The Reel McCoy Film Group
Screening world cinema and forgotten gems since 1990
Screening world cinema and forgotten gems since 1990
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The Reel McCoy Film Group is a not-for-profit film society that since 1990 has been catering for people interested in cinema, particularly those who like to see timeless classics and overlooked gems at low cost. Our membership fees are:
$50 for 12 months
Membership runs from the date of joining.
$35 for 6 months $20 for 3 months
With very grateful support from
 Canberra Museum and Gallery Members of CMAG are welcome to join the Reel McCoy at a substantial discount: membership for a year for only $20. Screenings are held in the Theatre of Canberra Museum and Gallery (on the corner of London Circuit and City Square, Canberra City) at 12:30 pm on two Sundays of each month from February through November. Next screening: Sunday, 13 July 2025 at 12:30 pm
THE GO-BETWEEN
A young boy (Guard) becomes a messenger for a secret love affair between a wealthy young woman (Christie) and a farmer (Bates). This British period drama explores themes of social class, innocence, betrayal, and the impact of the past on the present. Joseph Losey is known for his collaborations with playwright Harold Pinter who wrote this screenplay. The cinematography, by another long-term collaborator Gerry Fisher, is noted for its lush portrayal of the English countryside. The musical score was composed by the well-known musician Michel Legrand. The film won the Palme d’Or at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival.
For more information, e-mail us or come along to a screening The Reel McCoy Film Group is a member of the Australian Film Societies Federation. Contact them to learn how to start and run a film society or group of your own. Programme for the second half of 2025:
Sunday 13 July 2025
THE GO-BETWEEN UK · 1971 · 116 min. Director Joseph Losey Cast Julie Christie, Alan Bates, Margaret Leighton, Dominic Guard A young boy (Guard) becomes a messenger for a secret love affair between a wealthy young woman (Christie) and a farmer (Bates). This British period drama explores themes of social class, innocence, betrayal, and the impact of the past on the present. Joseph Losey is known for his collaborations with playwright Harold Pinter who wrote this screenplay. The cinematography, by another long-term collaborator Gerry Fisher, is noted for its lush portrayal of the English countryside. The musical score was composed by the well-known musician Michel Legrand. The film won the Palme d’Or at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival.
Sunday 27 July 2025
OUR LITTLE SISTER Japan · 2015 · 126 min. Director Hirokazu Kore-eda Cast Haruka Ayase, Masami Nagasawa, Kaho, Suzu Hirose Three sisters attend the funeral of their estranged father and meet their shy teenage half-sister Suzu, the daughter of the now-deceased woman who stole their father away. They quickly decide to adopt her and take her back to their seaside village. What follows is a heart-warming portrayal of grief and acceptance that explores themes of family loss and connection with quiet elegance. Kore-eda focuses on the very different characters of the four sisters and the interaction between them, portraying their everyday lives, feelings, and thoughts as the four sisters start their new life together and support each other through thick and thin.
Sunday 10 August 2025
NITRAM Australia · 2021 · 112 min. Director Justin Kurzel Cast Caleb Landry Jones, Judy Davis, Anthony La Paglia, Essie Davis This important film deliberately never mentions the name of the deeply disturbed man responsible for the Port Arthur massacre. It does not intend to be a biography of that man but to examine what's known of his life using known facts to create a psychological drama. It aims to reconstruct his journey to the point of, without depicting, the brutal finale. Caleb Landry Jones' performance in the title role earned him best actor at Cannes and the film and its extraordinary cast took out nearly all the major film awards at the 2021 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards.
Sunday 31 August 2025
BONJOUR TRISTESSE USA · 1958 · 94 min. Director Otto Preminger Cast Jean Seberg, David Niven, Deborah Kerr, Mylčne Demongeot Seventeen-year-old Cécile lives an idle, luxurious, and pleasant life with her widowed father in the French Riviera. One summer they are visited by Anne, a friend of her late mother – whom Cécile sees as an intruder into their feckless Eden; so when Anne and her father appear to be falling in love, she determines to put an end to it. Cécile was conceived by novelist Françoise Sagan who was also a teenager at the time; as is Jean Seberg, the actress playing her. But it's perhaps David Niven who breathes most life into the film as Cécile’s rakish – yet genuinely loving – father.
Sunday 14 September 2025
THEY’RE A WEIRD MOB Australia · 1966 · 112 min. Director Michael Powell Cast Walter Chiari, Claire Dunne, Chips Rafferty Italian journalist Nino arrives in Sydney, to take up a job on a magazine that turns out not to exist. Instead of going home, he sets out to carve out a new life in the strange land he finds himself in, and to make sense of the weird mob living in it. This film, about the Italian experience in Australia, based on an Australian novel, adapted by a Hungarian-British screenwriter, and directed by an Englishman, was hugely popular in Australia (if nowhere else), and more than any other single work helped bring about the 1970s renaissance of the Australian film industry.
