One life. One hundred years.
Jinsei, the new anime masterpiece from first-time director Ryuya Suzuki, is coming to The Frida Cinema!
Our hero (voiced by rapper ACE COOL), called by a different name in each chapter of his life, becomes a J-pop idol, an outcast, a leader, and an oracle in this hundred-year chronicle spanning the past, present, and future. Through a chance encounter with a transfer student, he trains to become an idol, starting his search for self-identity and a journey toward greatness beyond superstardom.
Written, directed, edited and entirely hand-drawn by newcomer Ryuya Suzuki over eighteen months, Jinsei (meaning “life” in Japanese) is an anime tour-de-force that announces Suzuki to the world as a bold new talent in independent animation.
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To save the future, they must uncover her past.
GKIDS presents Another World, a dark fairytale that explores forgiveness and reconciliation in the face of hatred and despair.
Gudo is a Soul Keeper, a spirit who guides human souls into their next life. When he befriends a young girl named Yuri, he discovers that her untimely death has left her cursed with unresolved rage and regret. As Yuri’s soul teeters on the edge of annihilation, Gudo embarks on a dangerous journey to stop her from unleashing horrible destruction on both the human world and the spirit realm.
The directorial debut from Tommy Ng Kai Chung, the movie brings together the finest young talent from Hong Kong to create a poignant fantasy that boasts awe-inspiring action and captivating visuals.
This film will be presented in Cantonese with English subtitles.
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Before he created the music, he lived every bit of it.
Our Staff Pick for the month of June comes from Allyssa, one of our Box Office Managers! She has chosen the mythmaking rock Drama Purple Rain!
A victim of his own anger, the Kid is a Minneapolis musician on the rise with his band, the Revolution, escaping a tumultuous home life through music. While trying to avoid making the same mistakes as his truculent father, the Kid navigates the club scene and a rocky relationship with a captivating singer, Apollonia. But another musician, Morris, looks to steal the Kid’s spotlight…and his girl.
Purple Rain is a film powered by pure charisma and one of the greatest soundtracks ever recorded. Songs like “Let’s Go Crazy,” “When Doves Cry,” and the immortal title track were made to shake theater walls, and seeing Prince command the screen in all his magnetic brilliance is a reminder of just how singular a performer he was. Great pick, Allyssa!
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Cutter does everything his way. Fighting. Loving. Working. Tracking down a killer.
Our Hallucinations series is detouring to the world of sun-soaked neo-Noir with Cutter’s Way!
Alex Cutter is a boozy, belligerent and deeply cynical Vietnam veteran whose encounter with a landmine during the war has left him minus an eye, a leg and an arm. When his drifter playboy friend Richard Bone is falsely accused of murder, Cutter sets out for revenge in his own inimitable style.
Cutter’s Way is one of the great overlooked neo-Noirs of the 1980s and an extremely cynical portrait of a country where power always seems untouchable.
Hosted by Polygon’s editor-in-chief Chris Plante, Hallucinations is a monthly event that spotlights movies that challenge our expectations of story, style, and “good taste”. We invite guests to bond over films that change what we expect from the medium, the world, and themselves. So come early, stay late, make friends, and watch something strange, surprising, or just shamelessly sick.
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Our second Volunteer of the Month is courtesy of Jonathan V., who has chosen Steven Soderbergh’s star-studded heist comedy Logan Lucky!
Channing Tatum stars as Jimmy Logan, a West Virginia construction worker who recruits his brother Clyde (Adam Driver) and an eccentric crew to rob the Charlotte Motor Speedway during the Coca-Cola 600. Their plan hinges on the help of Joe Bang, a bombastic explosives expert played by Daniel Craig in one of the funniest performances of his career.
A caper comedy mixed with an underdog story in only the way Soderbergh can deliver, Logan Lucky swaps the sleek glamour of traditional heist films for dive bars and race tracks, making it warmhearted crowd-pleaser that plays best…where else? The big screen!
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Power, space, time and a visitor.
We’re presenting a 4K restoration of the European Cut of Nicolas Roeg and David Bowie’s hypnotic masterwork The Man Who Fell to Earth, now celebrating 50 years since its initial release!
