Book clubs are so noughties – modern culture vultures are getting in the popcorn at their own film clubs
LAST SATURDAY night, a friend invited me to a film club at her house. In childhood parlance, I assumed this was the equivalent of "watching a video", except there was a pitcher of cocktails involved and no one ate nachos in 1980s Ireland. After Ghana had finished off the US in the World Cup, three choices were mooted and we settled on Play Misty for Me, Clint Eastwood's 1971 stalker film. Most of us had already seen it, some of us – stupidly – alone as teenage babysitters, where we might have noticed how fake the blood looked and possibly the portrayal of women, but these thoughts were unarticulated until sitting down last week to discuss it.
Our group isn’t alone; domestic film clubs have emerged tangentially from bookclubs, a phenomenon that flourished in the last decade. Now, people who don’t have time to wade through a paperback every month are outing their inner critics at film club meetings. Victoria Barrett, a barrister who lives in Co Louth, is a member of The Cool Book and Film club, which discusses both. “Initially it started out as a bookclub because a group of us decided we wanted to read more,” she says. “The movies came after, and each month we pick a book and film, independent of each other.” The group is comprised of women in their early 30s and include barristers, an accountant and an architect. Both book and film are watched in advance of the night, and the person hosting the night chooses both.
Winnie McKenna’s 12-member club has a different approach. Set up 10 years ago, it has male and female members. All meetings are held at the founder’s house where the group meets late afternoon for dinner and drinks before settling down to watch the film together. Beforehand, they chat about films they’ve seen since their last meeting, but have sometimes had to curtail their post-screening discussions. “We used to spend a lot of time discussing the films, but people often brought their favourites and were sometimes upset when people didn’t like it.”
Have you ever had clashes? "Not really, but we all hated Amadeus! Generally, we like the films, as we try to vary the choices. We've watched everything from Hollywood and independent films to world cinema. We even went on a weekend trip to Florence after seeing A Room with A View."
Clubs taking place in people’s homes are a recent cultural invention, but film clubs have a long history in Ireland. Usually populated by enthusiastic film lovers, they were a logistical lifeline for film fans who lived long distances from cinemas. The Galway Film Society was set up in 1964, and used school halls and hotels to host screenings. The Irish Federation of Film Societies was established in the 1970s, with the aim of helping groups around the country source films for screenings. Since 2001, the organisation (now Access Cinema) acts as an intermediary for everyone from small groups who run screenings in community halls to professional theatres such as The Mermaid in Bray.
According to Access Cinema director Maeve Cooke, there has been a huge increase in the number of clubs operating here. “We’ve seen figures double in the last two years and we’re now working with 76 groups. We’ve also noticed that the clubs used to be regional, but there’s been a big increase in numbers in the suburbs of urban areas. It’s not just about film, there is a huge social and community aspect to it. Discussing the film afterwards critically broadens the experience and people who are members for years often form friendships.”
This is a view shared by Aidan Leonard, who runs the Dublin Midweek Movie Club. The group attends screenings in city centre cinemas, but a huge part of the enjoyment is meeting up afterwards to exchange views and meet new people. Anyone can join and new members are encouraged.
“At our last screening we had some Indian students and a 90-year-old woman,” says Leonard. Different people attend each month and the group are currently enjoying the 1980s film season at the Screen in Dublin. Outhouse in Dublin runs a regular gay film “qlub” and the Progressive Film Club screens world cinema at the New Theatre in Temple Bar. According to Maeve Cooke, film attendance is traditionally “recession-proof”: a night in (or out) watching films is economical.
“It’s definitely a cheap night in,” says Victoria Barrett. “It’s essentially free, you’d probably be doing it anyway and it’s a lovely way to expand your mind.”
The Dublin Midweek Movie Club is on Facebook
HOME MOVIE HITS
THE LIVES OF OTHERS
According to Access Cinema, the German film has been one of the most popular choices with film clubs around the country.
THE BIRDS
Any Hitchcock film is discussion gold, but his take on Daphne du Maurier’s rabid bipeds is fascinating. Hours of debate can be had answering the question posed by one character: “Why are they doing this?”
FIGHT CLUB
Apart from paraphrasing the rules for your club (“the first rule of film club is you do not talk about film club“), you can argue over the duality, the violence and who spotted the twist first.
