Our hearts continue to ache with the passing of visionary filmmaker David Lynch, as we present Wild at Heart, his 1990 romantic black comedy. 

After serving prison time for a self-defense killing, Sailor Ripley (Nicolas Cage) reunites with girlfriend Lula Fortune (Laura Dern). Lula’s mother, Marietta (Diane Ladd), desperate to keep them apart, hires a hitman (J. E. Freeman) to kill Sailor. But he finds a whole new set of troubles when he and Bobby Peru (Willem Dafoe), an old buddy who’s also out to get Sailor, try to rob a store. When Sailor lands in jail yet again, the young lovers appear further than ever from the shared life they covet.

Adapted from the novel of the same name by Barry Gifford, Wild at Heart earned a mixed reception upon release but has since been reassessed a key entry in Lynch’s filmography.

Wind up the tension with The Monkey, a new horror film from Longlegs’ Osgood Perkins!

The film follows twin brothers Hal and Bill, portrayed by Theo James and Bill Skarsgård, who reunite to settle their late father’s estate. Among his belongings, they discover an eerie wind-up monkey toy with cymbals, an artifact tied to a series of tragic deaths from their childhood. As the monkey’s sinister influence resurfaces, the brothers are drawn into a horrifying battle to break its curse before it claims more lives.

Film Club Members are invited to an exclusive screening of Army of Shadows, Jean-Pierre Melville’s gripping depiction of the French Resistance during World War II.

The film follows Philippe Gerbier (Lino Ventura), a stoic resistance leader, as he navigates the perilous world of espionage and betrayal while fighting against Nazi occupation. Alongside a dedicated group of comrades, including the fearless Mathilde (Simone Signoret) and the resourceful Jean-François (Jean-Pierre Cassel), Gerbier undertakes covert operations, rescues, and assassinations, all while facing the constant threat of capture and execution.

Come on out for Universal Language, a new absurdist comedy-drama from Matthew Rankin!

Winter. Somewhere between Tehran and Winnipeg. Negin and Nazgol find a sum of money frozen deep within the sidewalk ice and try to find a way to get it out. Massoud leads a group of befuddled tourists upon an increasingly-strange walking tour of Winnipeg historic sites. Matthew (Matthew Rankin) leaves his job at the Québec government and embarks upon a mysterious journey to visit his estranged mother.

Our second Volunteer of the Month is Ryan O’Flaherty, who has chosen Bill Duke’s 1992 crime thriller Deep Cover!

Laurence Fishburne stars as Russell Stevens, an idealistic police officer recruited by a federal agent (Charles Martin Smith) to go undercover in Los Angeles and infiltrate a powerful drug syndicate. Adopting the alias “John Hull,” Stevens rises through the ranks of the criminal underworld, forming an uneasy partnership with drug-dealing lawyer David Jason (Jeff Goldblum). As Stevens becomes entangled in the duplicity of his mission, he struggles to reconcile his sense of justice with the seductive power of the world he’s infiltrating.

With its intense performances, sharp dialogue, and exploration of systemic corruption, Deep Cover is both a gripping crime saga and a searing critique of the drug war’s ethical complexities.

Kick off March with us as we present brand new 2K restoration screenings of the rarely-screened Japanese film Love & Pop! 

July 1997. Tokyo schoolgirl Hiromi and her friends spend the summer going on dates with older men for money. Armed with only a cellphone, Hiromi sets out to date her way to ¥128,000 in order to purchase an expensive topaz ring before the mall closes for the day.

Based on the novel by Ryū Murakami, Love & Pop is the live action feature debut from Hideaki Anno, creator of Neon Genesis Evangelion, one of the most celebrated anime series of all time. The film is radical in its stylistic approach to teenage ennui, taking to the seedy streets of Shibuya with handheld digicams, distorted lenses, and a barrage of unconventional camera angles. Criminally underseen for years, Love & Pop remains a singular portrait of Japanese youth coming of age in the approach to the 21st century.

All screenings will be presented the original Japanese language with English subtitles.

Hundreds of Beavers, one of the most entertaining and enduring independent films of the past decade, is coming to The Frida Cinema for one last hurrah (or ho-ho-ho?) on Friday, December 5th & Saturday, December 6th!

Called “gonzo cinema distilled from Buster Keaton to George Miller” (LA Times), “one of the most inventive comedies in years” (RogerEbert.com), that “puts most big screen comedies to shame,” (The Daily Beast), this impossible indie has become a word-of-mouth phenomenon — selling out theaters, melting Letterboxd & Rotten Tomatoes, and putting audiences worldwide into stitches.

In the early 1800’s, Jean Kayak, a drunken applejack salesman, finds himself stranded in a surreal winter landscape with nothing but his dim wits to guide him. Against a backdrop of ruthless elements and forest creatures – all played by actors in full-sized mascot costumes – Kayak develops increasingly complex traps in order to win the hand of a mischievous lover. When he discovers that the Beavers have formed their own secret society, he must infiltrate their lair to uncover their secrets and win the day.

Equal parts silent-era stunt work, Looney Tunes energy, and pure filmmaking lunacy, this is a cult hit that’s too much dam fun to stream alone at home!

Just added: actresses Danielle Evon Ploeger and Shelby Quinn will be joining us for a Q&A after the 10PM screening on 3/1! 

Travel to the fictional town of Pfresno, Texas in RATS!, Maxwell Nalevansky and Carl Fry’s new indie comedy!

The story follows 19-year-old Raphael Tinski (Luke Wilcox), a graffiti artist whose arrest by the unhinged Officer Williams (Danielle Evon Ploeger) for defacing a dilapidated payphone—a local “monument”—sets off a chain of absurd events. To avoid jail time, Raphael is coerced into spying on his cousin Mateo (Darius Autry), whom Officer Williams irrationally suspects of trafficking nuclear weapons. As Raphael delves deeper into this chaotic mission, he encounters a colorful cast of characters, including the aspiring rapper Flophouse (Ka5sh) and the enigmatic Bernadette (Khali Sykes), all while navigating the tumultuous landscape of small-town life.

Blending gross-out humor with heartfelt moments, Rats! offers a nostalgic nod to early 2000s counterculture and youthful rebellion.