From Left - Kenith Trodd, Pat O.Connor, Colin Firth
Last night was our first ever Le Cine Anglais event and it was a tremendous success. As the evening was a sell-out, we closed the restaurant for the night and for the first part of the evening the Café was transformed into a large cocktail party with Parmesan Custard and other hors d’oeuvres being offered round. Colin Firth arrived fashionably later than the main party and we all then walked the short walk across Whiteley’s to the Odeon Cinema where a small, intimate screen awaited us.
A Month in the Country is a beautiful film, set in Yorkshire, about a young man (Colin Firth) who, fresh back from the horrors of the First World War has been commissioned to uncover a medieval painting above the nave in a small village church. He meets his direct opposite in the ebullient Kenneth Brannagh who happens to be doing an architectural dig in the field outside the church, and is also just back from the war. They are both mentally scarred by what they have been through, but deal with it in very different ways. The film was tinged with sadness with a sensitive performance by Natasha Richardson as the uptight and reclusive vicar’s beautiful, ethereal wife. 
At the end of the film, Colin Firth, the producer Kenith Trodd and director Pat O’Connor talked to Harry Burton about the film. They told the audience how it rained almost every moment of filming, despite the film appearing sunny throughout – they had 45 second takes to get a shot with sunshine before it poured with rain again. Ironically at the beginning of the film when Firth arrives at the small station with a scene where it is lashing it down – on this one day it happened to be sunny and they had to resort to a rain machine. The atmosphere in the small screen cinema was both relaxed and intimate and Colin, Pat, Kenith and Harry all gave extremely articulate and interesting insights into the making of the film, whilst the audience asked questions.
Those who came mentioned that they felt very privileged to be a part of something so small. After the film we all went back to the restaurant for a delicious dinner. Guests were placed at long tables and whilst kept within their parties, were also sat with other guests, making it a great opportunity to meet people and discuss the evening. Next up, Running Late with Peter Bowles on Tuesday 9th March. The evening will take the same format. Some tickets are still available at £50/head.
To see more images from the night, visit our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/London-United-Kingdom/Le-Cafe-Anglais/182868933306?ref=ts
Part 1: Disscussion
Part 2: Questions
Thank you for a truly wonderful evening. It was a privilege to be there, especially as I felt I knew the film so well, having bought the dvd one and a half years ago, and as an art historian, I fell in love with the film. I think the film has much to tell us even today – or more so, today – about relationships between Christianity and Islam, yet told in such a subtle way. Of course, both Kenneth Branagh and Colin Firth are excellent, but Colin’s acting is especially luminous, tender, heart-breaking. It was amazing seeing Pat O’Connor and everyone else there – and we even had a small chat to Howard Blake, what a thrill!
The food was absolutely delicious – the beef melted like butter! We are very grateful to have been part of such a wonderful even, thank you so much!
This looks like a great venue for the screening of this lovely film. I hope that it will get a U.S. DVD release and be aired in the U.S. one day.
I am so glad this gem of a film was saved.