The Screen at Contemporary: Europa, Mon Amore
Join us this season for Europa, Mon Amore: classic love films set in the summer heat of Europe. See Rome, Paris, Venice, Vienna and the Mediterranean through the eyes of some of cinemas greatest visionaries.
Tickets available online or at reception £5. Wednesday evenings throughout summer.
Breathless (1960)
Dir. Jean Luc Goddard
We start our season with this definitive classic. Starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg, this was one of the most influential films of the French New Wave. Makes you want to run around Paris in a Breton top shouting “New York Herald Tribune!”
Roman Holiday (1953)
Dir. William Wyler
A bored and sheltered princess (Audrey Hepburn) escapes her guardians and falls in love with an American newsman (Gregory Peck) in Rome. Written whilst on the Hollywood Blacklist by Dalton Trumbo, this classic is often referenced in films about mistaken identities and sees Hepburn at her most endearing. A classic for all ages.
To Catch a Thief (1955)
Dir. Alfred Hitchcock
A polished and sleek caper film with Cary Grant as an ex-jewel thief and Grace Kelly, a bored and sassy socialite. The witty dialogue between Grant and Kelly and the sumptuous look of the south of France in the fifties makes this the perfect summer film.
Before Sunrise (1995)
Dir. Richard Linklater
The first in Richard Linkleters now cult; Before Trilogy. We meet strangers Jessie (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) on a train - they agree to spend a few hours together in Vienna. This is simple and striking filmmaking - a smart, nuanced and unabashed romantic look at modern love. The world feels better with these films in it.
Bonjour Tristesse (1958)
Dir. Otto Preminger
Based on the book that caused a stir in French society on its release in 1954. Seventeen-year-old Cécile (Jean Seberg) spends her summer in a villa on the French Riviera with her father (David Niven) and his mistress. They begin to question their own hedonistic and frivolous ways. Jean Luc Godard said this was the inspiration for Jean Seberg’s character in Breathless.
Before Sunset (2004)
Dir Richard Linklater
The follow up to Before Sunrise - it’s 9 years later and Jessie and Céline reunite in Paris. This one was co-written by Delpy and Hawke and is just as perfect as the first. You will fall in love with Jessie, Celine, Paris in the Summer and Nina Simone all over again.
Peoples Movie Choice
La Mempris, Before Midnight, Le Piscine, Stealing Beauty, My Summer of Love, La Dolce a Vita, Purple Moon? Vote for the European summer love film you want to see on the big screen.