Santa Monica Archives – Page 3 Of 78

Unraveling Intimacy: How Mistress Dispeller Redefines the Marriage Drama

October 21, 2025 by Lamb Laemmle Leave a Comment

In Mistress Dispeller, director Elizabeth Lo ventures into a genre of her own creation. Her follow-up to the acclaimed Stray (2020) presents an unsettling and intimate docudrama set in mainland China, where the peculiar profession of “mistress dispelling” is now part of a booming market. The film peers behind the scenes of a marriage, an affair, and the intervention of a professional named Wang Zhenxi, offering a quietly compelling exploration of love, loyalty, and control.

Catch Mistress Dispeller in theaters beginning Friday, October 24th at the Laemmle Monica Film Center and NoHo 7.

Lo’s vision is unmistakably her own. Where Stray focused on abandoned dogs and human neglect in Istanbul, here she turns her lens to human relationships in crisis—not through sensational extremes, but with a restrained, observational calm. She and her cinematographer team let the camera linger on nuanced interpersonal dynamics: a wife’s anxious shopping trip, a husband’s distracted gaze, the mistress’s self-awareness as she negotiates a role she didn’t ask for. In the final analysis, Mistress Dispeller is not about spectacle, but the subtle clashing between confrontation and conformity.

The film introduces us to Mrs. Li, who quietly recruits Teacher Wang to dismantle the connection between her husband and the woman he’s been seeing on the side, Fei Fei. Lo captures this unorthodox dynamic with a humane detachment, refusing to vilify any participant. Even as cultural norms and power imbalances become visible, empathy remains the guiding light. What emerges is a portrait of a marriage not collapsing, but recalibrating, and of people not defeated, but learning to endure.

Though the subject matter could easily slip into tabloid territory, Lo’s filmmaking resists such banal classification. There are no confessions in stormy rooms, no sensational betrayals caught mid-explosion. Instead, there are conversations in soft tones, eyes averted, secrets kept because silence is part of the contract, and it is in such understatement that the film’s power ultimately resides. The subject feels somehow unadorned, authentic, but also strange and slightly off-kilter in a way that unsettles our own assumptions about fidelity and intervention.

Mistress Dispeller blossoms as a subtle investigation of what it means to stay married when the rules never quite fit you. Lo confronts the idea of agency under imposed systems—Chinese or otherwise—and asks: What is the cost of preserving appearances, resisting corrosion, and keeping a marriage intact? The film’s reward lies less in clear resolutions than in the ambiguous space between duty, love, and desire.

“Teacher Wang gradually morphs into… a Chinese Esther Perel, a relationship therapist tasked with getting severely private people to recognize their true feelings, amid a culture that hasn’t necessary [sic] trained them for ‘self-care’.” – Tomris Laffly, Variety

“[T]he innate goodness and human vulnerability of these people shines through.” – Leslie Felperin, The Guardian

In Eleanor the Great, Scarlett Johansson makes her directorial debut with a film that straddles that delicate line, balancing dark comedy, emotional drama, and pointed moral questions.

September 25, 2025 by Lamb Laemmle 1 Comment

True stories and small deceptions often live closer together than we’d like to admit. In Eleanor the Great, Scarlett Johansson makes her directorial debut with a film that straddles that delicate line, balancing dark comedy, emotional drama, and pointed moral questions.

Come see Eleanor the Great in theatres, beginning Friday, September 26th at the Laemmle Royal, Claremont, Town Center, Glendale, NoHo, and Newhall.

The story follows Eleanor Morgenstein (brilliantly played by Academy Award nominee June Squibb), a sharp-tongued nonagenarian enjoying her Florida retirement alongside her best friend, Bessie. But when Bessie dies, Eleanor’s carefully maintained world begins to crumble. Moving north to live with her daughter and grandson, she finds herself sidelined in her own family and adrift in a city she once called home. Left at the local JCC, Eleanor accidentally wanders into a meeting of Holocaust survivors. When the group mistakes her for one of their own, she chooses not to correct them—and begins retelling Bessie’s life story as her own.

