Four vignettes, each set in different decades from the 1950s through the 1980s, deal with protagonists at different stages of life between childhood and young adulthood. This is In Our Time, an anthology film from 1982, directed by Edward Yang, Ko I-chen, Jim Tao, and Chang Yi.
Often seen as a starting point for Taiwan’s great art house wave of the 1980s and marking a shift toward more realistic and socially grounded filmmaking, this landmark anthology is rarely seen, on the big screen or not. Focused on small emotional moments like family life, school, work, and the quiet anxieties of growing up, it’s this exact type of naturalism became a defining trait of the movement that followed and established the career directors who later defined the entirety of new-age Asian cinema.
Read More
Some wars never end.
Our first Volunteer Of The Month pick comes courtesy of Nick V, as he has selected Spike Lee’s thought-provoking after-war drama Da 5 Bloods.
Four African-American Vietnam veterans return to Vietnam in search of the remains of their fallen squad leader and the promise of buried treasure. They battle forces of humanity and nature while confronted by the lasting ravages of the immorality of the Vietnam War.
Widely seen as one of his most passionate, politically urgent, and performance-driven films (specifically by Delroy Lindo, who should have been nominated for an Oscar), Da 5 Bloods is Spike Lee firing on all cylinders, delivering a deeply personal project that sparks debate and sticks with people long after the credits role.
Read More
Just added: Frida Board Member/Trivia Night host Atalia Lopez (Chapman University) and Porter Gilberg (Frida Director of Development) are back on Thursday 3/19 at the 8:15PM screening for another special pre-screening presentation on The Handmaiden’s literary history and cinematic influences. An interactive discussion will take place immediately following the film.
We’re getting revenge for Park Chan-Wook’s Academy Award snubs this year the only way we know how: bringing back a bona fide Frida Cinema classic–his 2016 twist-filled psychological drama The Handmaiden.
1930s Korea, in the period of Japanese occupation, a new girl, Sookee, is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress, Hideko, who lives a secluded life on a large countryside estate with her domineering Uncle Kouzuki. But the maid has a secret. She is a pickpocket recruited by a swindler posing as a Japanese Count to help him seduce the Lady to steal her fortune.
A meticulously-crafted and lush tale of deception, The Handmaiden is the ultimate film about desire amongst shifting loyalties.
Read More
Adapted from Sunil Gangopadhyay’s celebrated 1968 novel, Days and Nights in the Forest is one of director Satyajit Ray’s greatest achievements, a modern search for connection that conjures the timeless resonance of a folktale.
Desperate to flee Calcutta’s rat race, four friends, Ashim (Soumitra Chatterjee), Sanjoy (Subhendu Chatterjee), Hari (Samit Bhanja), and Shekhar (Rabi Ghosh), drive to Palamu, one of India’s rural “tribal lands,” where they bribe a watchman into letting them stay at a sylvan guesthouse. Despite vowing to get away from it all, the crew soon mixes with the locals, including a woodland family: the soulful yet mischievous Aparna (Sharmila Tagore) takes to the overconfident Ashim, while her widowed sister-in-law Jaya (Kaberi Bose) grows closer to the bookish Sanjoy. At the same time, Hari, fresh off a break-up, woos a Santal girl named Duli (Simi Garewal); and Shekhar, despite his own penchant for gambling, tries to rein in his companions’ boozy hedonism.
Filled with some of Ray’s most indelible characterizations and lavish images (shot by longtime cinematographer Soumendu Roy), Days and Nights in the Forest touches on masculine vulnerabilities and Indian class divisions with the graceful complexity of a master at his peak.
Restored in 4K in 2025 by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project and Film Heritage Foundation in collaboration with Janus Films – The Criterion Collection at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory, from the original camera and sound negatives provided by Purnima Dutta and the magnetic track preserved by BFI National Archive. Funding provided by the Golden Globe Foundation. Special thanks to Wes Anderson and Sandip Ray.
