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SWEPT AWAY 50th anniversary screening February 13 at the Royal. Regular engagement starts February 21 in Glendale.

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For those who don’t like Valentine’s Day, join us for an “anti-romantic” evening with Lina Wertmuller’s Swept Away. Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present a 50th anniversary screening of the odd-couple arthouse sensation Swept Away. Lina Wertmüller’s provocative, fable-like two-hander brings together Mariangela Melato and Giancarlo Giannini for an oft-ugly battle of the sexes (and classes) cage match with the sparkling Mediterranean for a beautiful backdrop.

 

Not long after setting off on a yachting expedition, Milanese millionairess Raffaella (Melato) finds herself stranded on an obscure island with the boat’s deckhand (Giannini), a working-class Sicilian communist who promptly establishes dominion over the isle — and his once-prideful ex-employer. A contentious cinematic war of words, which has lost none of its power to inspire heated debate among its viewers.

We will also have a daily regular engagement February 21-27 at the Laemmle Glendale.

In 1976, Wertmüller became the first woman ever to earn an Oscar nomination as Best Director for her film Seven Beauties.

“[With Swept Away,] Wertmüller delivered the first girl power picture, and it’s a stunning masterstroke of a movie.”  – Bill Gibron, DVD Talk

“Wertmüller didn’t just tap the tangled sexual politics of the ’70s— she lit a fuse under them.” – Owen Gleiberman, Variety

“As ferocious as it is funny.” – Judith Crist

“A powder keg of class and sexual politics.” – Scott Tobias, AV Club

 

Enter our Top Five Films of 2024 contest! Bonus: Read Greg Laemmle’s list.

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Can you name your five favorite films released last year? Enter our contest here, use our handy-dandy drop-down menus to quickly choose five, and you’ll automatically be entered into a raffle to win a gift card! Also, we’ll create an overall customer top ten list from all the entries.  In case you need your memory jogged, Greg Laemmle composed the following:
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“I’m actually kind of glad that we are only asking for everyone’s five favorite films this year.  Yes, we will compile all the submissions and ultimately turn it into a Laemmle Patron Top 10 list, so maybe that’s a cheat. But as I sit here looking at my top films from 2024, it’s actually kind of helpful to try to distinguish between the films that are merely really good, and the ones that are most memorable.
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“First, I need to confess that even though I am the person responsible for selecting which films we are going to exhibit, I admit that there are films we are playing (or have played) that I did not see myself. I try to see everything, but it’s not always possible. Also, I have this “thing” about seeing films in a movie theatre and not at home, which makes it doubly hard to see everything. So if you don’t see THE BRUTALIST, EMILIA PÉREZ or THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG (among others) on my list, it’s not because I didn’t care for these critical and awards favorites. It’s because I still need to catch up with them at an actual screening.
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“If I could submit a Top 10 list, it would likely include ANORA, A COMPLETE UNKNOWN, CONCLAVE, DIDI, DUNE: PART TWO, THELMA or VERMIGLIO. These, and others, are all really good. And on another day or in another situation, they might even crack the Top 5. But as I sit here typing at this moment in time, I believe the following are the five movies from 2024 that will most stick with me.
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“#5 – HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS – Without a doubt, the film that had me laughing the most in 2024. Yes, it is perhaps a bit overstuffed with gags. But hey, they didn’t exactly have a budget for test screenings. Whatever the filmmakers of this indie gem lacked in dollars, though, was more than made up by their ingenuity and verve. I’m worried about what could happen to filmmakers like Mike Cheslik and Ryland Tews if they are not supported in the studio system. But also really excited to see what kind of energy they could pump into a Marvel-type film. So go ahead, Hollywood. Give them the keys to the hot rod and see what happens. Whatever it is, it won’t be cookie-cutter boring.
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“#4 – PARADISE IS BURNING – This little gem deserved a lot more attention, and it is hard to understand why it was basically ignored when released at the tail end of summer. Director Mika Gustafson was awarded the Best Director prize at the Venice Film Festival when the film premiered in 2023, along with Best First Film prize at the subsequent London Film Festival. But when released stateside, it was ignored by both the New York Times and the local rag. That’s a real shame, because this tale of three sisters growing up in quasi-feral conditions in Sweden is the real deal, with a trio of young performers who will knock your socks off.
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“#3 – GAUCHO GAUCHO. Co-directors Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw’s previous film was the Oscar-nominated film THE TRUFFLE HUNTERS, which was one of the first films we showed on reopening the theaters in April 2021. And what a great film that was. But GAUCHO GAUCHO is even more beautiful to look at. It is incredibly frustrating that the film was barely available in theatres. Hopefully there will be more opportunities to see it on the big screen down the road. In the meantime, you should be able to find it on the new Jolt streaming service. It’s relatively short, so just hide your phone, lock away your remote after hitting play, and allow yourself to be immersed in this beautiful documentary. You won’t be sorry.
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“#2 – HARD TRUTHS. This isn’t necessarily an easy film. Director Mike Leigh drops us into this film about family dynamics mid story and maybe leaves us without a typical ending too. But he has clearly worked with his cast to create such an extensive backstory for each and every actor, that it just doesn’t matter. Or at least, it didn’t matter to me. If there is any justice in the world, Marianne Jean-Baptiste will be rewarded with an Oscar nomination for her work in this film.
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“#1 – I’M STILL HERE. Fernanda Torres may have been a surprise winner of the Best Actress in a Drama prize at the Golden Globes. But after seeing this film, you will understand why the Globe voters went with her over better-known nominees. She delivers the truest, most lived-in performance of any screen performer this year, and she is superbly aided in this by director Walter Salles, working from a screenplay by Murilo Hauser and Heitor Lorega. At this point, it would be a shock if the film is not nominated for the Best International Feature prize.  But if it were up to me, it would be competing for Best Film.”