Thomas Jerome Newton is an alien who has come to Earth in search of water to save his home planet. Aided by lawyer Oliver Farnsworth, Thomas uses his knowledge of advanced technology to create profitable inventions. While developing a method to transport water, Thomas meets Mary-Lou, a quiet hotel clerk, and begins to fall in love with her. Just as he is ready to leave Earth, Thomas is intercepted by the U.S. government, and his entire plan is threatened.
Fans of dreamlike, visually intoxicating cinema will find a lot to love in The Man Who Fell to Earth, which remains one of the cornerstones of 70s cult classic cinema.
Restoration: The restoration is based on a 4K scan of the original camera negative, followed by a full 4K workflow, with the approval of cinematographer Anthony Richmond.
Please note: we are screening the 139 minute European Cut of the film, also known as the Director’s Cut or Uncut version of the film!
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From Ildikó Enyedi, the director of Academy Award-nominated On Body and Soul, comes Silent Friend, an epic, awe-inspiring exploration of the natural world. Featuring an ensemble cast that includes Tony Leung, Léa Seydoux, and Venice Prize-winning newcomer Luna Wedler, Enyedi crafts a funny, tender meditation on the essential question of what it means to be human.
At the heart of an old German university grows a majestic ginkgo tree, its lifespan measured in centuries. As the years pass, the distinguished plant bears witness to the private lives of those who seek shade under its boundless branches. In 2020, a visiting neuroscientist conducts a series of experiments into the possibilities of botanical consciousness. In 1972, a young student is profoundly changed by studying the behavior of a simple geranium. And in 1908, the university’s first female student’s photographic inquiries reveal sacred patterns of the universe hidden within the humblest of plants. Three lonely souls, three outsiders. Over time, each is transformed by the quiet, enduring and mysterious power of nature.
This film will be presented in In German, English, and Cantonese with English subtitles.
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Trainspotting is turning 30 years old, and we’re celebrating with some anniversary screenings of a brand new 4K restoration via our friends at Sony Picture Classics!
Smart, funny, sickly and sometimes just plain unconscious, Mark Renton is a hero for our times. Set in an underbelly of Edinburg the city fathers never dreamed of, Trainspotting is the story of Mark and his so-called friends…a bunch of losers, liars, psychos, thieves and junkies. Hilarious but harrowing, the film charts the disintegration of their friendship as they proceed, seemingly inevitably, towards self-destruction. Mark alone has the insight and opportunity to escape his fate…but then again, does he really want to ‘choose life’?
Restoration notes: Supervised and approved by director Danny Boyle, this 4K digital restoration was undertaken by the Criterion Collection from a scan of the 35mm original negative. The 5.1 surround soundtrack was remastered from the original six-track magnetic masters by Ted Hall at Pacific Ocean Post in Santa Monica, California, in 1997.
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You’ve been asking for it, so we’re doing it! The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act is coming to The Frida Cinema! The viral internet sensation is reaching its long-awaited conclusion in a feature-length theatrical release! This “Last Act” combines episode 8 with the all new, hour long episode 9!
With Caine gone and the circus dark, the cast are left with only the mistakes and traumas of their pasts to keep them company. As the prospect of eternity closes in around them, they discover the truth about the Digital Circus and its history. Will they come to terms with what they uncover, or will they make…the other choice? Also, presumably at some point someone says something funny, because this ending can’t be THAT depressing, can it?
Watch the finale of the viral internet phenomenon the best way possible: on the big screen!
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Neither Heaven nor Earth could keep them apart!
Our Art House for Families series concludes with Powell & Pressburger’s astonishing Technicolor fantasia A Matter of Life and Death!
After miraculously surviving a plane crash during World War II, British pilot Peter Carter finds himself caught between worlds when celestial authorities realize he was never meant to live. As heavenly forces attempt to correct the error, Peter fights for the right to remain on Earth alongside the woman he has fallen in love with.
Few filmmakers ever have possessed sheer cinematic imagination quite like Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. Moving effortlessly between the everyday and the cosmic, A Matter of Life and Death excels at both dazzling visual invention and genuine emotional sweep. The film stands as one of the great achievements of postwar cinema, making it a perfect finale for a series dedicated to the wonder of experiencing movies together on the big screen.
Our Art House for Families series celebrates the magic of moviegoing across generations all summer long. From silent comedy and international classics to science fiction and fantasy adventures, the series invites longtime cinephiles and first-time art house audiences of all ages to discover some of cinema’s most enduring films together on the big screen. This event is sponsored in part by the City of Santa Ana.
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