Verve’s film picks for the month of December.
THE OLD OAK
In cinemas 30 November
The Old Oak is a special place. Not only is it the last pub standing, but it’s also the only remaining public space where people can meet in a once-thriving mining community that has seen 30 hard years of decline. TJ Ballantyne, the landlord, hangs on to The Old Oak by his fingertips, and his predicament is endangered even more when the pub becomes contested territory after the arrival of Syrian refugees who are placed in the village without any notice. In an unlikely friendship, TJ meets a curious young Syrian woman, Yara, who has a camera. Can they find a way for the two communities to understand each other? So unfolds a deeply moving drama about their fragilities and hopes.
ONE LIFE
In cinemas 26 December
Starring Sir Anthony Hopkins, Johnny Flynn and Helena Bonham Carter, One Life tells the inspiring true story of Sir Nicholas ‘Nicky’ Winton, whose unsung endeavours on the eve of World War II saved more than 600 children from their doom at the hands of the Nazis.
Nicky considered himself a banker, not a humanitarian. Yet when he visited a recently annexed Prague in 1938 and saw the state of the fleeing Jewish refugees, he did what he believed was the right thing to do – the thing that anyone would do – and dedicated himself to the cause. War was approaching, and it was a race against time. How many children could he liberate before it ran out?
Fifty years later, it’s 1988 and Nicky is haunted by the fate of the children he wasn’t able to help. And so it’s not until he’s surprised by the survivors on live television that he can accept that when facing devastating atrocities, saving even one life is a victory, and the British public learn the truth about the hero hidden in their midst.
ANYONE BUT YOU
In cinemas 26 December
In the edgy comedy Anyone But You, Bea (Sydney Sweeney) and Ben (Glen Powell) look like the perfect couple, but after an amazing first date something happens that turns their fiery hot attraction ice cold – until they find themselves unexpectedly thrust together at a destination wedding in Australia. So they do what any two mature adults would do: pretend to be a couple.
PERFECT DAYS
In cinemas 25 January
Hirayama seems utterly content with his simple life as a cleaner of toilets in Tokyo. Outside of his very structured everyday routine he enjoys his passion for music and for books. And he loves trees and takes photos of them. A series of unexpected encounters gradually reveal more of his past. A deeply moving and poetic reflection on finding beauty in the everyday world around us.