DISFLUENCY Q&As

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DISFLUENCY Q&A TIMES at the Laemmle Glendale

– Friday 4:20pm & 10:10pm – Writer/Director Anna Baumgarten & Producer Danny Mooney

– Saturday 4:20pm & 10:10pm – Writer/Director Anna Baumgarten & Producer Danny Mooney

– Sunday 4:20pm – Sevag Chahinian (LA Unit Cinematographer), Nathan Alexander (Composer), Monica Gerraffo (Costume Designer)

– Monday 4:20pm – Cast: Will announce names closer to the date.

This week on Inside the Arthouse: Sally Aitken, the director of the inspiring L.A. nature documentary EVERY LITTLE THING.

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When is a documentary about hummingbirds more than just another educational nature documentary? In the case of Sally Aitken’s new movie Every Little Thing, we discover that small things are very big things— and you will be more than a little surprised. Hummingbirds’ wings beat fifty times per second, and with astounding high speed photography, they float like gossamer on the screen, captured like tiny, magical sprites. Terry Masear, the film’s subject, runs a hummingbird rescue and she, too, is magical and surprising. These remarkable birds, no bigger than your little finger, become bigger than life as we discover Terry’s care, attention, wisdom, and affection for them. It’s a film that will stay with you long after you leave the theater. Every Little Thing is big and wide and will leave you thinking about how small acts of tenderness and kindness, expressed to the tiniest of creatures, can have giant impacts.

Watch filmmaker Sally Aitken’s recent interview on Inside the Arthouse.

We screen Every Little Thing this Thursday, January 16 in Glendale and begin the regular engagement the next day in Santa Monica. The director, Sally Aitken, and producer, Bettina Dalton, will appear for Q&As after the Thursday, 7:30 PM screening in Glendale as well as after the Friday and Saturday, January 17 and 18, 7 PM shows with subject Terry Masear at the Laemmle Monica Film Center.

New weekly series: Worldwide Wednesdays! Great new films from around the globe.

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Laemmle Theatres is pleased to announce our new weekly series of fresh international films, Worldwide Wednesdays. See below for the current schedule. Some are older films enjoying new restorations, but most are newer obscure films that we want to bring to a broader L.A. audience. Putting them in a weekly series format will hopefully help with create more awareness and help overcome the absence of what used to be a reliable marketing platform for smaller foreign films like these, critics’ reviews in the L.A. Times Calendar section. Also this format allows the films to play in multiple venues all over L.A. County rather than forcing interested audiences to schlep to a single location. The films, however, come from many thousands of miles away!
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January 22, 25 & 26, Eat the Night, France, 2024 ~ Pablo, a small-time drug dealer, and his teenage sister Apolline have forged an unbreakable bond through their shared obsession with the online video game Darknoon. When Pablo falls for the mysterious Night, he gets swept up in their liaison, abandoning his sister to deal with the impending shutdown of their digital haven alone. As Pablo’s reckless choices provoke the wrath of a dangerous rival gang, the end of their virtual life draws near, upending their reality. The newest vision from Caroline Poggi & Jonathan Vinel (Jessica Forever) is a bittersweet, apocalyptic love story with a modern MMORPG twist.

