royal Opera House performances coming to Cinema 1 this month, including Shakespeare, Verdi and the new play from acclaimed writer David Hare. 

NT LIve: The Tragedy of King Richard the Second - Tuesday 15 January at 7.00pm | TICKETS

ROH Live: The Queen of Spades - Tuesday 22 January at 6.45pm | TICKETS

ROH Live: La Traviata - Wednesday 30 January at 6.45pm | TICKETS

NT Live: I'm Not Running - Thursday 31 January at 7.00pm | TICKETS