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It’s the time of the season for loving, so The Frida is dedicating February to movies about love and romance! Featuring everything from classic black comedies to modern romantic dramas, the 10 movies here cross continents, decades, and cinema itself but are all bound together by a sense of affection (or at least amourousness) for others. All make for a perfect date, so let that special someone know where you’d like to spend your Valentine’s month and we’ll see you here!
My Own Private Idaho – Feb 5 & 6
Directed by Gus Van Sant | 1991
A magnificent early ’90s update to William Shakespeare’s Henry plays, the film is the story of two young men, Mike Waters and Scott Favor. Passionately brought to life by River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves respectively, Mike and Scott find themselves drifting wherever the wind blows, not unlike the clouds that punctuate their landscape. As Scott awaits an inheritance from his father, and Mike tries to find his estranged mother, both young men are starved for something more.
Cry-Baby – Feb 9 & 10
Directed by John Waters | 1990
Johnny Depp stars as 1950s teen rebel Wade “Cry-Baby” Walker, who belongs to a group of delinquent youth who refer to themselves as “drapes” and everyone else in the town as “squares.” When good girl Allison (Amy Locane), a known square, decides she wants to be bad to the bone and falls for Cry-Baby Walker, a star-crossed lovers’ drama ensues.
Harold and Maude – Feb 13 & 14
Directed by Hal Ashby | 1971
Hal Ashby’s 1971 classic stars Bud Cort as Harold, a morose teenager obsessed with death and faking suicide. His macabre activities are interrupted when he meets Maude, an elderly woman who is full of life. As the two get to know each other, they become partners in what has to be one of cinema’s most unlikely romances.
Moulin Rouge! – Feb 13 & 14
Directed by Baz Luhrmann | 2001
In 1899, Christian (Ewan McGregor), a young poet who believes in love above all else, arrives in Paris to begin his Bohemian life. In the company of an eccentric performance troupe, Christian pens a play that they hope will be put on at the Moulin Rouge cabaret. After star performer and courtesan Satine (Nicole Kidman) mistakes Christian for the wealthy and powerful Duke she was instructed to seduce by the club proprietor, the star-crossed pair are forced to conceal their deepening love affair from the Duke’s wrath.
In the Mood for Love – Feb 16 – 19
Directed by Wong Kar-wai | 2000
Hong Kong, 1962: Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) and Su Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung Man-yuk) move into neighboring apartments on the same day. Their encountehttps://thefridacinema.org/film/in-the-mood-for-love/rs are formal and polite—until a discovery about their spouses creates an intimate bond between them. At once delicately mannered and visually extravagant, the movie is a masterful evocation of romantic longing and fleeting moments.
Her – Feb 17 – 20
Directed by Spike Jonze| 2013
In the not so distant future of Los Angeles, Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix), lives a lonely life of working as a letter writer, video gaming, and ruminating on his heartbreak over the end of a long term relationship. One day, Theodore decides to purchase a newly developed operating system, called OS1, advertised as a fully conscious AI designed to meet the user’s every need. The OS, voiced by Scarlett Johansson, names herself Samantha, and her bright voice and frank and witty demeanor reveals a playful personality indistinguishable from human. To Theodore’s surprise, as her needs and desires grow in tandem with his own, a romantic relationship develops between the man and his machine when their friendship blossoms into an eventual love for each other.
Decision to Leave w/ Pre-recorded Q&A with Park Chan-Wook – Feb 17 & 18
Directed by Park Chan-Wook | 2022
Detective Hae-joon (Park Hae-il) investigates the death of a man whose body is found at the base of a mountain. The reasons behind the death remain unclear, whether it was a suicide or a murder. Yet, amidst the disaster, Seo-rae (Tang Wei), the wife of the deceased, remains unperturbed. As she becomes the primary suspect of the possible murder, what unfolds isn’t an answer to the case but a calculated, restrained romance between Hae-joon and Seo-rae, detective and suspect.
Arvida Books Presents: The Notebook – Feb 23
Directed by Nick Cassavetes | 2004
In the summer of 1940, country boy Noah Calhoun (Ryan Gosling) meets seventeen-year-old heiress Allie Hamilton (Rachel McAdams) at a carnival in Seabrook Island, South Carolina, changing both of their lives forever. At first, the two spar wits, rebuffing the others’ advances until they realize they’re falling in love. Allie’s controlling parents forbid her from seeing the irascible Noah, who begins writing letters to Allie every day. A brewing global conflict further separates the couple, who get catapulted across space and time in all directions. Will the lovers ever reunite? Can love last forever?
Punch-Drunk Love – Feb 24 – 28
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson| 2002
Barry Egan (Adam Sandler) is a lonely and anxiety-ridden businessman prone to violent outbursts. His uneventful life of enduring mockery from his seven sisters is interrupted when a musical device appears outside his warehouse. Shortly afterwards, his sister sets up him up with the equally peculiar and mysterious Lena. Their guileless romance soon unfolds while a looming threat of extortion tests Barry’s spirit.
Howl’s Moving Castle (Dubbed) – Feb 25 – 27
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki | 2004
18-year-old Sophie Hatter has settled into an unremarkable life of managing her late father’s hat shop in the magical kingdom of Ingary until late one night, when a mysterious woman comes into the shop and turns Sophie into an old woman. Sophie sets off into the countrywide on her own, determined to break this curse. She crosses paths with the Castle—the enigmatic home of the equally enigmatic wizard Howl. Posing as the newly hired cleaning lady, Sophie makes a deal with the Castle’s resident fire demon, Calcifer: if she can break the contract he has with Howl, then Calcifer will break Sophie’s curse.
Howl’s Moving Castle (Subtitled) – Feb 25 – 27
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki | 2004
18-year-old Sophie Hatter has settled into an unremarkable life of managing her late father’s hat shop in the magical kingdom of Ingary until late one night, when a mysterious woman comes into the shop and turns Sophie into an old woman. Sophie sets off into the countrywide on her own, determined to break this curse. She crosses paths with the Castle—the enigmatic home of the equally enigmatic wizard Howl. Posing as the newly hired cleaning lady, Sophie makes a deal with the Castle’s resident fire demon, Calcifer: if she can break the contract he has with Howl, then Calcifer will break Sophie’s curse.