January 29, February 1 & 2, Oceans are the Real Continents, Cuba/Italy, 2023 ~ Three stories of migration, exile, and memory develop in the Cuban town of San Antonio De Los Baños, a place that time forgot. Alex and Edith, a young couple in their 30s, build their lives upon small gestures, reminisces, and a deep connection amidst the nation’s ruins. Milagros survives selling peanut cones on the street, spending her days listening to the radio and reading old letters. Nine-year-old best friends Frank and Alain go to school and dream of emigrating to the U.S. to become baseball players.

February 5, 8 & 9, Sujo, Mexico/France/USA, 2024 ~ After a sicario is murdered, four-year-old Sujo is left orphaned and at risk. With his aunt’s help, he survives in the isolated countryside, facing hardship and danger tied to his identity. As a teenager, he rebels and joins the local cartel. As a young man, Sujo seeks to escape his violent past, but when his father’s legacy resurfaces, he confronts the fate that seems destined for him.

February 12, 15 & 16, Ma Mère, France/Portugal/Austria/Spain, 2004 ~ Ma Mère takes place in the Canary Islands, where the film’s family shares a home. The mother Hélène (Isabelle Huppert), cool and in charge, and her teenaged son Pierre (Louis Garrel), a pious Catholic back from boarding school, discuss his father’s infidelity; the next they learn that he has died in a car crash. Hélène launches into a wild series of parties, gradually involving her son in her drugging, drinking and sex-fueled nights out.

February 19, 22 & 23, The Blond Boy from Casbah, France, 2023 ~ Filmmaker Antoine travels to his birthplace, Algiers, with his young son to present his new film: an account of his childhood in mid-20th century Algeria during the country’s civil war. As he wanders through the city, the filmmaker immerses us in the moments of happiness, laughter, and tears of his childhood – spent between school, friends, and his Jewish family. Growing up in the final moments of Algeria’s pre-independence period, the young Antoine discovers his profound fascination with cinema and starts to understand who he truly is.

February 26, 29 & 30, Amal, Belgium, 2023 ~ Amal is a powerful film by acclaimed Belgian-Moroccan director Jawad Rhalib, is a thought-provoking drama that explores the transformative power of education and self-expression. The title character is a teacher who courageously confronts fundamentalism through literature, offering a moving exploration of courage and compassion. Starring Lubna Azabal (The Blue Caftan, Incendies), Fabrizio Rongione (Two Days, One Night), and Catherine Salée (The Unknown Girl), Amal tackles urgent themes of identity, tolerance, and acceptance.

March 5, 8 & 9, My Motherland, France, 2023 ~ The celebrated actress Fanny Ardant plays the role of France, a wealthy Frenchwoman living alone in her Parisian apartment since the death of her husband. When she hears on the radio that the Singa association puts homeless migrants in contact with people who can take them in, she decides, against the advice of her friends and family, to take in Reza, a young Hazara Afghan refugee. Directed by Benoit Cohen, My Motherland is based on his own book Mohammad, My Mother, and Me, which is based on his mother’s experience welcoming a young Afghan refugee. This deeply personal film beautifully captures the complexities of navigating identity and belonging.

March 12, 15 & 16, Born for You, Italy, 2023 ~ Born for You tells the moving true story of Luca, a single gay Catholic man who in 2017 adopted Alba, a child with Down syndrome who was abandoned in the hospital shortly after being born. Thirty heterosexual families rejected her before the court decided to entrust her to him: with him, the legal foster care register for singles was inaugurated in Italy. Luca was, in fact, the first case in Italy of a single, gay person successfully adopting a daughter. But his was not a charitable gesture, nor to fight a system set against him and others like him: he simply wanted a family.

