Featured Films Archives - Page 19 of 59

“A work of handcrafted beauty,” THE BLUE CAFTAN opens February 10 at the Royal.

February 1, 2023 by Jordan Deglise Moore

Morocco’s official entry for Best International Film at the 95th Academy Awards, The Blue Caftan follows a couple that runs a traditional caftan store in one of Morocco’s oldest medinas. In order to keep up with the commands of the demanding customers, they hire Youssef. Slowly Mina realizes how much her husband is moved by the presence of the young man. We open the film Friday, February 10 at the Royal.

“The blue caftan, both the clothing and the piece of cinema, are crafted like an elegant act of welcome resistance.” ~ Namrata Joshi, New Indian Express

“Not only about abiding love, but also about a deep, unspoken understanding between two people who are committed to each other.” ~ Shubhra Gupta, Indian Express

“Touzani has introduced the caftan as a symbol, and it’s touching to see how the film uses it in the end.” ~ Peter Debruge, Variety

“Stunning…working with an intricacy that rivals that of the craftsman at the center of her film, the auteur crafts a surprisingly warm story that subverts expectations at almost every turn.” ~ Christian Zilko, indieWire

“One of the most visually ravishing pictures of all time,” THE CONFORMIST opens February 3 at the Royal, February 10 at the Laemmle Glendale.

January 18, 2023 by Jordan Deglise Moore

Never has The Conformist been more timely. The new restoration of Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1970 masterpiece about a repressed Italian who becomes a fascist hitman is inspiring a lot of thoughtful journalism. “It’s not the ideology that attracts people to fascism,” writes Eric Alterman in the American Prospect. “It’s the permission it offers to ordinary people to behave like thugs.” In his recent New York Magazine/Vulture review, headlined “It’s Time to See The Conformist Again,” critic Bilge Ebiri describes the film as “one of the most visually ravishing pictures of all time.” Ebiri’s piece is well worth excerpting at some length:

“All great films, at some point, ask the question: Who am I? The greatest films go beyond asking this on a narrative level; through their very form, they embody the question of identity. And what makes Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Conformist (1970) the very greatest of movies isn’t just its staggering, legendary beauty, but its maze-like journey into its protagonist’s — and, by extension, its creator’s — mind.

“The Conformist has just been rereleased in a lovely new 4K restoration, which is certainly cause for celebration given that it’s one of the most visually ravishing pictures of all time. (It’s currently playing New York’s Film Forum, and will soon travel around the country.) There’s no real debate over Bertolucci’s achievement; this is one of those canonical titles whose place in history is a given at this point. You can see its influence in The Godfather series, in Taxi Driver, in movies as varied as Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, Dick Tracy, Call Me by Your Name, and Clueless — and yet, it remains as startling and revolutionary as it was upon original release, in part because few filmmakers nowadays are willing to embrace the sensuous and the monstrous at the same time. You never quite know what you’re supposed to feel at any given moment of The Conformist, because it asks you to feel everything.”

Some praise from past years:

“Bertolucci’s boldest and most expressive film.” – Calum Marsh, Village Voice

“It’s easy to overlook how stark The Conformist‘s political and allegorical message is because it’s just so damn beautiful.” – Aja Romano, Vox

“One of the greatest-looking movies ever made.” – Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader

“Bernardo Bertolucci is a master of turning harsh realities into free-flowing dreams and fantasies of sex and power into bracing, often uncomfortable moments of truth…The Conformist is perhaps his richest and most beautiful work.” – Max O’Connell, IndieWire

We are proud to open The Conformist at the Royal on February 3 and the Laemmle Glendale on February 10.

Based on Stefan Zweig’s final novella, CHESS STORY “shows how incredibly quickly a seemingly firmly anchored free world can tip over into a dictatorship.”

January 11, 2023 by Jordan Deglise Moore

Vienna, 1938: Austria is occupied by the Nazis. Dr. Josef Bartok (Oliver Masucci) is preparing to flee to America with his wife Anna when he is arrested by the Gestapo. As a former notary to the deposed Austrian aristocracy, he is told to help the local Gestapo leader gain access to their private bank accounts in order to fund the Nazi regime. Refusing to cooperate, Bartok is locked in solitary confinement. Just as his mind is beginning to crack, Bartok happens upon a book of famous chess games. To withstand the torture of isolation, Bartok disappears into the world of chess, maintaining his sanity only by memorizing every move. As the action flashes forward to a transatlantic crossing on which he is a passenger, it seems as though Bartok has finally found freedom. But recounting his story to his fellow travelers, it’s clear that his encounters with both the Gestapo and with the royal game itself have not stopped haunting him. Adapted with opulent attention to period detail by filmmaker and opera director Philipp Stölzl, Chess Story brings Stefan Zweig’s stirring final novella to life.

Chess Story opens January 20 at the Monica Film Center.

