UPCOMING SERIES AT THE MICHIGAN
- "Hiroshima Mon Amour" (1959) – Monday, January 22nd at 7:30 PM
- "Jules and Jim" (1962) – Monday, January 29th at 7:30 PM
- "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" (1964) – Monday, February 5th at 7:30 PM
- "The Young Girls of Rochefort" (1967) – Monday, February 12th at 7:30 PM
- "Portrait of a Lady on Fire" (2019) – Monday, February 19th at 7:30 PM
- "Slender Thread" (1965) – Tuesday, January 30th at 7:30 PM
- "In the Heat of the Night" (1967) – Wednesday, February 7th at 7:30 PM
- "Cactus Flower" (1969) – Tuesday, February 13th at 7:30 PM
- "The Color Purple" (1985) – Tuesday, February 20th at 7:30 PM
- "In Cold Blood" (1967) – Tuesday, March 5th at 7:30 PM
- "The Italian Job" (1969) – Tuesday, March 12th at 7:30 PM
OPENING THIS WEEK
"I.S.S." — OPENS FRIDAY, JANUARY 19 AT THE MULTIPLEX
Tensions flare in the near future aboard the International Space Station as a worldwide conflict breaks out on Earth. Reeling from this, the astronauts receive orders from the ground: take control of the station by any means necessary. From director Gabriela Cowperthwaite ("Blackfish").
"All of Us Strangers" — OPENS FRIDAY, JANUARY 19 AT THE STATE
A screenwriter back to his childhood home enters into a fledgling relationship with a mysterious neighbor as he then discovers his parents appear to be living just as they were on the day they died, 30 years before. From director Andrew Haigh ("45 years," "Weekend") and starring Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal.
"Freud's Last Session" — OPENS FRIDAY, JANUARY 19 AT THE MICHIGAN
On the eve of the Second World War, two of the greatest minds on the twentieth century, C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud converge for their own personal battle over the existence of God. This film interweaves the lives of Freud and Lewis, past, present, and through fantasy, bursting from the confines of Freud's study on a dynamic journey. From director Matthew Brown ("The Man Who Knew Infinity") and starring Anthony Hopkins and Matthew Goode.
SPECIAL SCREENINGS DOWNTOWN
"Harold and Maude" — PLAYS TONIGHT AT 7:30 PM AT THE STATE
Part of the Late Nights at the State series
From writer/director Hal Ashby, this cult classic pairs Bud Cort as a deadpan disillusioned 20-year-old obsessed with suicide and a loveable Ruth Gordon as a fun-loving 80-year-old eccentric. They meet at a funeral, and develop a taboo romantic relationship, in which they explore the tired theme of the meaning of life with a fresh perspective.
"The Fifth Element" — PLAYS FRIDAY, JANUARY 19 AT 9:30 PM AND THURSDAY, JANUARY 25 AT 7:30 PM AT THE STATE
Part of the Late Nights at the State series
In the 23rd century, a New York City cabbie, Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis), finds the fate of the world in his hands when Leeloo (Milla Jovovich) falls into his cab. As the embodiment of the fifth element, Leeloo needs to combine with the other four to keep the approaching Great Evil from destroying the world. Together with Father Vito Cornelius (Ian Holm) and zany broadcaster Ruby Rhod (Chris Tucker), Dallas must race against time and the wicked industrialist Zorg (Gary Oldman) to save humanity. From writer/director Luc Besson.
"Return to Seoul" — PLAYS SATURDAY, JANUARY 20 AT 1 PM AT THE MICHIGAN
Part of the Korean CinemaNow Film Series
A twenty-five-year-old French woman returns to Korea, the country she was born in before being adopted by a French couple, for the very first time. She decides to track down her biological parents, but her journey takes a surprising turn. From director Davy Chou.
"Jigoku" — PLAYS THURSDAY, JANUARY 25 AT 7:15 PM AT THE STATE
Part of the U-M Center for Japanese Film Studies 2024 Series
After a young theology student flees a hit-and-run accident, he is plagued by both his own guilt-ridden conscience and a mysterious, diabolical doppelgänger. But all possible escape routes lead straight to hell—literally. From director Nobuo Nakagawa. Presented in Japanese with English subtitles.