At its heart, Eleanor the Great is less about deception than about the emotional currents that carry Eleanor into it. Squibb delivers a performance of rare complexity, portraying a woman who is both caustic and vulnerable, driven by a need for connection that she cannot always admit to herself. Ultimately, it is Eleanor’s bond with Nina (Erin Kellyman), a journalism student grappling with her own grief, that becomes the film’s emotional hinge. What begins as a misunderstanding grows into a tentative friendship, each woman learning to navigate absence, longing, and the fragile ways that stories can substitute for the connections we’ve lost.

Johansson and screenwriter Tory Kamen deftly steer this relationship into morally charged territory without losing sight of the characters’ underlying humanity. The ethical questions remain thorny—Can a lie born of loneliness still hold meaning? How about connections born of a lie?—but the film resists easy answers, instead allowing its characters to stumble through contradictions much like real people do. With Hélène Louvart’s luminous cinematography giving Squibb ample space to reveal flashes of mischief, regret, and desire, Eleanor the Great becomes as much a study of performance as it is of grief.

Ultimately, Johansson’s first film as a director is both tender and unsettling. Anchored by Squibb’s distinguished performance, Eleanor the Great is less about a lie than about the longing that fuels it, and the ensuing connections that make it impossible to undo.

“Eleanor the Great may not always live up to the hyperbole of the title, but it’s still worth admiring… there’s quite a bit here that truly is pretty great.” – Jason Gorber, Collider

“June Squibb is quietly powerful and touching…” – Pete Hammond, Deadline

“Johansson’s direction is assured here, establishing the intimacy between these two older women with the kind of endearing eye usually reserved for stories about girlhood.” – Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter

The History of Sound, Oliver Hermanus’s latest queer period romance.

September 16, 2025 by Lamb Laemmle Leave a Comment

Rarely does a film carry the quiet anticipation that surrounds The History of Sound, Oliver Hermanus’s latest queer period romance. Hermanus—already celebrated for works like Beauty (2011), Moffie (2019), and Living (2022)—has built a reputation for telling intimate stories with hefty moral weight, exploring identity, repression, and the varied textures of longing. In The History of Sound, he turns his gaze from South Africa to early 20th-century America to examine how love and music intertwine when both must be framed in shadow.

Catch The History of Sound in theaters beginning September 19th at the Laemmle NoHo, Glendale, Claremont, Town Center, and the Monica Film Center.

The film begins in 1917, with America on the brink of entering the First World War. In Boston, the New England Conservatory of Music buzzes with disciplined energy, its classrooms and practice halls filled with young musicians devoted to mastering their craft. It is here that Lionel Worthing (Paul Mescal), a shy, musically gifted farm boy from Kentucky, first encounters David White (Josh O’Connor), a more worldly and charismatic student whose flair for piano and song draws immediate attention, thus marking the beginning of their deep, unconventional bond.

Leaving behind the conservatory’s structured walls, the story advances to the rolling backwoods of Maine, where the two men embark on a summer expedition to record local folk music on wax cylinders. Camping under the stars, both Lionel and David relax into a profound intimacy born as much from their shared sensibilities and musical devotion as from romantic desire. In this transitional era, where the old world’s simplicity meets the looming pressures of a global conflict, it is ironically such intangibles as love, art, and music that the film holds up as unlikely exemplars of consistency and groundedness.

Ultimately, The History of Sound is an intimate character study of two men brought together by music, intellect, and the rare alignment of sensibilities. Some critics have drawn comparisons to Brokeback Mountain, noting the restrained, repressed tone and the early 20th-century setting, but the resemblance stops at this superficial level. For where Ang Lee’s film dramatized social pressure and the peril of being discovered, Hermanus’ work is far more concerned with the private, almost sacred interiority of desire than with overt drama or societal conflict. The war looms, but the heart of the film lies in what’s preserved: love, song, memory, and the myriad fruits of their timeless intermingling.

“[A] meditative tale about longing and the connection that music, as well as other art forms, can create between people.” – Ben Rolph, Discussing Film

The History of Sound is a work willing to live and die by its emotional heft.” – Will Bjarnar, In Session Film

“A slow-burn kind of picture.” – Mike McGranaghan, The Aisle Seat

In her latest documentary Democracy Noir (2024), Oscar-nominated director Connie Field turns her lens on various resistance movements against Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his ruling Fidesz party.

