THE WE AND THE I    

Director: Michel Gondry | USA 2012 | 103mins.  US PREMIERE

OPENING NIGHT FILM!!

It’s the last day of term at a Bronx high school, and teenagers pile onto a bus to take them away from the place for the summer. Following familiar scenes of kids escaping their educational prison with unrestrained glee, they all leap aboard the bus to take them the hell out of there. Archetypes are swiftly established: the loudmouth bullies in the back seats; the preening-yet-insecure princess; the earnest musician types; the lonely, troubled girl with the unexplained wig; the arty nerd who scribbles away in his sketchpad.

Assisted by lively, convincing performances from a large cast of non-professional actors, The We And The I is strong in communicating the psychology of a group situation. En masse, these kids are the “we” of the title; acting up, fronting and trying desperately to impress each other. However, in a series of tender micro-moments, we occasionally get to see the “I”, even more so as the bus gets progressively emptier, and the film shifts gradually from raucous to ruminative. Like Richard Linklater’s brilliant Dazed And Confused, Gondry’s film is mercifully free of sentiment. Indeed, the casual cruelty of adolescents, the damning of pack mentality, identity crises and the recognition that being teenage is but a passing phase are themes that give the film depth and poignancy without ever undermining its humour, while the pumping old-school hiphop soundtrack and some inventive, fanciful moments typical of the director contribute to making The We and the I such a fun ride. (BFI London / Ashley Clark, Grolsch Film Works)

Please join us after the film for our Quinceanera themed Opening Night Party (it's our 15th birthday after all)! The party will feature fun tunes by DJ Haute Mess (Brass Taxx), a live performance by Ghost Town Gospel with Boyd Tinsley, violinist for the Dave Matthews Band, plus an open bar and birthday cake!