Sunday 28 September 2025
CABARET USA · 1972 · 124 min. Director Bob Fosse Cast Lisa Minnelli, Michael York, Helmut Griem, Joel Grey, Marisa Berenson This blockbuster film version of the ground-breaking Broadway musical went on to win eight Academy Awards. A young American woman (Minnelli) is attracted to the musical life of 1930’s Berlin, while her English companion (York) finds himself increasingly disturbed by the continuing breakdown of German society. Six songs from John Kander and Fred Ebb’s Broadway score were transported to the movie and several new numbers were added. Joel Grey reprised his unforgettable live performance as the emcee of the atmospheric Kit Kat Club. The film was directed by legendary Broadway choreographer and director Bob Fosse.
Sunday 12 October 2025
MEDEA Italy · 1969 · 118 min. Director Pier Paolo Pasolini Cast Maria Callas, Giuseppe Gentile, Massimo Girotti, Laurent Terzieff Euripides’s tragedy of love and revenge, starring the magnificent Maria Callas in her only film role. Jason (of Argonaut fame) betrays the sorceress from Colchis who helped him seize the Golden Fleece and gave him children. Medea revenges herself. An adaptation by a master of cinema at the peak of his creative powers, filmed shortly before Italy descended into the violence of the 1970s, Pasolini’s Medea depicts a very archaic world that remains as recognisably human and relevant for us as it was for the Athenians. Extraordinary performances, scenery and music – an unforgettable film.
Sunday 26 October 2025
1945 Hungary · 2017 · 91 min. Director Ferenc Török Cast Péter Rudolf, Tamás Szabó Kimmel, Dóra Sztarenki Two Orthodox Jews arrive in a small remote rural Hungarian village which is getting ready for the wedding of the magistrate's son. They're accompanied by two coffin-like wooden crates supposedly filled with perfumes and soaps. Is this the start of a Jewish influx, reclaiming properties? Histories resurface, rumours spread wildly, paranoia reigns, and the villagers behave accordingly. This subtle and nuanced film is atmospherically shot in black and white with the mood of the film ably enhanced by Tibor Szemzö's soundtrack. The filmmaker has sensitively examined the European war's postscript, a period of history that everyone quickly wanted to forget.
Sunday 9 November 2025
OUTRAGE USA · 1950 · 75 min. Director Ida Lupino Cast Mala Powers, Tod Andrews, Robert Clarke A young woman, happily engaged and newly employed, is stalked one night and raped. The police are unable to find the perpetrator. The film follows her mental and emotional struggles in trying to overcome the experience. A brave film since the Hayes Code wouldn't even allow the use of the word "rape". +
MY NAME IS JULIA ROSS
Desperate to find employment, Julia Ross accepts a position as the live-in personal secretary to a wealthy widow. The job, however, is not what it seems. The film's rapid pacing, its gothic psychological atmosphere, and the quality of the cast result in a film with a Hitchcockian feel.
Sunday 30 November 2025
EATING RAOUL USA · 1982 · 83 min. Director Paul Bartel Cast Paul Bartel, Mary Woronov, Robert Beltran, Ed Begley jr, Susan Saiger Paul Bartel and Mary Woronov deliver wonderfully dry performances as Paul and Mary Bland who dream of opening a restaurant. To raise funds, they begin luring swingers to their apartment and killing them for their money. This film was so low budget that it was filmed in Bartel's own apartment but it became a hit at film festivals and then a cult classic with audiences loving this satire of the sexual revolution, swingers culture, and the pursuit of the American Dream. Eventually, it became so popular that it was picked up by 20th Century Fox for distribution.
Sunday 14 December 2025
THE MORE THE MERRIER USA · 1943 · 104 min. Director George Stevens Cast Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea, Charles Coburn, Richard Gaines, Bruce Bennett Connie Milligan (Arthur) reluctantly sublets part of her apartment to the elderly Benjamin Dingle (Coburn). Dingle then rents part of his space to a handsome young man, Joe Carter (McCrea) and then he attempts to play matchmaker for the two. This romantic comedy is worth watching for its razor-sharp script co-written by Garson Kanin from his original story, delightful pacing from the director George Stevens, and unforgettable performances from its three stars. The film was nominated for 6 Oscars® with Charles Coburn winning one. Stevens also won for Best Director at the New York Film Critics Awards. Please note that programme details are subject to change without notice
List of films screened by Reel McCoy Film Group and
Big House Film Society, |