“Stölzl craftily melds the genres of period drama and psychological thriller, not for the purposes of reheated nostalgia, but to shed a cold light on the recursions of historical trauma.” ~ William Repass, Slant Magazine

“The adaptation of Chess Story is one of the rare cases in which the film has not only managed to leave the original behind, but to surpass it. Visually intoxicating.” ~ Süddeutsche Zeitung

“This film…moves because of Oliver Masucci, who acts with fantastic despair. And because of the wonderful Birgit Minichmayr.” ~ Der Spiegel

STATEMENT BY DIRECTOR PHILIPP STÖLZL

“I encountered The Royal Game [the alternative title of Chess Story] at a very early age. Zweig’s mysterious and impressive story etched itself into my memory and is one of those stories that have accompanied me in one way or another through my entire life. When Philipp Worm and Tobias Walker told me about their plans to make a new film version, I was delighted, read the screenplay with interest – and loved it.

“Our aim was to make a sensuous, intense feature film that would appeal to a wider audience with a brilliant cast, tight production and powerful visuals that really fill the whole screen. The contrast between claustrophobic imprisonment and the expanse of the ship that pounds across the Atlantic to America through the endless mist creates a field of tension in which Zweig’s literary metaphor can be told as a “big” story.

“The nice thing about the very courageous approach of screenwriter Eldar Grigorian to The Royal Game is that it represents a kind of condensation of the surreal secret that the novella already contains. The Kafkaesque pitch Zweig has chosen for his narrative becomes a decisive inspiration on the journey of the material to the big screen.

“On the one hand there is the intense, restrictive chamber play about the duel between Bartok and Gestapo man Böhm, who interrogates him and has him tortured. Then there is the – seeming – voyage to America and on board the game against the silent and enigmatic world chess champion. The persistent mist gives the journey something surreal, as if the giant ship were a barge of the dead, and the passengers mere ghosts. For this reason, the fact that this all turns out to be a dream in Bartok’s head is not a denouement or a surprise in the traditional sense, but more the final chord of a gloomily poetic tale. And finally, the prisoner’s battle against his own insanity in the solitary confinement cell, which he tries to escape from with his “mental chess” and at the same time achieves the opposite, sliding further in instead. Here, the film is an intense trip, because we are very close to our protagonist and accompany him down into the abyss and mental confusion.

“All these narrative levels are interwoven and initially “make sense.” But the longer Bartok is in solitary confinement and loses touch with reality, the more mysterious things become on the ship, the more the audience also become lost in a labyrinth that resembles an oppressive daydream. To this extent I would say that in this film, Zweig’s more distanced experimental design becomes a cathartic, intense and emotional vexatious game that will hopefully enchain and grip the audience.

“Zweig’s story did not end the way the film does. The bleak, dismal ending of his novella expresses the fear of impending Nazi world rule. We, however, know that it turned out differently, that it became light again after a dark night. And we want the audience to leave the cinema with this meaningful and encouraging certainty.

“The backdrop to all this is the true story about Nazi Germany’s annexation of Austria. This political level of The Royal Game makes the film timelessly relevant because it shows how incredibly quickly a seemingly firmly anchored free world can tip over into a dictatorship. It tells of how thin the layer of skin of a civilisation is and how close to the surface barbarism lies. And it tells us in this way to be alert.” ~ Philipp Stölzl, 19 October 2020

“If watching a Jafar Panahi film is something of a political act, then it is also a soul-nourishing one.” NO BEARS opens Friday at the Royal, January 20 at the Claremont, Glendale and Town Center.

January 11, 2023 by Jordan Deglise Moore

A statement from Jafar Panahi, unjustly imprisoned since July 2022 by the fascist theocrats in Tehran:

“We are filmmakers. We are part of Iranian independent cinema. For us, to live is to create. We create works that are not commissioned. Therefore, those in power see us as criminals. Independent cinema reflects its own times. It draws inspiration from society. And cannot be indifferent to it.

“The history of Iranian cinema witnesses the constant and active presence of independent directors who have struggled to push back censorship and to ensure the survival of this art. While on this path, some were banned from making films, others were forced into exile or reduced to isolation. And yet, the hope of creating again is a reason for existence. No matter where, when, or under what circumstances, an independent filmmaker is either creating or thinking about creation. We are filmmakers, independent ones.”

