OPENING THIS WEEK
"Love Hurts" — OPENS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7 AT THE MULTIPLEX
A realtor is pulled back into the life he left behind after his former partner-in-crime resurfaces with an ominous message. With his crime-lord brother also on his trail, he must confront his past and the history he never fully buried. Starring Ke Huy Quan ("Everything Everywhere All At Once") and Ariana DeBose ("West Side Story").
"I'm Still Here" — OPENS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7 AT THE MICHIGAN
Nominated for 3 Academy Awards: Best Picture (the first Brazilian-produced film to be nominated in this category), Best International Feature, and Best Actress (Fernanda Torres)
Set between 1970 to 2014, Eunice Paiva, a mother and activist, copes with the disappearance of her husband, the dissident politician Rubens Paiva, during the military dictatorship in Brazil.
"Anora" — RETURNS TO THE MICHIGAN FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7
Nominated for 6 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director (Sean Baker) and Best Actress (Mikey Madison)
A young escort from Brooklyn meets and impulsively marries the son of a Russian oligarch. Once the news reaches Russia, her fairy tale is threatened as his parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled.
SPECIAL SCREENINGS DOWNTOWN
"The Emperor in August" — PLAYS TONIGHT AT 7 PM AT THE MICHIGAN
Part of the Masato Harada: A Life in Cinema Film Series
Sponsored by the University of Michigan Center for Japanese Studies
Chronicling Kantaro Suzuki's term as the Prime Minister and the final months of War Minister Korechika Anami, the Allied firebombing of Tokyo, preparations for Operation Ketsugo, the leadership's response to the Potsdam Declaration and more. From director Masato Harada.
"Pink Floyd: The Wall" — PLAYS TONIGHT AT 8 PM AT THE MICHIGAN
Part of the Late Night Classics Film Series
In this visual riff on Pink Floyd's album "The Wall," successful but drugged-out musician Pink (Bob Geldof) is looking back on his isolated childhood from the confines of a Los Angeles hotel room. Through a swirl of flashbacks and chemical-induced hallucinations, Pink recalls his lonely upbringing, during which he built a symbolic wall to the world as he coped with the death of his father (James Laurenson) and the overbearing ways of his mother (Christine Hargreaves). Written by Roger Waters and from director Alan Parker.
"Se7en" — PLAYS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7 AT 9:30 PM AND THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13 AT 8 PM AT THE MICHIGAN
Part of the Late Night Classics Film Series
A new 4K restoration! Two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his motives. From writer/director David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kevin Spacey.
"Exhuma" — PLAYS SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8 AT 1 PM AT THE STATE (FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!!!)
Part of the Korean Cinema Now Film Series
Sponsored by the Nam Center for Korean Studies
When a renowned shaman (Kim Go-Eun) and her protégé (Lee Do-hyun) are hired by a wealthy, enigmatic family, they begin investigating the cause of a disturbing supernatural illness that affects only the first-born children of each generation. With the help of a knowledgeable mortician (Yoo Hai-jin) and the country’s most revered geomancer (Choi Min-sik), they soon trace the affliction’s origin to a long-hidden family grave located on sacred ground. Sensing an ominous aura surrounding the burial site, the team opts to exhume and relocate the ancestral remains immediately. But as something much darker emerges, they soon discover what befalls those who dare to mess with the wrong grave. From director Jang Jae-Hyun.
"I Love You Forever" — PLAYS SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 9 AT 3 PM AT THE MICHIGAN
Premiered at last year’s SXSW Film Festival and filmed in the Detroit area with writer/directors Elisa Kalani and Cazzie David in attendance.
The current dating landscape is bleak at best and no one is more aware of this than Mackenzie, a disillusioned 25-year old law student whose love life consists of non-committal hookups and situationships from Hell. When she has a “real life meet-cute” with Finn, a handsome and charming journalist who isn’t afraid to show affection, she starts to believe true love may actually exist. When Finn’s dark side begins to emerge, Mackenzie finds herself trapped in a tumultuous and depleting cycle of emotional abuse, and must confront whether her true love is too good to be true after all.