September 4, 2025 by Lamb Laemmle Leave a Comment

In her latest documentary Democracy Noir (2024), Oscar-nominated director Connie Field turns her lens on various resistance movements against Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his ruling Fidesz party.

Tune into Inside the Arthouse to hear Field discuss her latest project with co-hosts Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge ahead of its release in NYC on September 5th and Los Angeles on September 19th.

Field—who rose to prominence following the release of her acclaimed 1980 documentary, The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter—returns to guide viewers from Orbán’s initial rise to power in 2010 to the grassroots protests of 2023, exploring how autocrats secure power within democratic systems while demonstrating in real time the crucial role of resistance.

In her efforts to ground this story in the here and now, Field skillfully intertwines the stories of three Hungarian women activists: Tímea Szabó, a prominent opposition leader; Nikoletta Antal, a passionate young protest organizer and nurse; and Babett Oroszi, an award-winning journalist who’s been silenced by Orbán’s totalitarian control over the media. While the documentary never shows these women interacting, it transitions seamlessly from one to the next, highlighting the overlapping nature of their struggles.

Ultimately, the film manages to avoid reducing Orbán’s regime to a simple good vs. evil narrative, offering a sharp critique of Orbán and his party while refraining from demonizing his supporters en masse. This nuanced approach is reflected in the personal stories of the activists, whose political lives are more complicated than one might expect. Antal, for instance, is fiercely anti-Orbán, yet her mother sees Orbán’s policies as a source of security. Similarly, Oroszi, who initially voted for Orbán in 2010, interviews rural Fidesz supporters, trying to understand their motivations while also confronting homophobic attacks on herself and her wife. These personal narratives enrich the film, offering poignant depictions of the political divisions that can run through families—not just in Hungary, but all the world over.

Through these diverse perspectives, Democracy Noir paints a grim yet resonant picture of how Orbán’s government undermines Hungary’s democratic institutions. Rather than focusing on overt acts of violence or authoritarian crackdown, the film shows how the government gradually erodes democratic structures: rewriting the constitution, stacking the Constitutional Court with loyalists, and consolidating control over the media—subtle, systemic manipulations that often go unnoticed by Orbán’s most devout supporters. For many (if not most) Hungarians, life goes on as usual.

This film is not a how-to manual for resisting autocracy, particularly in the context of the U.S. Nevertheless, Democracy Noir offers an essential, firsthand look at how democracy can backfire, making it a crucial watch for anyone invested in the future of democratic societies.

“This documentary immerses you in a profoundly moving struggle against the tide of authoritarianism led by a trio of extraordinary women.” – Chris Jones, Overly Honest Reviews

ANY DAY NOW, a new indie film inspired by an unsolved $500 millon art heist, opens Friday at the Monica Film Center

August 20, 2025 by Jordan Deglise Moore Leave a Comment

On March 18, 1990, thirteen works of art were stolen from Boston’s Gardner Museum. Thirty-five years later, the case remains unsolved. No arrests have been made, and not a single piece of art has been recovered. The $500 million theft, regarded as the largest property crime in history, continues to capture the world’s attention.

Any Day Now is a new indie film inspired by the unsolved theft of these 13 masterpieces. To market the project, the team launched a bold pop-up gallery stunt in New York, inspired by the film’s true-crime art heist plot. The opening night party blurred fiction and reality for both invited guests and passerby, culminating in an FBI “raid” where agents dramatically “seized” a Rembrandt.

Now, the show that caused a ruckus in New York has come to L.A. Visit the viral 13 Masterpieces at the lobby of the Laemmle Monica Film Center and get tickets to see Any Day Now in the theater opening 8/22. For a limited time only.

ANY DAY NOW, a new indie film inspired by an unsolved $500 millon art heist, opens Friday at the Monica Film Center

Click here to read Deadline’s article ‘Any Day Now’: How Eric Aronson Artfully Marketed His Indie Heist Movie + Exclusive Clip and watch the recent Inside the Arthouse interview with Aronson and lead actor Paul Guilfoyle.