Curator’s note: This was the final production from Shintoho, the studio that had made its reputation with quick, violent genre films; however, here Nakagawa attempted to depart from the stead conventions of Japanese horror and ghost stories by climaxing his excessively elaborate plot with a spectacular vision of hell.
"My Love Affair with Marriage" — PLAYS THURSDAY, JANUARY 25 AT 7:30 PM AT THE MICHIGAN
Will include a post-film Q&A from writer/director Signe Baumane
From an early age, songs and fairytales convinced Zelma that love would solve all her problems as long as she abided by societal expectations of how a girl should act. But as she grew older something didn’t seem right with the concept of love: the more she tried to conform, the more her body resisted. A story about the acceptance of the inner female rebellion.
CONTINUING DOWNTOWN
A 2024 American musical teen comedy film directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr. in their feature film directorial debut, from a screenplay by Tina Fey. It is based on the Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was based on Mark Waters's 2004 comedy film, both written by Fey and based on Rosalind Wiseman's 2002 book "Queen Bees and Wannabes." It features an ensemble cast that includes Angourie Rice, Reneé Rapp, Auliʻi Cravalho, and Christopher Briney, while Fey and Tim Meadows reprise their roles from the original film.
New student Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) is welcomed into the top of the social food chain by the elite group of popular girls called "The Plastics," ruled by the conniving queen bee Regina George (Reneé Rapp) and her minions Gretchen (Bebe Wood) and Karen (Avantika). However, when Cady makes the major misstep of falling for Regina's ex-boyfriend Aaron Samuels (Christopher Briney), she finds herself prey in Regina's crosshairs. As Cady sets to take down the group's apex predator with the help of her outcast friends Janis (Auli'i Cravalho) and Damian (Jaquel Spivey), she must learn how to stay true to herself while navigating the most cutthroat jungle of all: high school. From directors Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr.
A 2023 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Cord Jefferson, in his feature directorial debut. Based on the 2001 novel "Erasure" by Percival Everett, the film follows a frustrated novelist-professor who jokingly writes an outlandishly stereotypical "Black" book out of spite, only for the book to be published and receive widespread fame and acclaim. It stars Jeffrey Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross, Issa Rae, Sterling K. Brown, John Ortiz, Erika Alexander, Leslie Uggams, Adam Brody, and Keith David.
Director Cord Jefferson's hilarious directorial debut, which confronts our culture's obsession with reducing people to outrageous stereotypes. Jeffrey Wright stars as Monk, a frustrated novelist who is fed up with the establishment profiting from "Black" entertainment that relies on tired and offensive tropes. To prove his point, Monk uses a pen name to write an outlandish "Black" book of his own, a book that propels him to the heart of hypocrisy and the madness he claims to disdain.
From director Yorgos Lanthimos ("The Favourite," 2018) and starring Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo and Willem Dafoe. Brought back to life by an unorthodox scientist, a young woman runs off with a lawyer on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, she grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.
Has screenings of both the subtitled and dubbed versions of the film.
A 2023 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Produced by Studio Ghibli, loosely based on the 1937 novel of the same name by Genzaburō Yoshino, but the film has an original story that is not connected to the novel. Described as a "big fantastical film", it follows a boy named Mahito Maki (Soma Santoki) during the Pacific War who discovers an abandoned tower in his new town after his mother's death and enters a fantastical world with a talking grey heron.
Miyazaki announced his retirement in September 2013 but later reversed this decision. Production spanned approximately seven years, facing delays as it navigated challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic and Miyazaki's slowed animation pace. According to producer Toshio Suzuki, this is the most expensive film ever produced in Japan. The screenplay draws heavily from Miyazaki's childhood and explores themes of coming of age and coping with a world marked by conflict and loss. Joe Hisaishi composed the film's score, while Kenshi Yonezu wrote and sang the film's theme song, "Spinning Globe".
COMING SOON
"The Zone of Interest" — OPENS FRIDAY, JANUARY 26 AT THE MICHIGAN
A new film from writer/director Jonathan Glazer ("Under the Skin"). The commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss and his wife Hedwig, strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden next to the camp.
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