Wednesday, April 16 2025
There’s Still Tomorrow 2024  
Italy
Location: SilverCity
Showtimes: 6:30 & 8:45 pm


Director: Paola Cortellesi
Cast: Paola Cortellesi
Running Time: 118mins
Language: Italian with English subtitles 


Sydney Film Festival: Best Film; Rome Film Fest; Best Film; Golden Globes, Italy: Best Film; Aegean Film Festival: Audience Award; Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists: Film of the Year; 18 other wins, 20 other nominations.

“This is storytelling with terrific confidence and panache.”--Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

A black-and-white, neorealist-inspired tragicomic melodrama about a downtrodden wife in post-second world war Rome, “There’s Still Tomorrow” has won numerous Italian film awards. The film’s emotional heft, bittersweet comedy and tone of hard-bitten romance take centre stage.

A former sketch show comedian, director and star Cortellesi finds humour in tragedy: domestic tyranny, poverty, disappointment. This is a bold directorial gamble but Cortellesi’s charisma and the message of empowerment carry the film. Her approach recalls similarities to Roberto Benigni’s “Life is Beautiful.” 

Post-war Rome is grinding into recovery. There are still line-ups to shop for sparse food but outdoor markets are perking up. American GIs patrol the streets. Change is in the air.

However, there’s little change for Delia (Cortellesi herself) who lives with her boorish, controlling husband Ivano (Valerio Mastrandrea) and their three children. Delia cooks, cleans, raises the kids, and through odd jobs contributes to the household finances. Ivano takes every opportunity to disparage and belittle her. 

However, there’s a glimmer of comfort and hope. Her daughter has a promising marriage proposal. A GI expresses concern for her welfare. Wistfulness surrounds her encounters with mechanic Nino (Vinicio Marchioni) who might be the true love that got away. The film starts to build momentum as Delia finally plots to take charge of her own destiny.

Delia harbours a concealed document that may have a bearing on her future. Director Cortellesi plays on our curiosity for a suspenseful conclusion, adding impact to the film’s themes of empowerment on multiple levels.  

Wednesday, March 19, 2025
Flow 2023 
Latvia, France, Belgium
Location: SilverCity
Showtimes: 6:30 & 8:30 pm


Director: Gints Zilbalodis
Running Time; 85 minutes


Academy Award Nominations: Best Animated Film; Best International Feature; Boston Society of Film Critics Awards: Best Animated Feature; Golden Globes: Best Animated Motion Picture; National Board of Review: Best Animated Feature; Toronto Film Critics Association Awards: Best Animated Feature 34 other wins, 71 other nominations.

“Flow is dreamy, epic, perilous and very beautiful.”—Ty Burr, Washington Post

For anyone who ever considered their ultimate dream cast to be a cat, a dog, a lemur, a secretary bird, and a capybara, those hopes will be finally fulfilled in “Flow.” Thrown together by circumstance in an eerily depopulated world, now submerged in ever-rising waters, the furry and feathered characters in Gints Zilbalodis’ imaginative, astonishing, and thoroughly engaging animated feature must find common ground if they hope to survive an unforgettable journey.

One of the many reasons “Flow” and its cast are so memorable is that the animals here remain animals. In place of the quippy banter and zany antics of the anthropomorphized critters family-film viewers may be used to comes a more naturalistic-minded approach that allows for more authentic forms of behaviour, movement, and communication. (That last matter is especially important for the characters who’d rather not get eaten.) 

And thanks to the level of nuance and detail that Zilbalodis and his team create, the individual personalities of these unlikely traveling companions still shine through, especially in the case of the ever-intrepid feline protagonist.

That emphasis on naturalism also adds great richness and wonder to Zilbalodis’ film, a richly visual blend of adventure tale and ecological parable that will enchant and enthrall viewers no matter what their age or animal preference.