The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (cert 12A). Doors at 7.00pm, film at 7.30pm.
Sat 20 Jul 2024 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM BST
Roundhay Parochial Hall, Fitzroy Drive, LS8 4AB
Description
Welcome to Oakwood Cinema - the independent community cinema for Oakwood and Roundhay in Leeds! Oakwood Cinema is a not-for-profit community cinema showing a film each month, with a licensed bar and snacks to make the night an enjoyable social event for all!
THE FILM
Our film for July is The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (12a)
Starring the ever wonderful Jim Broadbent and Penelope Wilton, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is based on a best-selling 2012 novel by Rachel Joyce. It tells the (yes, unlikely) story of a 60 year old man, Harold, who gets a letter from an old friend (Queenie) who he hasn't seen for years. Queenie is dying in a hospice in Berwick on Tweed, and Harold writes her a letter and sets off to post it. But then he keeps on walking and walking - somehow telling himself that as long as he keeps walking in order to give her the letter in person, Queenie won’t die. The problem is that the Frys live in Devon, which is about 450 miles from Berwick.
Walton plays Harold’s wife Maureen, and it seems that things are not all ok in the Fry household. She cannot understand what he is doing and why - but then it is not clear that Harold can explain his compulsion either. The film focuses on his mishaps and adventures as well as the attention he gathers on the way, offering a snapshot of English society in all its shades, but the journey and their separation also allows Harold and Maureen to confront some difficult aspects of their own family history.
In the Guardian, Wendy Ide gave it a four star review: “Initially, this autumn-years road movie, which was adapted by Rachel Joyce from her own novel, chugs along amiably, a cosily familiar tale of British eccentricity. But as a blistered and weathered Harold limps into the film’s heart-sore third act, director Hettie Macdonald, whose TV work includes Normal People, shifts up an emotional gear or two. This politely unassuming little film builds into a wrenching examination of grief, guilt and eventual closure.”
Film length: 1 hours 48 minutes (plus interval)
TICKETS
Tickets are just £5 for everyone. (We are no longer offering memberships.)
A booking fee is applied to cover the bank processing fee for purchasing online tickets.
The main doors open at 7.00pm. The film starts at 7.30pm. (Interval drinks are available.)
Location
Roundhay Parochial Hall, Fitzroy Drive, LS8 4AB