American Fiction among the New Park films this week in Chichester

A critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful writer and professor (Jeffrey Wright) decides to jump upon the populist “black entertainment” bandwagon himself with a novel satirising the stereotypical black literary cliches. Achieving huge commercial success, he unexpectedly finds himself being worshipped at the altar of the very establishment he has eschewed. With a BAFTA for Best Adapted Screenplay this intelligent satire is a must-see.

Perfect Days is the latest quiet gem from director Wim Wenders. Hirayama enjoys a simple life as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo, discovering the joy and beauty to be found from his novels, photographs, carefully tended bonsai plants and cassette tapes of favourite albums, which give structure and meaning to his everyday life. In our noisy, loud, and cluttered lives, this quiet film gives us some time to just pause and reflect.

Based on the true story of a 16-year-old youth who appeared from nowhere in a Nuremberg Square in 1828, the new 4k remaster of Werner Herzog’s The Enigma of Kasper Hauser is given a rare theatrical outing at New Park cinema this week. Barely able to communicate, having suffered years of unexplained confinement, the young man is then exploited as a circus performer before being taught to read and write under the care of a kindly professor. But will he be able to escape the horrors of his past? Don’t miss the chance to see this German classic. Anne-Marie Flynn

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