The Story of Looking15

Directed by Mark Cousins | UK | 2021 | 1h 30m | Starring Mark Cousins

As filmmaker and author Mark Cousins prepares for surgery to repair and restore his failing eyesight, he begins to consider the role that looking plays in his life – and what life might be like without it. In this deeply personal documentary, Cousins guides us through the riches of the visible world, presenting a kaleidoscope of extraordinary imagery exploring what it means to look at movies and the world around us.

Reviews

‘A treasure trove of insight about what it means to look – really look – at the world about us, and at art and movies, and not to take any of it for granted.’
★★★★★ Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

‘Fascinating, thought-provoking stuff, told in Cousins’ engaging, typically impish way’
★★★★ Ian Freer, Empire Magazine

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed The Story of Looking between October 30, 2021 and November 5, 2021.

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What else is on?

Today (Wednesday 11th March)

15:30

Soul to Soul U
1h 36m
Documentary about a historic 1971 concert at Black Star Square in Accra, celebrating Ghana’s independence. Over 100,000 people gathered as Ike & Tina Turner, Santana, and other African American musicians created groundbreaking music and experienced Africa for the first time.

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18:00

Burning Man: Art on Fire 12A
+ Director Q&A
1h 30m
Documentary about the artists behind Burning Man’s iconic installations, capturing the creativity and community of the festival, and following their race to create massive works in Nevada’s brutal desert. Screening followed by a Q&A with director Gerry Fox.

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20:45

If I Had Legs I'd Kick You 15
Descriptive Subtitles
1h 53m
A house filling with water. A child who won’t get better. And a husband who’s never there. Rose Byrne delivers an Oscar-nominated performance as a mother whose world is unravelling in Mary Bronstein’s darkly comic portrait of modern womanhood.

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Tomorrow (Thursday 12th March)

14:45

“Wuthering Heights” 15
Descriptive Subtitles
2h 16m
In 18th-century Yorkshire, brooding outsider Heathcliff falls for Catherine, the daughter of his master, igniting a destructive love story of obsession. Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie star in Emerald Fennell’s (Saltburn) sensual adaptation of Emily Brontë’s classic novel.

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17:45

If I Had Legs I'd Kick You 15
1h 53m
A house filling with water. A child who won’t get better. And a husband who’s never there. Rose Byrne delivers an Oscar-nominated performance as a mother whose world is unravelling in Mary Bronstein’s darkly comic portrait of modern womanhood.

Book here

20:30

Audition 18
1h 55m | Japanese w/ English subtitles
The Japanese Film Club returns with one of the most infamous Japanese horror films ever made. Acclaimed director Takashi Miike delivers a chilling, unsettling nightmare that explores obsession and objectification. And above all, one question lingers: what’s in the bag?

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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 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!