21st Century Cult continues with The Handmaiden, Park Chan-Wook’s spellbinding psychological thriller.
Set in 1930s Japanese-occupied Korea, the film follows Sook-hee (Kim Tae-ri), a young pickpocket hired as a handmaiden to Lady Hideko (Kim Min-hee), a wealthy Japanese heiress living under the oppressive control of her uncle. Secretly working for a conman posing as a Japanese count (Ha Jung-woo), Sook-hee’s mission is to help him seduce and swindle Hideko out of her fortune. However, unexpected emotions and shocking revelations disrupt their plans, leading to a tale of betrayal, passion, and empowerment.
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Ring in the Valentine’s season with Wild at Heart, David Lynch’s 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.
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Our 21st Century Cult series kicks off this month with Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Michel Gondry’s surrealist sci-fi romance!
Gondry and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (who won an Academy Award for his screenplay) capture the mixed emotions of love and loss in a way that no filmmakers have done before or since. Starring Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey in career highlights for both, the film tells the story of a bitter breakup which results in a pair of ex-lovers hiring a radical medical company to erase all memories of each other – and the internal struggle that ensues to try to hold on despite having so many reasons to let go.
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Revisit one of the most beloved films of all time with Michael Curtiz’s Casablanca, the timeless romantic drama set during World War II.
The story unfolds in the titular Moroccan city, a haven for refugees seeking passage to the Americas. Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), the jaded owner of a popular nightclub, unexpectedly reunites with his former lover, Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman), who arrives with her husband, resistance leader Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid). As Rick grapples with lingering feelings for Ilsa, he must decide whether to help the couple escape the clutches of the Nazis, risking his own safety in the process.
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As part of our Fire Relief Fundraiser series, we are screening Damien Chazelle’s 2016 romantic musical La La Land, with proceeds from this screening going to relief efforts in Los Angeles.
Mia (Emma Stone), an aspiring actress, serves lattes to movie stars in between auditions and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), a jazz musician, scrapes by playing cocktail party gigs in dingy bars, but as success mounts they are faced with decisions that begin to fray the fragile fabric of their love affair, and the dreams they worked so hard to maintain in each other threaten to rip them apart.
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Love rains with The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, the 1964 musical romance from Jacques Demy!
This simple romantic tragedy begins in 1957. Guy Foucher, a 20-year-old French auto mechanic, has fallen in love with 17-year-old Geneviève Emery, an employee in her widowed mother’s chic but financially embattled umbrella shop. On the evening before Guy is to leave for a two-year tour of combat in Algeria, he and Geneviève make love. She becomes pregnant and must choose between waiting for Guy’s return or accepting an offer of marriage from a wealthy diamond merchant.
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Our Classic Movie Nights series goes platinum with Howard Hawks’ musical comedy Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, starring the iconic Marilyn Monroe!
Lorelei Lee is a beautiful showgirl engaged to be married to the wealthy Gus Esmond, much to the disapproval of Gus’ rich father, Esmond Sr., who thinks that Lorelei is just after his money. When Lorelei goes on a cruise accompanied only by her best friend, Dorothy Shaw, Esmond Sr. hires Ernie Malone, a private detective, to follow her and report any questionable behavior that would disqualify her from the marriage.
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Our Classic Movie Night series keeps on rolling with Ball Of Fire, Howard Hawks’ 1941 screwball comedy starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck!
A group of academics have spent years shut up in a house working on the definitive encyclopedia. When one of them discovers that his entry on slang is hopelessly outdated, he ventures into the wide world to learn about the evolving language. Here he meets Sugarpuss O’Shea, a nightclub singer, who’s on top of all the slang—and, it just so happens, needs a place to stay.
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Our Page To Screen series keeps on rolling into the new year as we present the 2020 rendition of Emma., starring Frida favorites Anya Taylor-Joy, Mia Goth, and Josh O’Connor! Make sure to stick around after the screening as we partner with Arvida Book Co in Tustin for a conversation about the original text versus this particular movie version!
In 1800s England, a well-meaning but selfish young woman meddles in the love lives of her friends.
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Our 21st Century Cult series marches along as we present the controversial 2002 film Secretary, starring James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhaal!
he film follows Lee Holloway (Gyllenhaal), a socially awkward young woman recently released from a mental health institution, who takes a job as a secretary for the demanding and enigmatic lawyer E. Edward Grey (Spader). As their professional relationship evolves into an unorthodox BDSM dynamic, Lee begins to reclaim her sense of agency and identity, while Edward confronts his own vulnerabilities and desires.
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