Films at HEART: The Grump

 Tamsin Scott writes:

When thinking of words to describe a film, 'frustrating' is often one that comes to mind. Charming, too, but not usually to describe the same film. However, these are the two words that sprung to the forefront of my mind within the first ten minutes of The Grump and stuck there throughout its entirety. The main storyline of The Grump attempting to fit in with modern day society after a draining accident had me cringing at every turn, from his racist comments to his ill fated advice. 

Antti Litja as Mielensäpahoittaja

The juxtaposition between the modern woman ‘The Missus’ to the virtually prehistoric title character didn’t seem over-dramatic, as I’m sure everyone knows what it’s like to have a family member that you stare at, slack jawed and wide eyed when they come out with something completely inappropriate. However, you couldn’t help but be charmed by his interactions with his granddaughters, and the way he took care of his paralysed wife showed a more sensitive side to the ageing farmer. 

The flashbacks made me feel nostalgic for a life I never led, and the colour palette of the entire film made it a joy to watch. The ending, however predictable, was a lovely reminder that no matter what differences families have, they can always be solved by baking some sweet buns. If nothing else, this film reminded me to give my Grandad a call.

Sally Bavage writes:
The Cinage 'short' that preceded the Finnish main film was entitled 'Stormy Weather' and was a poignant look at the dying of the light for one of a pair of sisters.  Simply done and very affecting. Cinage is such a good local opportunity for our community to take part in the actualité and the verité of film-making. 

Audience Comments

The film, as usual, was interesting, unusual, intriguing

Another great evening with Films@Heart.  I enjoyed the short and the main feature was excellent

Quite a mixture of human relationships – father and son/husband and wife – and the reaction of a very old man to modern life.  Amusing, farcical and touching – varied background of both urban, glitzy Helsinki ad very rural Finnish farmland

Well acted.  Was a very suitable viewing for anyone who had done the Cinage course.  On that we saw several films about ageing.  Interesting to see views of Finland

Excellent film

Interesting film

Todella upea! (Ed. 'Really cool!' in Finnish)

It's a really nice selection we could see.  It gave me a lot of inspiration and opened the broad view about generation and ageing.  Thank you

Very good.  Interesting story about an old man.  It took me a while to get into the film but eventually it became quite funny.

I like Scandi humour.  Quirky and thought it looked good.  Very moving - funny bits, sad bits, quirky bits, thoughtful.  Thanks.

Really enjoyed it

Most enjoyable – some humour in parts – by Finnish standards laugh-a-minute

Interesting and thought-provoking.  An antidote to Hollywood

Fine

Excellent film

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Strange Encounters: Paranoia and British Science Fiction Cinema #scifi #fantasy

(Partnership event with Café Scientifique)

Jade Verbick writes:

As a fan of everything science fiction, I enjoy nothing more than a scintillating conversation on the relationship between culture and works of science fiction, and the impact they have on each other. The wide-spanning genre is often disregarded or dismissed altogether when discussing culture and the arts, but science fiction is an important way of gauging the fears held in contemporary culture. 

Robert Shail

Robert Shail, Professor of Film and Director of Research at Leeds Beckett University, expanded on this theory in his talk about the unique anxieties that influenced post-WWII British science fiction cinema. Referencing such classics as The Village of the Damned and The Day of the Triffids, Shail discussed the very British fears of children, women, and nice weather. While, disappointingly (and perhaps a slightly bit ironically), we were not able to see a visual representation of the films he mentioned due to technical difficulties, Robert Shail’s discussion on science fiction films of post-war Britain was insightful and animated. 

His passion for science fiction film shone through in his brilliant analysis of classic science fiction film and literature. His talk helped open a wider conversation about the lasting legacy of science fiction and what it might represent in our contemporary society. Robert Shail gave a talk that will likely stick in his audience’s minds for a long time to come.

Tamsin Scott writes:

When headed to Robert Shail’s talk on science fiction, I honestly had no idea what to expect. My only experiences with Science Fiction so far have been my step-dad’s unyielding attempts to make me watch Blade Runner, which, in spite of all his efforts, I have still not seen. Despite not quite being the target audience for Shail’s 1950’s based talk, I was so completely engaged with his ideas that I begun to view myself as an elderly man who had lived through the fears of the post war years. His clear, humorous presentation guided us through both time and place, starting with US films and their focus on the Red Scare, making his way towards UK films and the fears present in suburban Britain.

At multiple points throughout the presentation, I was struck by the relevance to today’s science fiction. As it turns out, women and youth have been universally feared for centuries, which is surprisingly quite an ego boost for a 20 year old woman. Although I hadn’t seen many of the films Shail spoke about, the concepts were easily relatable to the sci-fi films I have seen. Issues such as untrustworthy women and a new generation that can’t be understood are still present in today’s society, and are equally as obvious in modern films. During the question and answer session at the end of the presentation, Shail answered multiple questions about the future of science fiction. He stated that due to Netflix and YouTube, we may see a return of the B movie, and thus realistic, widely representative fears that are not Hollywood giants but instead capture the charm of rural Britain.

YOU'LL NEVER BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENS IN THIS TRAILER - for the Hammer Film version of Quatermass and the Pit - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Zoz9MN0-Y4

Audience Comments

Really enjoyed it.  Very interesting guest speaker.

Despite the problem with the projector the talk was illuminating and very interesting

Interesting talk and discussion.  Pity the film clips couldn't be shown

Very illuminating talk

Excellent despite the technology failure. A very good talk in spite of technical hitches – and interesting discussion points

Given the failure of the AV equipment the speaker was excellent

A very interesting talk but it was a pity about the lack of video

Excellent! And despite lack of projector

Very interesting even though let down by technology

Interesting!

Liked the comparisons between British and American SciFi movies - and his assertion that Star Wars changed everything.

And here's the message passed on to its members by Café Scientifique:

Information for Followers of Headingley Cafe Scientifique Dear All, Thanks to all of you who attended the last Cafe Sci meeting - "Strange Encounters" by Robert Shail. As will recall, this was put on in conjunction with Headingley LitFest and we had a bit of a technology failure in that the projector refused to work. So, thanks again to Robert for coping with all this and still delivering an interesting and thought provoking discussion. Robert has kindly passed on his Powerpoint presentation which contains some graphics but also some links to the clips he would have shown but did a great job in explaining everything verbally. Click here to download the powerpoint presentation

Café Scientifique Headingley is a programme run under the auspices of the Headingley Development Trust Headingley Development Trust Ltd  www.headingleydevelopmenttrust.org.uk