Leaving Laemmle: A Goodbye from Jordan

August 19, 2025 by Jordan Deglise Moore 14 Comments

My career at Laemmle Theatres began in early 1991 after a screening of Gerard Depardieu’s Cyrano de Bergerac at the Town & Country (now the Town Center 5) Theater in Encino. My father pointed out the “help wanted” sign in the box office window, and by March I was scooping and selling popcorn and later sweeping up the errant pieces from the auditorium floors. Soon enough I graduated to the more coveted role of box office cashier. My most memorable shift in that position involved a case of laryngitis and handmade signs reading “which film?” and “$4.50, please” held up to the box office window for bemused moviegoers to read. It was like a silent Chaplin short before the main feature.

All of this is by way of introduction to the fact that several decades later, I am leaving Laemmle Theatres next week for a much different job in another field entirely. I’m excited for the future but will miss my Laemmle family. As a final, much appreciated gift, Greg Laemmle has offered me this space to write a few words about my Laemmle story.

In 1999, the late Robert Laemmle and his son Greg, at the suggestion of their longtime employee Gregory Gardner, gave me a career when they promoted me from the Music Hall in Beverly Hills to work alongside them in the main office. In the years that followed, the Laemmles have given me so much, treating me like family. They let me telecommute from France for several months in 2022-2023. Bob gave me a loan for the down payment on my first home. A legendary art house exhibitor, Bob was also the kindest of men, and is much missed.

For the last 25 years, I’ve been working in the Laemmle office, programming trailers, proofreading and editing others’ writing about movies, sending hundreds of press releases, and sundry other things to help promote films that are in literally every language spoken on planet Earth. (I add a new language to our film database about ten times per year. Just this week I added Ga, which is spoken in Ghana.) It has been a privilege.

To some fanfare, the New York Times recently published a feature about filmmakers’, actors’, critics’ and their readers’ favorite films of the last 25 years. So I figure I’ll do the same. I base my list on something Emily Dickinson said about poetry. I think it applies to movies too:

“If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can warm me, I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry. These are the only ways I know it. Is there any other way?”

If I see a film and immediately know I want to see it again, I know I’ve seen a movie that reaches a level of cinematic poetry that Dickinson would recognize. And by “poetry” I don’t mean something pretentious. I think the bunk bed scene in the crude, brilliant farce STEP BROTHERS could make most of the population of the planet laugh.

Before I share my list, I want to say a few things about the many people I’ve worked with. One thing that’s fun about this job is it touches on a few different fields that make theatrical exhibition possible: exhibitors (the people I’ve worked with in the Laemmle office); exhibitor relations people, i.e. the U.S. studios/distributors of the films who coordinate with exhibitors; theater managers; and film media, i.e. the media and film critics. All are essential to getting films in front of audiences. There are too many terrific people I have worked with and admired to mention here, so I’ll single out one person from each area to thank them and sing their praises.

Michele Anderson, née Cecilio, was the longtime general manager of the Laemmle NoHo 7 and later oversaw Laemmle Theatres’ operations. It was a privilege to watch her efficiency and problem-solving talent. She was like Alexander overcoming the Gordian knot with linear thinking, but doing it weekly. She made everyone’s job easier, including mine.

Matthew King has been working in the Laemmle main office about as long as I have. He worked with famed GM Roger Christensen at the Sunset 5 right after I did and went on to design and oversee all of the systems that make Laemmle Theatres run, not least a Filmmaker-based database that functions as our internal IMDB. (The first entry? The 1999 documentary Creature.) Matt once took a couple years off to work part-time and remotely while getting a bachelor’s degree in biological psychology from U.C. Berkeley. I figure he’s a literal genius and a deeply good person too.

I have loved good film criticism since my grandmother encouraged me to read Pauline Kael in The New Yorker. So I was a bit starstruck when I began working directly with local film critics like Manohla Dargis and Kenneth Turan. I met Chuck Wilson when the L.A. Weekly assigned him to review a compilation of Cuban films we were showing. Like other gifted film critics, Chuck can identify and celebrate a movie’s poetry – overall or merely in a scene, a shot, or a line reading – in writing that borders on poetry itself. Chuck and I would go on to become close friends, and he was the best man at my wedding in 2014.

