Product description
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Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2
(Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play.
United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English (
Dolby Digital 5.1 ), English ( Subtitles ), WIDESCREEN (2.35:1),
SPECIAL FEATURES: Cast/Crew Interview(s), Interactive Menu, Scene
Access, Trailer(s), SYNOPSIS: Class consciousness has frequently
played a role in Mike Leigh's films, and not only because, as a
storyteller whose native terrain is modern Britain, he can hardly
hope to avoid it. And sure enough, the observant viewer of his
splendidly rich and wise new feature, 'Another Year,' will notice
the shadows that an always-evolving system of social hierarchy
casts over the passage of the seasons. ('We're all graduates,'
one character reminds another, with the prickly pride of
belonging to the first generation to receive a university
education in an era of expanded rtunity.) But in this movie,
as in its immediate precursor, 'Happy-Go-Lucky,' Mr. Leigh is
also after a more elusive and troubling form of injustice, one
that is almost cosmically mysterious even as it penetrates, and
sometimes threatens to poison, the relationships that make up
everyday life. Like 'Happy-Go-Lucky,' though on a somewhat larger
scale, 'Another Year' is about the unequal distribution of
happiness. Why do some people - like Tom and Gerri, the post-'60s
60-something couple at the center of this episodic story - seem
to have an inexhaustible, even superabundant supply, while others
seem unable to acquire even the smallest portion? Can happiness
be borrowed, stolen or inherited? Is it earned by meritorious
works or granted by the obscure operations of grace? These may
sound like silly, abstract questions, but they could hardly be
more serious or more relevant. Here in America, after all, the
pursuit of happiness has the status of a foundational right,
coincident, but not quite identical, with material prosperity. In
Britain, where dourness can seem...A
From .co.uk
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The phrase ‘national treasure’ is, inevitably, an overused one.
But Mike Leigh, arguably Britain’s most consistently strong film
director of the past 20 years, surely warrants the tag. His
latest film, Another Year, is one of his finest, as Leigh once
more draws sensational performances from his cast. The cast
features Lesley Manville, Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen, and the
premise of the film follows a married couple in the later years
of their lives. We meet them across the four seasons of one year,
and Another Year calmly explores the unhappiness, events and
people that surround them during that time.
It’s a wonderfully understated piece of work. As is his usual
approach, Leigh worked with his cast for months to shape the
characters in the film, and they come through as fully
three-dimensional human beings. They’re exquisitely played, too,
with Broadbent and Manville rightly attracting awards attention
for their work here. The hidden star of the piece, though, is
Mike Leigh himself. His focused direction, and honest exploration
of human lives, shines through once more. And while Another Year
may not, ultimately, be one of 2010’s most upbeat movies, it’s
undoubtedly one of its very best. --Jon Foster