The Big CityPG

Directed by Satyajit Ray | India | 1964 | 2h 15m | Bengali w/ English subtitles | Starring Anil Chatterjee, Madhavi Mukherjee, Jaya Bachchan, Haren Chatterjee

In 1960s Calcutta, a middle-class housewife is compelled to take the job of a saleswoman in order to support her family. She not only takes a job but proves a huge success in the workplace, relishing her new-found independence and thoroughly upsetting the family dynamic. Satyajit Ray builds a powerful human drama that is at once a hopeful morality tale and a commentary on the identity of the modern Indian woman.

Reviews

‘An utterly absorbing and moving drama about the changing worlds of work and home in 1950s India, and a hymn to uxorious love acted with lightness, intelligence and wit.’
★★★★★
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

‘A bustling urban drama about the conflicts of work, gender and money, richly believable in the details and fascinating in its social vision.’
★★★★
Tim Robey, The Telegraph

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed The Big City between September 11, 2022 and September 12, 2022.

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What else is on?

Today (Tuesday 5th November)

18:15

A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Thing PG
HOH Subtitles / £6 for Members
1h 29m
Essayistic documentary by Mark Cousins (The Story of Film) examining the life and work of Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, one of the key figures in the history of modern art in Britain. Narrated by Tilda Swinton.

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20:30

Die Before You Die 15
£6 for Members
1h 44m
A hot-headed influencer faces a desperate fight for survival six feet underground after an internet challenge goes horribly wrong. A tense psychological thriller delving into the dark side of social media fame.

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Tomorrow (Wednesday 6th November)

14:45

The Apprentice 15
Deaf/HOH Subtitles
2h 2m
Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong (Succession) star in this darkly comedic tale about a young Donald Trump coming under the sway of ruthless lawyer Roy Cohn, who teaches him how to win at any cost.

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17:30

The Crime Is Mine 15
1h 43m | French w/ English subtitles
In François Ozon’s (Summer of 85, 8 Women) farcical crime-comedy, a young actress is accused of murdering a famous film producer. As the trial turns into a media spectacle, a new kind of fame awaits her.

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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 don’t show adverts, just a couple of trailers, so don't be late as the film itself starts very close to the advertised time!