Of the many people at studios/distributors I’ve worked with, Kim Kalyka of Neon Rated stands out. Originally from the Angelika Film Center, Miramax, and IFC Films, Kim is one of the reasons Parasite won the Best Picture Oscar and tops the New York Times list of best films of the century. I don’t know how she can accomplish things like that and still reply to my little emails about posters and trailers faster than anyone I’ve ever worked with, but that’s what she does.

Finally, to the Laemmle audience: Thank you for your passionate movie love and adventurous taste and continuing to see movies in theaters. You make Los Angeles the vibrant movie mecca that it is and have kept Laemmle Theatres in business since 1938.

And now, my list. Actually, I’m going to cheat and do two lists, one for foreign language films and another for films in English.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILMS

Amélie

The Beat That My Heart Skipped

Children of Heaven

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Faces Places

The Gleaners and I

Let the Right One In

Parasite

Perfect Days

Portrait of a Lady on Fire

A Prophet

Roma

A Separation

Together (Lukas Moodysson, 2000)

Tomboy

Y tu mamá también

ENGLISH LANGUAGE FILMS

The Avengers Tetralogy

Best in Show

Bridesmaids

Dune: Parts One and Two

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

The Favourite

Get Out

Ghost World

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Happy-Go-Lucky

Hard Truths

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Minority Report

Moonlight

Mulholland Drive

Past Lives

Phantom Thread

The Royal Tenenbaums

Step Brothers

Nightmare Alley

TAR

There Will Be Blood

WALL·E

You Can Count on Me

Zodiac

“You do what’s needed. You show up.” Greg Laemmle on Jewish Family Service L.A. and the Laemmle Charitable Foundation.

August 13, 2025 by Jordan Deglise Moore 1 Comment

Founded in 2000, the Laemmle Charitable Foundation gives back to moviegoers and the Los Angeles community by supporting organizations that address the critical social and environmental challenges of our region.

The admirable local charity Jewish Family Service L.A. recently featured the foundation on its Donor Spotlight page with the headline “A Legacy of Giving Back.” It begins:

“For Greg Laemmle, giving back is a family tradition deeply rooted in history, legacy, and a commitment to community.

“A third-generation Angeleno, Greg’s roots in Los Angeles run deep. Greg’s grandfather, Max Laemmle, and his brother Kurt founded Laemmle Theatres in 1938, after being introduced to the film industry by their relative Carl Laemmle, founder of Universal Studios. Carl wasn’t just a Hollywood pioneer; he helped rescue hundreds of European Jews before World War II, including Greg’s relatives, by providing affidavits for immigration.

“’After World War I, Carl focused on helping rebuild Germany. But when the situation changed—when there was a change in government and a change of heart in Germany—he shifted. As much as he loved his homeland, there was a greater priority,’ said Greg. ‘It’s a powerful reminder that we must adapt to the moment and do what’s most needed. As much as we may cling to our image of who we are and what our place in the world is, sometimes things change, and we have to adapt.’

“Greg’s grandfather continued the legacy of community and service in Los Angeles by serving on nonprofit boards and helping establish institutions like the Brandeis-Bardin Institute at the American Jewish University.

“As a way to carry that commitment forward, Greg and his father created the Laemmle Charitable Foundation. The foundation focuses on nonprofits working to improve life in Los Angeles, especially around key social and environmental issues. It remains flexible, adapting each year to meet the changing needs of the community.

“’By the end of this year—our 25th—we will have granted more than $2.5 million to nonprofits across Los Angeles,’ said Greg.”

Click here to read the rest of the piece.

Feast on this fall’s cornucopia of Culture Vulture screenings.

August 13, 2025 by Jordan Deglise Moore 1 Comment

We choose the best films from the world of ballet, opera, stage, fine art, architecture, design, photography and more to feature on the big screen every Saturday and Sunday morning and Monday evenings at five Laemmle theaters — the Laemmle Claremont 5, Glendale, Monica Film Center, Newhall, and Town Center 5 — as part of our long-running Culture Vulture series.

