Get out of the house on the third Wednesday evening of each month and enjoy films on the big screen with us!

The Drill Hall Film Society screens classic films at an affordable price in comfortable tiered seating in our air-conditioned theatre. Grab a delicious snack and beverage from the bar, and be part of our lively film discussions after each show.

Become a Film Society subscriber for just $60 and gain entry to 11 films/year (or $50 if you’re a Drill Hall Theatre Company associate member). Casual guest rates cost $10/film.

Renewals due in July.

Contact Sonia on 0406 090 260 or email on [email protected] for more information or to become a member.

Wednesday 19th March @ 7pm

Peter Weir’s film, adapted by Paul Schrader from Paul Theroux’s novel centres on Allie Fox (Harrison Ford) an inventor with a very eccentric personality. He’s disgruntled with the American Dream and sees the United States as spiralling into an abyss. His latest creation is an ice machine that burns wood and uses ammonia to achieve its goal. Allie realises this would revolutionise developing nations and packs up his wife (Helen Mirren) and four children (River Phoenix as the eldest Charlie) and moves into a small rainforest village in Honduras.

Things seem hopeful at first; a sense of adventure overtakes the family as they face the elements and begin to forge something of substance in the wilderness. But both nature and humanity alike have other plans, and it becomes clear that Allie’s dream has become a nightmare.

The entirety of the film is cantered on the hubris of Allie to believe he could tame the wilds of a foreign land. That sounds an absolutely fascinating theme to explore, and it’s made even more intriguing with a protagonist hyper-fixated on his particular obsessions and ranting about the decline of the Western world. Even more damning is Allie’s lack of compassion and care for his family. They are expected to follow wherever he leads, and their input on mistakes he’s making are ignored.

Wednesday 16th April @ 7pm

The Band’s Visit, the directorial debut of Israeli Erin Kolirin, is a welcome relief in this time of intense Middle East conflict. A drama about isolation and communication, The film is characterised both by strongly delineated characters and low-key comedy. The movie is not lightweight but it is at times light-hearted.

The film opens with the semi-comedic sight of a group of eight men wearing impeccably tailored sky blue uniforms standing at a bus stop. They are the Alexandria Police Ceremonial Orchestra and they have arrived in Israel from Egypt after being invited there to play at the opening of the Arab Cultural Centre in Pet Hatikvah. Unfortunately, no one has met them and, one wrong bus ride later, they find themselves trapped in the small town of Bet Hatikvah, in the middle of nowhere. There, it doesn’t matter that they are Egyptians. The residents are so excited to have something – anything – to break the monotony that they’re willing to overlook any cultural divisions.

The film is about communication and how important it is in facilitating understanding. Sometimes, nonverbal signals make speech unnecessary but, most of the time, the way people grow to know and respect others, is through talk – both small and large. The Egyptians speak Arab and the Israelis speak Hebrew so in order to interact, both sides must use the “compromise” language of English.

In keeping with the “fish out of water” aspect of the movie, Kolirin maintains a predominantly light tone and offers plenty of humorous moments. There are, for example, interludes at a roller disco that are designed to tickle the funny bone. In the end, The Band’s Visit is about members of two cultures trying to bridge gaps in circumstances where all too often, the spans are being brought down and chasms widened. It’s the people, not the politics, that exist at the movie’s focal point.