What A Way To Go (Press, 14 May 1981)
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Summary: What A Way To Go (Press, 14 May 1981)
The Canterbury Film Society is set to screen Marco Ferreri's controversial film "La Grande Bouffe" ("Blow Out"), which has been a topic of much discussion since its release. The film will be shown on 19 May 1981 at Room Al in Ham at 8 p.m., and the following night at the Museum Theatre at 7.30 p.m. Initially banned by censors upon its commercial submission, it has now received a restricted certificate allowing it to be screened only for approved film societies. "La Grande Bouffe," a collaboration between France and Italy released in 1973, lasts 126 minutes and is presented in colour. The film has been described as deeply profound, allowing for a plethora of interpretations while remaining distinctively unique. Critics suggest it offers a vision of humanity so raw and unrefined that it would make literary figures like Chaucer, Boccaccio, and Rabelais uneasy. The narrative revolves around four friends—portrayed by renowned actors Marcello Mastroianni, Ugo Tognazzi, Michel Piccoli, and Philippe Noiret—along with a sensuous woman played by Andrea Ferreol. They convene in an unusual, walled estate on the outskirts of Paris, embracing a lifestyle of gluttony that ultimately leads to their demise. The characters are each depicted at personal crossroads in their lives, reflecting an emotional state that they have never truly escaped. This regression leads them to indulge in excess, including voracious eating, sexual encounters, and death. While the film features graphic scenes of consumption, elimination, and intimate acts, critics have noted that the dominant emotion elicited is one of sorrow and horror, suggesting a deeper existential commentary rather than mere physical shock. The film is portrayed more as a poetic exploration of horror infused with a grand, morbid melancholy, rather than a psychological critique or satire of the bourgeois lifestyle. Prior to the main feature, a short film titled "Special Delivery" will be screened, although no further details about it are provided.
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