by Anne van Oorschot

For tíc’s first movie night of the year, on 28 Sept 2018, we had a great turnout of 12 people who made their way to Cinecitta to watch The Children Act. The movie follows Fiona Maye (Oscar® winner Emma Thompson) who is a respected Judge in the High Court of England and Wales, well known for her professional and just decisions within the complex area of family law.  Just when her marriage to Jack (Stanley Tucci) seems to be reaching a crisis due to her devotion to her work, she throws herself into a complex case. The 17-year old Adam (Fionn Whitehead) has leukemia and will die if he does not receive a blood transfusion.  However, Adam and his parents are Jehovah’s Witnesses, and believe that having a blood transfusion is against their religion. Fiona must decide if he is too young to decide himself over life and death, or if the court should step in. Her decision will have major consequences for both Adam and Fiona.

There was a lot to talk about after the film, which we did while enjoying a drink in the beautiful café area of Cinecitta. Without giving too much of the film away, those who kept waiting for Fiona to soften up in the face of the emotional onslaught from different sides were a bit disappointed she never really did. While the ending was somehow inevitable, it was felt to be either: 1) too bad, 2) preventable, 3) the only good ending.

Fortunately, there were other topics to be discussed as well: summer activities, how the knop punten system of bike trails in the Netherlands works, the challenges of doing research, whether Aston Villa is from London or Birmingham…in short a great start of the weekend.

Don’t miss TIC’s next movie night!

#tilburginternationalclub #Expatlife #Cinecitta #movienight #thechildrenact