Kings Arms Hotel

Upcoming events at Kings Arms Hotel

Cinema

Book & Film Club - The Graduate

Each month we take a book that has an interesting film adaptation and spend the evening comparing the two. The ticket price includes a copy of the book (which can be collected from our Abergavenny bookshop once you’ve booked your place) and the film screening The bookThe Graduate by Charles Webb is a sharp, understated novel about post-college drift, alienation, and the quiet panic of early adulthood. Following Benjamin Braddock in the months after his graduation, the book captures a sense of generational disillusionment beneath the surface of suburban comfort. Webb’s spare prose and dark humour expose the pressure to succeed, settle down, and want the “right” things — even when none of it feels meaningful. The filmMike Nichols’s 1967 film adaptation turns Webb’s story into an iconic portrait of youthful confusion and rebellion. Anchored by Dustin Hoffman’s breakout performance, The Graduate blends satire, anxiety, and visual invention to capture Benjamin’s sense of being trapped by expectation. With its memorable use of music and striking imagery, the film sharpens the story’s critique of conformity and turns a private crisis into a generational statement.

Mon 29 Jun20:00Kings Arms Hotel

via Kings Arms Hotel

Cinema

Book & Film Club - The Old Man & the Sea

Each month we take a book that has an interesting film adaptation and spend the evening comparing the two. The ticket price includes a copy of the book (which can be collected from our Abergavenny bookshop once you’ve booked your place) and the film screening at The Kings Arms. The bookThe Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway is a spare, powerful novella about an ageing Cuban fisherman, Santiago, and his solitary struggle to catch a giant marlin far in Hemingway’s famously restrained prose, the book explores endurance, pride, dignity, and humanity’s relationship with nature, finding profound meaning in simplicity and perseverance. The filmThe film adaptation brings Santiago’s ordeal to life through striking visuals and a meditative pace that mirrors the novel’s tone. Focusing on the physical and psychological intensity of the journey, the film emphasises isolation, resilience, and quiet heroism. It translates Hemingway’s minimalist style into a reflective cinematic experience that invites the viewer to sit with struggle, beauty, and grace in defeat as well as victory.

Mon 27 Jul20:00Kings Arms Hotel

via Kings Arms Hotel

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Cinema

Book & Film Club - Of Mice & Men

The bookOf Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a poignant novella set during the Great Depression, following two displaced ranch workers, George and Lennie, as they chase the fragile dream of owning land of their own. Through spare prose and deeply human characters, Steinbeck explores friendship, loneliness, power, and the harsh realities of economic hardship, building a story that is both intimate and devastatingly universal. The filmThe 1992 adaptation, directed by Gary Sinise and starring John Malkovich as Lennie, brings Steinbeck’s tragic story vividly to life. With restrained performances and an emphasis on the stark beauty and isolation of the Californian landscape, the film captures both the tenderness of George and Lennie’s bond and the inevitability of the story’s heartbreaking conclusion. It remains a faithful and moving interpretation of a modern American classic.

Mon 24 Aug20:00Kings Arms Hotel

via Kings Arms Hotel

Cinema

Book & Film Club - A Man Called Ove (Otto)

The bookA Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman is a warm, funny, and deeply moving novel about a curmudgeonly widower whose rigid routines and solitary life are disrupted by the arrival of new neighbours. Beneath Ove’s gruff exterior lies a story of love, loss, grief, and unexpected community. With humour and heart, Backman explores how small acts of kindness — and connection — can quietly transform a life. The filmThe English-language adaptation, A Man Called Otto (2022), starring Tom Hanks, reimagines the story for an American setting while preserving its emotional core. Anchored by Hanks’ tender and understated performance, the film balances sharp comedy with genuine pathos, gradually revealing the vulnerability behind its seemingly irritable protagonist. It’s a life-affirming story about second chances, chosen family, and the ways we continue to matter to one another.

Mon 21 Sept20:00Kings Arms Hotel

via Kings Arms Hotel

Cinema

Book & Film Club - The Third Man

The bookThe Third Man by Graham Greene is a taut, atmospheric novella set in post-war Vienna, a city divided by occupation and riddled with suspicion. When pulp writer Holly Martins arrives to visit his old friend Harry Lime, he instead finds himself drawn into a web of deception, betrayal, and moral ambiguity. Greene’s sharp prose and noir sensibility explore loyalty, corruption, and the uneasy line between idealism and reality. The filmDirected by Carol Reed and starring Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles, The Third Man (1949) is widely regarded as one of the greatest British films ever made. With its striking black-and-white cinematography, tilted angles, and unforgettable zither score, the film captures the shadowy intrigue of a fractured city. Building tension through atmosphere and moral complexity, it transforms Greene’s story into a masterclass in film noir and post-war suspense.

Mon 26 Oct19:00Kings Arms Hotel

via Kings Arms Hotel

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