Our Hallucinations series continues with Isao Fujisawa’s Bye Bye Love, a poignant Japanese road movie that captures the spirit of youthful rebellion and existential searching.
The film follows Utamaro, a disillusioned young drifter, who crosses paths with Giko, a mysterious and gender-fluid wanderer. Together, they embark on a journey across Japan, engaging in petty crimes and forging an intense, complicated relationship as they attempt to escape both the law and the constraints of societal expectations. As their journey unfolds, Utamaro is forced to confront his own notions of identity, love, and freedom, leading to moments of deep introspection and emotional reckoning.
Read More
Our Page To Screen series takes an odyssey into the American South as we present the Coen Bros’ 2003 musical adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey, O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Read More
Just added! The director of The Accidental Getaway Driver, Sing Lee, will be joining us for an-person Q&A after the Sunday, March 9th screening at 12:00PM!
Drive out for Sing J. Lee’s The Accidental Getaway Driver, a tense and emotionally charged crime thriller based on a true story. These screenings are presented by our friends from VAALA !
The film follows Long Ma, an elderly Vietnamese taxi driver in Southern California who unwittingly picks up three escaped convicts in the dead of night. What begins as a routine fare spirals into a harrowing hostage situation as Long finds himself caught between fear and an unlikely connection with the group’s conflicted leader. As the night unfolds, tensions rise, past traumas resurface, and Long must navigate both physical and psychological survival in an environment where trust is a dangerous gamble.
VAALA was founded in 1991 by a group of Vietnamese American journalists, artists, and friends to fill a void in the community and provide a space for newly resettled immigrant artists to express themselves. VAALA’s mission is to connect and enrich communities through Vietnamese art and culture. Historically run entirely by volunteers, VAALA is a community-based non-profit organization. Over the years, VAALA has collaborated with diverse community partners to organize numerous cultural and artistic events. VAALA’s four core programs include the annual Viet Film Fest and Viet Book Fest, the Gallery Beyond Walls program featuring art exhibitions, and free art and film workshops for youth, such as Youth in Motion: A Filmmaking Workshop for Emerging Filmmakers.
Read More
Join us for a one-night-only screening of 2018 neo-noir crime thriller Destroyer, followed by an in-person discussion with the director of the film, Karyn Kusama (Jennifer’s Body, The Invitation, Girlfight) and author Marya E Gates (Cinema Her Way: Visionary Female Directors in Their Own Words)!
Read More
As a part of our ongoing tribute to cinema legend David Lynch, we are adding three encore screenings of Blue Velvet, his surrealist 1986 masterwork.
The film follows Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan), a college student who returns to his small hometown of Lumberton after his father is injured. While walking, he discovers a severed human ear and becomes involved in investigating its origins. As Jeffrey dives deeper into the dark world of crime, voyeurism, and desire, he struggles with the blurred lines between innocence and corruption, while also developing a romantic relationship with Sandy (Laura Dern), a local cop’s daughter. Isabella Rossellini and Dennis Hopper also star in this unforgettable trip into the dark underbelly of suburban life, a trademark attributed directly to David Lynch to this very day.
Blue Velvet is a touchstone for modern surrealist cinema and is widely discussed in film studies for its exploration into its psychological complexity, and the intersection of innocence and corruption. It garnered Lynch an Oscar nomination for both Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, but its grip on modern pop culture branches far beyond its accolades.
Read More
At Long Last Longworth comes to an end with one of the great films from the 1930s, Ernst Lubitsch’s Trouble In Paradise!
Widely considered one of Lubitsch’s best works, Trouble In Paradise epitomizes the elegance and charm of pre-Code Hollywood with its sharp dialogue, playful innuendo, and sophisticated narrative. Fans of romance, comedy, heist capers, sparkling dialogue, clever plot twists, and a satirical look at the world of high society and criminal sophistication are bound to have a great time!
The story follows a thief named Gaston Monescu and a pickpocket named Lily that are partners in crime and love. Working for perfume company executive Mariette Colet, the two crooks decide to combine their criminal talents to rob their employer. Under the alias of Monsieur Laval, Gaston uses his position as Mariette’s personal secretary to become closer to her. However, he takes things too far when he actually falls in love with Mariette, and has to choose between her and Lily.
At Long Last Longworth is a week-long guest programming takeover by author, critic, podcaster, and certified Frida Cinema favorite Karina Longworth. We gave her a promt for four different films: one of her “all-timers” (Trouble In Paradise), her favorite flop (At Long Last Love), a movie she thinks needs to be re-examined (Arizona Dream), and a movie she loves from her childhood (The Wizard Of Oz). Before each screening, there will be an exclusive introduction pre-recorded by Ms Longworth, with the exception of At Long Last Love, which will have an in-person conversation after the screening!
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
The Frida is partnering with Muzeo Museum to present Bonnie and Clyde, Arthur Penn’s groundbreaking crime drama. This collaborative series features classic films inspired by the posters on display in “Painted for the Pictures: The Illustrative Art of Classic Movie Posters.” A discussion on this subject will follow each screening.
The film chronicles the infamous exploits of Bonnie Parker (Faye Dunaway) and Clyde Barrow (Warren Beatty), two Depression-era lovers turned bank robbers. Disenchanted with their mundane lives, the pair embarks on a spree of robberies across the American South, joined by Clyde’s brother Buck (Gene Hackman), his wife Blanche (Estelle Parsons), and a young accomplice, C.W. Moss (Michael J. Pollard). Their daring escapades and celebrity status as outlaws are juxtaposed with the inevitable consequences of their actions, culminating in a violent and tragic finale.
Renowned for its bold storytelling, visceral violence, and compelling performances, Bonnie and Clyde won two Academy Awards and is celebrated as a seminal work that ushered in the New Hollywood era.
The Muzeo Museum is open Wednesday through Sunday, 11:00AM-5:00PM. “Painted for the Pictures” runs from Saturday, February 8 through Sunday, April 20 and is in our Main Gallery. For tickets and more information, please visit: https://muzeo.org/
Read More
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.
Read More