Read More
Please note: the McManus Brothers will no longer be joining us for this screening! Sorry for any inconvenience this might cause.
Revenge is a vicious cycle.
The slick sci-fi multiverse revenge action thriller Redux Redux is coming to The Frida Cinema for one night only!
In an attempt to avenge her daughter’s death, Irene Kelly travels across parallel universes, killing her daughter’s murderer again and again. As she becomes consumed by her quest for revenge, her humanity begins to slip away—until the cycle is disrupted when she rescues Mia, a sharp-witted teenager already marked by the killer.
The film received great reviews hot off of its premiere at SXSW in 2025 and sports an insanely impressive 98% on Rotten Tomatoes!
Read More
Sirât, the buzzy new film from director Oliver Laxe, is making its way to The Frida Cinema hot off of the heels of getting nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film!
The story follows a man and his son arrive at a rave lost in the mountains of Morocco. They are looking for Marina, their daughter and sister, who disappeared months ago at another rave. Driven by fate, they decide to follow a group of ravers in search of one last party, in hopes Marina will be there.
Sirât won the prestigious Jury Prize at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and continues to stack up awards worldwide. Critics are praising the film for being one of the most intense and original films of 2025, with many noting that it demands to be seen on the big screen. Now’s your chance!
Read More
Baz Luhrmann’s electrifying reimagining of William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet is bursting back onto the big screen at The Frida Cinema!
In this contemporary (to 1996, at least) take on William Shakespeare’s classic tragedy, the Montagues and Capulets have moved their ongoing feud to the sweltering suburb of Verona Beach, where Romeo and Juliet fall in love and secretly wed. Though the film is visually modern, the bard’s dialogue remains.
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes at the height of ’90s stardom, Romeo + Juliet is a charming MTV-era style take on the timeless tragedy with a proper pop soundtrack and a love that burns eternal.
Read More
What if the afterlife isn’t halos and harps…but a courtroom?
Flickrhappy is back at The Frida Cinema to present a special one-off screening of writer/director Albert Brooks’ ingenious 1991 comedy Defending Your Life!
Is there love after death? After he dies suddenly, the hapless advertising executive Daniel Miller (Brooks) finds himself in Judgment City, a gleaming way station where the newly deceased must prove they lived a life of sufficient courage to advance in their journey through the universe. As the self-doubting Daniel struggles to make his case, a budding relationship with the uninhibited Julia (Meryl Streep) offers him a chance to finally feel alive.
Funny and unexpectedly profound, Defending Your Life blends sharp existential satire with genuine romantic warmth. With scene-stealing turns by Rip Torn and Lee Grant, and Brooks at his most vulnerable and witty, the film turns life’s biggest questions into something both hilarious and deeply human.
Join us for this unforgettable big-screen screening and discover why sometimes the only way forward…is to defend your life.
This program is a venue rental engagement. The views and opinions expressed in this program do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of The Frida Cinema or its staff. Flickrhappy is allowing Frida Cinema members to use their regular discounts to this event!
Read More
A powerful socialite and a promising ballet dancer begin a dangerous affair. When he secretly crosses the US-Mexico border, she takes desperate measures to protect their future together.
Read More
We are celebrating the 60th anniversary of one of the most influential political films in history, The Battle of Algiers, with a Film Club Members Only screening!
The film vividly re-creates a key year in the tumultuous Algerian struggle for independence from the occupying French in the 1950s. As violence escalates on both sides, children shoot soldiers at point-blank range, women plant bombs in cafés, and French soldiers resort to torture to break the will of the insurgents.
Shot on the streets of Algiers in documentary style, the film is a case study in modern warfare, with its terrorist attacks and the brutal techniques used to combat them. Pontecorvo’s tour de force has astonishing relevance today.
We are inviting Film Club Members to bring a Plus One to this screening! Make sure to RSVP for your guest as well!
Not a Frida Cinema Film Club Member yet? Sign up here!
Read More