"Our Hospitality" — PLAYS MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10 AT 7:30 PM AT THE MICHIGAN
With live accompaniment from Stephen Warner on the historic Barton Organ!
This film broadened the boundaries of slapstick and proved that Buster Keaton was not just a comedian, he was an artist. Keaton stars as youthful dreamer Willie McKay, who travels westward on a rickety locomotive to claim his birthright, only to learn that his inheritance is a rundown shack
Prior to the screening, the public is welcome to join us at 6:00 PM for a special demonstration of the historic Barton Organ.
"The Darjeeling Limited" — PLAYS TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11 AT 7 PM AT THE MICHIGAN
Part of the Complete Wes Anderson Film Series
Estranged brothers Francis (Owen Wilson), Peter (Adrien Brody) and Jack (Jason Schwartzman) reunite for a train trip across India. The siblings have not spoken in over a year, ever since their father passed away. Francis is recovering from a motorcycle accident, Peter cannot cope with his wife's pregnancy, and Jack cannot get over his ex-lover. The brothers fall into old patterns of behavior as Francis reveals the real reason for the reunion: to visit their mother in a Himalayan convent.
From writer/director Wes Anderson and co-written with Jason Schwartzman and Roman Coppola.
"Laapataa Ladies" — PLAYS WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12 AT 7 PM AT THE MICHIGAN (FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!!!)
Part of the South Asian Cinema: Spotlight on Women Directors Film Series
Set in 2001, somewhere in rural India, Lost Ladies is about the delightful adventures of two young brides who get accidentally swapped on a train. In the ensuing chaos they each encounter a host of colourful characters, resulting in hilarious and unexpected consequences. The young lost ladies must take it upon themselves to venture on an endearing journey: one of immense discovery about themselves and womanhood; and the heartwarming and heartbreaking nature of life itself. From director Kiran Rao.
CONTINUING DOWNTOWN
Nominated for 13 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (Jacques Audiard), Best Actress (Karla Sofía Gascón), Best Supporting Actress (Zoe Saldaña).
An audacious fever dream that defies genres and expectations. Through liberating song and dance and bold visuals, this odyssey follows the journey of four remarkable women in Mexico, each pursuing their own happiness. The fearsome cartel leader Emilia (Karla Sofía Gascón) enlists Rita (Zoe Saldaña), an unappreciated lawyer stuck in a dead-end job, to help fake her death, so that Emilia can finally live authentically as her true self.
Shot entirely in secret, Mohammad Rasoulof’s award-winning thriller, this film centers on a family thrust into the public eye when Iman is appointed as an investigating judge in Tehran. As political unrest erupts in the streets, Iman realizes that his job is even more dangerous than expected, making him increasingly paranoid and distrustful, even of his own wife Najmeh and daughters Sana and Rezvan.
Elwood Curtis' college dreams are shattered when he's sentenced to Nickel Academy, a brutal reformatory in the Jim Crow South. Clinging to his optimistic worldview, Elwood strikes up a friendship with Turner, a fellow Black teen who dispenses fundamental tips for survival.
Starring newcomers Brandon Wilson and Ethan Herisse, from director RaMell Ross, and based on the novel by Colson Whitehead, which won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Escaping postwar Europe, visionary architect László Toth (Adrien Brody) arrives in America to rebuild his life, his career, and his marriage. On his own in a strange new country, László settles in Pennsylvania, where the wealthy and prominent industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce) recognizes his talent.
From director Brady Corbet ("Vox Lux") and also starring Felicity Jones.
WINNER of the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture, Drama; Best Actor for Adrien Brody; and Best Director for Brady Corbet, among several other nominations.
Set in the influential New York music scene of the early 60s, this film follows 19-year-old Minnesota musician Bob Dylan’s (Timothée Chalamet) meteoric rise as a folk singer to concert halls and the top of the charts – his songs and mystique becoming a worldwide sensation – culminating in his groundbreaking electric rock and roll performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965.
From director James Mangold ("Ford v Ferrari") and also starring Edward Norton as Pete Seeger, