A bittersweet love story set amid the romantic streets of Paris mixed with a fabulous chocolate fountain to end a Valentine’s dinner for two. It sounds like an impossible dream, but it is all happening this Valentine’s Day in Powell River. Powell River Film Festival will be in full swing, and is showing Le Weekend on Friday, February 14 at Patricia Theatre.
A weekend sojourn in the City of Light seems an obvious way to celebrate a 30th wedding anniversary, but not if the marriage is teetering on a precipice. Paris (where the unhappy couple spent their honeymoon) proves to be the catalyst to remember all sorts of slights, both real and imagined. The film gives a well rounded look at the ups and downs of the long marriage of Nick, a philosophy professor in Birmingham, and Meg, a teacher as well as wife and mother. The children have flown the nest, and now both partners are forced to reassess their relationship. It is brought into sharp focus when they unexpectedly meet Morgan, an old friend who is a successful novelist now living in Paris with his sexy new wife.
Nick and Meg constantly surprise us. Both have secrets; both have hidden desires. Meg is evaluating whether what they have is worth saving at all. And when she learns that her son and his wife and child want to move in with them, many of her resentments come bubbling to the surface. Love is complicated, long relationships even more so, and this film is piercing in its insight. It is also one of the most enjoyable love stories of the year. Billed as a comedy/drama, the movie is both, with just a little touch of enchantment.
Le Weekend is the fourth feature collaboration between director Roger Michell (Notting Hill, Venus) and screenplay writer Hanif Kureishi. Meg is played by Lindsay Duncan (Mansfield Park and Under the Tuscan Sun), and the role of Nick is taken by Jim Broadbent (Iris, and more recently, Cloud Atlas).
To make Valentine’s Day and evening to remember, dinner is served prior to the film. The Future Chef’s training course at Brooks Secondary School will be providing the meal—appetizers, entree, and the aforementioned chocolate fountain with fruit and shortbread fingers for dipping—in the Grand Hall at Brooks. Anyone who shows a Le Weekend ticket or Festival pass when arriving for the meal, will save 10 per cent, or $5 per couple, off dinner. The regular price for dinner is $25 per person. To get to the Patricia, another treat is in store. Janice Olfert, owner of Heather Tours, has donated her services and her Heather Tours bus to transport film attendees to the Patricia and back to Brooks after Le Weekend ends.
Individual tickets for festival films will go on sale at the Patricia and Breakwater Books (in its new location on Marine) on Wednesday, January 15. As well, all festival filmgoers are required to purchase a $5 membership with the Powell River Film Society for 2014. This puts the festival in line with others, such as Toronto and Vancouver, and also negates the need for classifying each film, a chore that costs hundreds of dollars and much time and effort. For dinner reservations, people can contact Lori at Future Chefs 604.483.7967. There are only 150 seats available, so if this sounds like a dream Valentine’s Day, don’t delay. For further information and a complete listing of the films, readers can visit the festival website.
