Kicking the Bucket Festival presents: Birth15

Directed by Jonathan Glazer | UK/USA | 2004 | 1h 40m | Starring Nicole Kidman, Cameron Bright, Danny Huston, Lauren Bacall, Alison Elliott

Ten years after the sudden death of her husband, Anna is on the cusp of marrying her newfound love, ready to leave her past behind. However, on the evening of her engagement celebration, a young boy appears and claims to be the reincarnation of her deceased spouse. Jonathan Glazer’s (Sexy Beast, Under the Skin) under-appreciated metaphysical drama (co-authored with esteemed French novelist and award-winning screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière) emerges as one of the most enigmatic and captivating head-scratchers in 21st-century American film.

Reviews

‘Jonathan Glazer’s ‘Birth’ is a misunderstood masterpiece…Existing in the same curious dreamlike realm as Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut, Glazer’s story is a deeply thoughtful exploration of everlasting love’
Calum Russell, Far Out Magazine

‘Birth is meant to bewilder. The chaos is thrilling, however, because the characters are so recognisably human. They behave irresponsibly. They abuse trust. But their emotional vulnerability is haunting.’
Charlotte O’Sullivan, Evening Standard

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed Kicking the Bucket Festival presents: Birth between October 12, 2023 and October 12, 2023.

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What else is on?

Tomorrow (Friday 27th March)

15:15

The President's Cake 12A
1h 45m | Arabic w/ English subtitles
During 1990s Iraq, schoolgirl Lamia is chosen by her class to bake a birthday cake for Saddam Hussein. With her pet rooster beside her she searches the town for ingredients in an award-winning debut about childhood resilience and life under dictatorship.

Book here

17:45

Sinners 15
2h 18m
Twin brothers seek a fresh start in their 1930s Southern hometown but uncover an evil lurking beneath the surface. Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan reunite for this chilling supernatural thriller set against the backdrop of the Jim Crow-era South.

Book here

20:45

Sirāt 15
1h 54m | Spanish, French & Arabic w/ English subtitles
Oliver Laxe’s intense, hallucinatory road movie follows a father and son through Morocco as they try to find a missing relative at various sprawling, illegal raves. Winner of the Jury Prize at Cannes Film Festival 2025.

Book here


Saturday 28th March

14:15

Sound of Falling 18
2h 35m | German w/ English subtitles
Across the twentieth century four teenage girls spend their youth in the same farmhouse decades apart, yet their lives echo each other. German director Mascha Schilinski interweaves generations of girlhood, revealing loneliness and lost innocence across a turbulent century.

Book here

17:45

Sirāt 15
1h 54m | Spanish, French & Arabic w/ English subtitles
Oliver Laxe’s intense, hallucinatory road movie follows a father and son through Morocco as they try to find a missing relative at various sprawling, illegal raves. Winner of the Jury Prize at Cannes Film Festival 2025.

Book here

20:30

Sinners 15
2h 18m
Twin brothers seek a fresh start in their 1930s Southern hometown but uncover an evil lurking beneath the surface. Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan reunite for this chilling supernatural thriller set against the backdrop of the Jim Crow-era South.

Book here


Plan your visit

Our beautiful art deco inspired auditorium can be found just off East Oxford's Cowley Road.We are open 7 days a week. We open the cinema and box office 30 minutes before the scheduled start time of each film, and the Box Office then closes 10 minutes after the film starts. We only show a few adverts – less than most cinemas – and we only play a couple of trailers, so please don’t be late as the film itself starts very close to the advertised time!