August 23-25: The first documentary exploring the visionary genius of Rudolph Schindler, the architect who redefined modern living by blending innovative design with the natural world, Schindler Space Architect is narrated by Meryl Streep and features architect Frank Gehry. The film affirms the singular genius of one man and the eternal challenge every artist faces to stay true to their vision in an effort to leave a lasting impact. We’ll bring the film back in November for a regular engagement at the Monica Film Center.

Culture Vulture skips Labor Day weekend but comes back to start autumn with:

September 6-8: Lotto and Berenson: Crossed Destinies follows the intertwined journeys of Lorenzo Lotto, a forgotten Renaissance master, and Bernard Berenson, the Jewish American art critic who resurrected his legacy. Through the eyes of actor Alessandro Sperduti, the film retraces Lotto’s artistic path across Italy, uncovering the painter’s personal and professional struggles.

September 13-15, Naked Ambition: Bunny Yeager, the photographer behind the bikini, Bettie Page’s rise, and the invention of the selfie, comes to life in this rediscovery of a brilliant yet overlooked artist, featuring testimonies from Bruce Weber, Dita Von Teese, and more. Also screening September 12 at the NoHo.

September 20-22: A Savage Art: The Life and Cartoons of Patrick Oliphant chronicles the life and career of the brilliant Australian-born, Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist. Oliphant’s tenure as an American cartoonist spanned five decades and ten U.S. Presidents. In 1990 The New York Times called Oliphant “the most influential editorial cartoonist now working.” The film covers the history and importance of political cartoons in global democracies, as well as the decline in the profession and in the newspaper industry. Also screening September 17 at the Royal.

September 27-29, back by popular demand: The True Story of Tamara De Lempicka & the Art of Survival is a visually stunning and sweeping feature documentary that traces the life and survival of the renowned painter through her powerful paintings – from her rise to international stardom in 1920s Paris, to her move to the United States in 1940, fleeing the rise of fascism, and her revival in the current art market.

October 4-6, Inter Alia: Oscar-nominated Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl, Saltburn) is Jessica in the much-anticipated next play from the team behind Prima Facie. Jessica Parks is a smart Crown Court Judge at the top of her career. Behind the robe, she is a karaoke fiend, a loving wife and a supportive parent. When an event threatens to throw her life completely off balance, can she hold her family upright? Writer Suzie Miller and director Justin Martin reunite following their global phenomenon Prima Facie, with this searing examination of modern motherhood and masculinity.

October 11-13: Plunderer: The Life and Times of a Nazi Art Thief is a feature-length documentary that focuses on the career of Bruno Lohse, a Nazi art dealer who served as Göring’s art agent in Paris and headed the ERR, the Nazis’ clearinghouse for confiscated art in France. Captured and interrogated by the Monuments Men after the war, Lohse served a brief prison sentence. Following his release, he profitably dealt in stolen art for sixty years, selling to collectors, galleries, and major museums.

October 18-20: Jago: Into the White follows Jago, known worldwide as “the new Michelangelo,” for two years from New York to Naples as he worked day and night and in complete solitude on his new sculpture: a modern version of Michelangelo’s Pietà. Jago is not only an artist who retraces the footsteps of the great Renaissance masters, he is also a young pop star with over a million followers on social media, a tireless traveler who moves to every corner of the world, a motivator for new generations of artists, and an entrepreneur.

October 25-27, Rebel with a Clause: A grammar guru takes her pop-up grammar advice stand on an epic road trip across all 50 states to show that comma fights can bring us closer together in a divided time. One fall day, Ellen Jovin set up a folding table on a Manhattan sidewalk with a homemade sign that said “Grammar Table.” Right away, passersby began excitedly asking questions, telling stories, and filing complaints. What happened next is the stuff of grammar legend. Ellen and her filmmaker husband, Brandt Johnson, took the table on the road, visiting all 50 states as Brandt shot the grammar action. Also screening October 22 at the Royal.

November 1-3, Mrs. Warren’s Profession (National Theatre Live): Five-time Olivier Award-winner Imelda Staunton (The Crown) joins forces with her real-life daughter Bessie Carter (Bridgerton) for the very first time, playing mother and daughter in Bernard Shaw’s incendiary moral classic. Vivie Warren is a woman ahead of her time. Her mother, however, is a product of the old patriarchal order. Exploiting it has earned Mrs. Warren a fortune – but at what cost?