April 16, 19 & 20, Love Hotel, Japan, 1985 ~ Newly restored! A tale of two broken souls. A call-girl named Yumi, “night-blooming flower,” and Tetsuro, a married man with a debt to the yakuza, have a violent rendezvous in a cheap love hotel. Years later, haunted by the memory of that night, they reconnect and begin a strange love affair. Determined to finish what they started, they return to the scene of their first macabre passion. With a taste for wicked absurdity and coursing with undercurrents of operatic emotion, at times veering into near-musical territory, Love Hotel is moved by the irrational forces that attract two bodies together. It’s a film with a uniquely materialist sense of eros manifested in Shinji Somai’s long takes, each shot a tightrope-like predicament flushed with earthly tension and livewire physicality. Made in the same year as Typhoon Club, this elegiac erotica is one of Somai’s most bewitching and unnervingly romantic works, a high-water mark of Nikkatsu Studio’s legendary Roman Porno cycle of films.

GAUCHO GAUCHO filmmakers on Inside the Arthouse.

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Acclaimed filmmakers Gregory Kershaw and Michael Dweck, three-time Sundance honorees who previously took audiences to the secret corners of the Italian countryside in search of white truffles with The Truffle Hunters, recently sat down with Inside the Arthouse hosts Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge to talk about their latest striking nonfiction work. Gaucho Gaucho paints an Argentinian western with images and sounds of operatic beauty, building on their earlier success with The Last Race, a film that explored the last stock car racetrack on Long Island.

Kershaw and Dweck’s focus is now on the vast mountains of Argentina, expressed in stunning black-and-white photography, and a small community of gauchos who hold profound connections to the surrounding nature and their own traditions. As older generations dispense their wisdom, the film keeps its eye toward a new generation which continue to fight for their families’ legacies in a modern world.

“These filmmakers have enormous reserves of love and empathy for traditions that miraculously survive in spite of the modern world. And their compassion has never looked more cinematic.” ~ Tomris Laffly, Harper’s Bazaar

“An affecting tone poem which ruminates on the passage of time and the passing of traditions from one generation to the next.” ~ Tim Grierson, Screen International

Oscar short-listed FROM GROUND ZERO opens January 3 at the Laemmle Glendale and Monica Film Center.

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Palestine’s Official Submission for the 2025 Academy Awards, From Ground Zero is a powerful collection of short films by 22 Palestinian filmmakers living through war in Gaza. Through a unique blend of animation, documentary, and fiction, these stories capture the unyielding steadfastness of the human spirit and enduring creativity that thrives even in the face of relentless devastation. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has short-listed the film in its Best International Feature Film category for the 97th Academy Awards.

From Ground Zero was created by filmmaker Rashid Masharawi and designed to give a voice to the people of Gaza and to document their day-to-day experiences, many of which often go unheard by the outside world. In a war-torn society, where artistic creation is extremely complex, the project sought to capture the diversity of perspectives of Gazans through slice-of-life short films, ranging anywhere from three to six minutes in length. Filmmakers were allowed to tell their story through any genre and cinematic storytelling platform, from fiction to documentary to animation.
In order to ensure quality and coherence, a dedicated selection committee was set up to ensure the viability of the short films pitched to be included in the From Ground Zero Project. The committee evaluated every project submitted, giving priority to personal, original stories that focused on the project’s overall message. Once the 22 projects had been selected, the committee worked closely with the filmmakers to ensure their proper development, from concept to production – tackling real-world obstacles that filmmakers outside of Palestine would never have to consider. The creation of From Ground Zero required meticulous organization. Tutors based in the Middle East and Europe supervised the projects, while experienced coordinators on the ground in Gaza ensured the technical and human resources needed for filming.

Culture Vulture 2025 ~ more screenings, more places!