Some of the copious praise for No Bears, the film he finished just before being arrested:

“If watching a Jafar Panahi film is something of a political act, then it is also a soul-nourishing one.” ~ Barry Hertz, Globe and Mail

“[Panahi’s] work has not astonished like this in some time.” ~ Glenn Kenny, RogerEbert.com

“There’s an urgency and a currency to No Bears that is evident even if you didn’t know Panahi is currently serving a six-year sentence for “producing anti-government propaganda,” both of which add a sting to its final act. You leave feeling like you’ve just seen a truly extraordinary late work produced by one of the era’s greatest working auteurs, quickly followed by the sense of experiencing a sucker punch when you remember that the man driving away from the scene of the crime onscreen isn’t able to go anywhere once that screen fades to black.” ~ David Fear, Rolling Stone

“Panahi, whose courage and honesty are beyond doubt, has made a movie that calls those very qualities into question, a movie about its own ethical limits and aesthetic contradictions.” ~ A.O. Scott, New York Times

“It’s a fierce critique of small-town traditionalism and religious dogma. But while this is an angry and ultimately devastating movie, it’s also a surprisingly playful and inventive one.” ~ Justin Chang, NPR’s Fresh Air

“There’s no way to watch this film without feeling mournful, or fearing for the man who made it.” ~ Stephanie Zacharek, TIME Magazine

Culture Vulture 2023 starts off strong in Glendale, Newhall and Santa Monica with Nobel laureate Annie Ernaux.

December 25, 2022 by Jordan Deglise Moore

Happy New Year! We’re welcoming 2023 with five powerful titles in our long-running Culture Vulture series: The Super 8 Years; Children of the Mist; Filmmakers for the Prosecution screening with Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today; and Geographies of Solitude.

The Super 8 Years, January 23 & 24: One of France’s most respected contemporary writers, 2022 Nobel Prize laureate Annie Ernaux’s intimate and autobiographical body of work captures the inner lives of women alongside societal and cultural changes in France from the 1960s onwards. A natural extension of her literary work in its form and content, The Super 8 Years shows the pastimes, lifestyle and aspirations of a social class in post-1960s France through the lens of the Ernaux family archive. Read Manohla Dargis’ rave review in the New York Times: “The film’s images have faded, but the memories they’ve stirred up are vivid and full of feeling…short, potent, quietly elegiac.”

Children of the Mist, January 30 & 31: In a village hidden in the mist-shrouded Northwest Vietnamese mountains resides an indigenous Hmong community, home to 12-year-old Di, part of the first generation of her people with access to formal education. A free spirit, Di happily recounts her experiences to Vietnamese filmmaker Diễm Hà Lệ, who planted herself within Di’s family over the course of three years to document this unique coming of age. “Diem’s intimate access and sensitive approach, together with editor Swann Dubus’ keen eye for texture and detail, make for a compelling and eye-opening drama.” ~ Nikki Baughan, Screen Daily

Filmmakers for the Prosecution screening with Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today, February 6 & 7: Filmmakers: Near the end of WWII, filmmaker John Ford, head of the Field Photographic Branch of the OSS, assigns the Schulberg brothers to carry out a special mission: track down German footage and photographs of Nazi atrocities in order to convict the leaders scheduled to stand trial. Nuremberg: One of the greatest courtroom dramas in history, the film shows how prosecutors built their case against Nazi war criminals using their own films and records. “Haunting and vivid. What this documentary shows is how a vital and indispensable principle of humanity was restored.” [on Nuremberg] – A. O. Scott, New York Times

Geographies of Solitude, February 13 & 14: An immersion into the rich ecosystem of Sable Island, a remote sliver of land in the Northwest Atlantic, the film follows Zoe Lucas, a naturalist and environmentalist who has lived there for over 40 years collecting, cleaning and documenting marine litter that persistently washes up on the island’s shores. Shot on 16mm and created using eco-friendly filmmaking techniques, Geographies of Solitude is a playful and reverent collaboration with the natural world filled with arresting images and made with an activist spirit. “A work of art.” – Marc Glassman, POV Magazine “A beguiling and poetic film.” – Wendy Ide, Screen Daily

Tickets for all the films are now on sale. Couple changes: west side Culture Vulture screenings are now at the Monica Film Center instead of the Royal and the Monday screenings will start at 7 PM instead of 7:30 PM. Also screening at our Glendale and Santa Clarita theaters.

DR. NO 60th anniversary screening & Bond Trivia Contest December 28 at the Royal.

December 21, 2022 by Jordan Deglise Moore

Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series invite you to ring out the old and ring in the New Year with a 60th anniversary screening of the very first James Bond movie, Dr. No. The film opened in London in October 1962 and launched the most successful franchise in motion picture history, still going strong today. After its successful British run, it opened in the U.S. in the spring of 1963, allowing American audiences to enjoy one of the most memorable introductory lines in movie history: “Bond. James Bond.”

This adaptation of one of the spy novels penned by former British intelligence officer Ian Fleming was by no means a guaranteed hit. The star of the film, Sean Connery, was a relative newcomer, and the supporting cast members were not that well known either. Producers Harry Saltzman and Albert “Cubby” Broccoli purchased the rights to Fleming’s novels and hired director Terence Young (who went on to direct two more Bond pictures, From Russia with Love and Thunderball). Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, and Berkely Mather wrote the screenplay.

