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?

Tomorrow (Tuesday 14th July)

17:45

Effi o Blaenau 15
£6 for Members
1h 31m | Welsh w/ English subtitles
In a Welsh town stripped of its pubs and jobs, hard-partying Effi keeps her head just above water. But a chance encounter in a Llandudno nightclub offers a glimpse of another life. Leisa Gwenllian is searing in this spikily funny adaptation of Gary Owen's celebrated one-woman play.

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20:00

Disclosure Day 12A
£6 for Members
2h 25m
When a Kansas City meteorologist intercepts an inexplicable alien signal during a live broadcast, she begins to unravel a decades-long government cover-up. Steven Spielberg returns to sci-fi with a summer blockbuster of genuine scale and philosophical weight, led by Emily Blunt and Josh O'Connor.

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Wednesday 15th July

15:30

Fall of Sir Douglas Weatherford 15
Descriptive Subtitles
1h 35m
Amateur historian Kenneth (Peter Mullan) makes his living impersonating the town's most celebrated historical figure, a man he claims as his own ancestor. But when a fantasy TV production arrives, obsession takes hold and the results are darkly comic and quietly devastating.

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17:45

Blue Heron 15
1h 31m
Eight-year-old Sasha's family move to Vancouver Island seeking a fresh start, but her eldest brother increasingly dangerous behaviour casts a long shadow. Sophy Romvari's lyrical feature debut is a deeply felt study of family bonds and the elusive nature of memory.

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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!