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Our eclectic Culture Vulture series returns this weekend. After ten years of screening filmed theater, opera, ballet/dance, gallery/art, and much more at our Town Center/Encino, Glendale, Monica Film Center/Santa Monica, and Claremont 5 theaters, we are now adding our Newhall theater. What’s more, we will now show the films on Saturdays and Sundays at 10:00 A.M. and Mondays at 7:00 P.M. Tickets are now on sale for the first nine films of the new year:
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February 1-3: Art and Life: The Story of Jim Phillips ~ Embark on the epic ride of Jim Phillips, the genius behind skateboarding and rock culture’s electrifying art. Drawing inspiration from his life in Santa Cruz, California, Jim helped shape the golden era of skateboarding. This documentary explores Jim’s dynamic life and career, showcasing his iconic work that has defined an era and secured his place in modern art history. Jim’s story is a profound narrative of resilience, passion, and enduring artistic vision.
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February 8-10: Perugino: Eternal Renaissance is a journey to discover Perugino, one of the most revered artists of the 15th Century and to celebrate the 500th Anniversary of his death. Journey through Italy to discover his great masterpieces, from the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel to the two rooms entirely dedicated to him in the National Gallery of Umbria. Spectators will be led on a guided discovery of the artist’s harmonious work: a perfect balance between man and nature, realism and idealism, as seen in paintings such as “The Delivery of the Keys” in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel, “Lamentation over the Dead Christ” in the Galleria Palatina in Florence, the “Pietà” and “Agony in the Garden” in the Uffizi Gallery.
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February 22-24: Three-time Olivier Award-winner Sharon D. Clarke is joined by Ncuti Gatwa (Doctor Who; Sex Education) in this joyful reimagining of Oscar Wilde’s most celebrated comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest. While assuming the role of a dutiful guardian in the country, Jack lets loose in town under a false identity. Meanwhile, his friend Algy adopts a similar facade. Hoping to impress two eligible ladies, the gentlemen find themselves caught in a web of lies they must carefully navigate. Max Webster (Life of Pi) directs this hilarious story of identity, impersonation and romance, filmed live at the National Theatre in London.
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March 1-3: Florence and the Uffizi Gallery is a multi-dimensional journey through the city that was the cradle of the Italian Renaissance. Get an exclusive tour through the most beautiful and representative works of art of the period from Michelangelo and Brunelleschi, to Leonardo and Botticelli, with a detailed central chapter dedicated to the treasure house containing their masterpieces: the Uffizi Gallery.
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March 8-10: Welcome to Yiddishland offers an upbeat, witty, and timely exploration of a global community of artists rediscovering and revitalizing the endangered Yiddish language through progressive and provocative creative works. As we journey through Yiddishland—not a homeland, but a heartland without borders—we travel across continents, from Melbourne to Berlin, New York to Haifa, meeting a diverse array of individuals who find solace, identity, and inspiration in Yiddish language and culture.
March 15-17: Utilizing the third act motifs of Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters as a jumping off point, Dmitry Krymov’s Fragment focuses in on Olga (Samanta in this production), the eldest of the three sisters. Like many of Chekhov’s heroes who attempt to overcome fate, she is doomed to fail, but it is in the attempt itself that she becomes so close and dear to the audience. Ultimately, we empathize with and love this very recognizable person who can’t adequately protect herself, her love, or her home.
March 22-24: The Dawn of Impressionism ~ What led to that first groundbreaking Impressionists show 150 years ago? Who were the maverick personalities that wielded their brushes in such a radical and provocative way? The spectacular Musée d’Orsay exhibition brings fresh eyes to this extraordinary tale of passion and rebellion. The story is told not by historians and curators but in the words of those who witnessed the dawn of Impressionism: the artists, press and people of Paris, 1874. See the show that changed everything on the big screen. Made in close collaboration with the Musee d’Orsay and National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
March 29-31: Seven-time BAFTA Award-winner Steve Coogan (Alan Partridge, The Trip) plays four roles in the world premiere stage adaptation of Stanley Kubrick’s comedy masterpiece Dr. Strangelove. When a rogue U.S General triggers a nuclear attack, a surreal race takes place, seeing the Government and one eccentric scientist scramble to avert global destruction. This explosively funny satire is led by a world-renowned creative team including Emmy Award-winner Armando Iannucci (The Thick of It, Veep) and Olivier Award-winner Sean Foley (The Upstart Crow, The Play What I Wrote).
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April 5-7: Far Out: Life On and After the Commune traces fifty years in the lives of a group of New England writers, activists and artists. In 1968, in the middle of a left-wing faction fight, a group of radical journalists left New York City for the country, where they became pioneers in the back-to-the-land and organic farming movement. Blending contemporary interviews and a remarkable trove of original archival footage, Far Out is lively, humorous, inspiring and irreverent. The film is vital, telling the history but hewing to the universal themes of how we grapple–over a lifetime–with politics, relationships, morality, spirituality, civic engagement and finding our home.