The plot centers on an archvillain based in Jamaica who is plotting to disrupt a rocket launch at Cape Canaveral in Florida. Bond, however, is on the case, determined to foil the sinister plot. He is aided by the first of the “Bond girls,” Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder, who makes a memorable entrance emerging from the sea in a yellow bikini with a large knife on her belt. The dastardly Dr. No is played by distinguished character actor Joseph Wiseman, who had made an impression in such films as Detective Story and Viva Zapata! as well as in many acclaimed plays in the New York theater. The supporting cast includes Bernard Lee as M and Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny, both of whom returned in many of the subsequent Bond pictures.

Behind the camera, Maurice Binder’s main titles and Monty Norman’s musical theme also became fixtures in the Bond series. Editor Peter Hunt also continued to work on the franchise, eventually graduating to the director’s chair with On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Oscar-winning production designer Ken Adam went on to design Goldfinger, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds are Forever, The Spy Who Loved Me (for which he earned an Oscar nomination), and Moonraker. One of the wittiest touches that Adam included in Dr. No was his recreation of Goya’s famous painting of the Duke of Wellington, hanging on the wall of Dr. No’s lair. The painting had been stolen from the National Gallery in London the previous year and had not yet been recovered, so Adam’s decision to implicate Dr. No as the art thief was a sly inside joke.

The distributors had some concerns about whether the film would pass the censorship office. The opening sequence in Jamaica, set to a calypso rendition of “Three Blind Mice,” was unusually violent for a film made in 1962, and the sexual innuendoes were also bold for the era. Indeed the Vatican condemned the movie as immoral. But it received a seal of approval from the MPAA in the United States. It may have helped that President John Kennedy was a fan of the Fleming novels and even requested a private screening of Dr. No at the White House.

Critical response was generally favorable. Variety praised “an entertaining piece of tongue-in-cheek hokum.” Dilys Powell of the London Sunday Times wrote, “The first of the James Bond films…has the air of knowing exactly what it is up to, and that has not been common in British thrillers since the day when Hitchcock took himself off to America.” More recently, Kim Newman of Empire magazine declared, “With a debut like this, it’s no wonder that it spawned one of the biggest franchises ever.”

Join us to relive the birth of a legend. Before the screening, take part in a Bond trivia contest with some choice prizes! And a word of caution: Beware the deadly tarantula!

Join our tradition: SING-ALONG FIDDLER ON THE ROOF tickets are going fast!

December 21, 2022 by Jordan Deglise Moore

So few movies stand the test of time and can delight wildly different audiences even decades after their release. Fifty-one years later, Fiddler on the Roof is one of those few. All of which is to say that tickets for our Christmas Eve Sing-Along Fiddler on the Roof screenings at six of our seven theaters are going fast. There is still room for those who want to come out and celebrate, but act soon. Bring your Hanukkah menorah (and candles) to the theatre and help celebrate the miracles in our lives, not least of which is the “Wonder of Wonders” that Laemmle Theatres is still open after a year of closure and two years of halting recovery. Are brighter days ahead? Who knows. But I’m betting on yes. So buy a ticket, and I’ll feel as “If I Were a Rich Man” because there are still people who value the “Tradition” of seeing a movie in a movie theatre! ~ Greg Laemmle

“A gem of the Iranian new wave,” THE RUNNER opens Friday at the Royal & Town Center.

December 14, 2022 by Jordan Deglise Moore

Featuring one of the finest cinematic performances by a child actor (Madjid Niroumand) and a peer to classics like Truffaut’s The 400 Blows, De Sica’s The Bicycle Thief and Luis Buñuel’s Los Olvidados, Amir Naderi’s The Runner (1984) has been beautifully restored by Rialto Pictures. We are proud to open the film this Friday, December 16 at the Royal and Town Center.

“A gem of the Iranian new wave…crisply restored with improved subtitles…admirably lean and remarkably well-constructed…the light is often dazzling; the array of bottles floating in the harbor is bewitching… has a subtle fairy tale quality.” — J. Hoberman, The New York Times

“To say that the 1984 movie doesn’t seem at all dated is almost an understatement. I can’t think of any 2022 film that radiates so much joy in the act of filmmaking, or that can serve as such an electrifying inspiration to younger artists.” ~ Godfrey Cheshire, RogerEbert.com

“Niroumand gives a remarkable performance, thoroughly uninhibited and completely engrossing.” ~ John Anderson, Newsday

“A work of astonishing power and simplicity, reminiscent of the finest Italian neo-realist films.” ~ Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

“One of the best films in town right now.” ~ Derek Malcolm, Guardian

“The film uses stylization and photographic compositions of remarkable beauty (the director of photography was Firooz Malekzadeh) without ever compromising the tough reality of the lives of these undaunted young outcasts.” ~ David Robinson, Times (UK)