03/11/12……CHANGE OF FILM:’ The Hunter’ THIS week!

THE next Film at Thame Cinema -The Hunter – Due to a delay in receiving a licence to screen, A Royal Affair, The Hunter will now be shown next Saturday, November 3, and ‘A Royal Affair’ will be postponed until Friday, November 9.

THE HUNTER – Australia, Cert (UK): 15 Runtime: 110 mins Directors: Daniel Nettheim, Rafi Pitts

Cast: Callan Mulvey, Frances O?Connor, Malek Jahan Khazai, Mitra Hajjar, Rafi Pitts, Sam Neill, Willem Dafoe.

THE Tasmanian Tiger is a species of marsupial that was assumed to have died out of its native Australia in the early 20th century. The last remaining examples lived on the island state of Tasmania, itself something of a living relic of untouched native wilderness now extinct from the rest of the globe. Much legend and mythology is attached to the many rumours about a small handful of elusive surviving Tigers, and the tragedies that befall those arrogant enough to hunt them down. One such hunter is Willem Dafoe?s Martin David. Ostensibly a scientist researching another rare species ? the Tasmanian Devil ? he is in fact a mercenary/assassin hired by a shady biotech firm to hunt for relics of the last Tiger. His mission leads to the suspicion of secretive locals with a loathing of ?greenies?, clashes with the commercial interests of the logging industry, and the awesome challenges of the wilderness itself.

Tasmania has long exemplified the political and ethical tensions between economic survival, and conservation, so in many ways the hunter?s story works as a rich metaphor. But it is also a gripping and visually captivating drama about isolation, mortality and nature, with a stunning central performance from Defoe, an actor with such powerful screen presence that one mourns the rarity of his meaty starring roles.

Jason Solomons in the Observer wrote: ?One of this year?s most memorable films, containing one of the best performances, The Hunter is a piece that creeps into the viewer?s soul. It is dank and clammy, with ice in its heart, but it is also beautiful and painful, its emotional climaxes hitting home like precision bullets.?

All films start at 8pm and doors open 30 minutes before each film. Admission is just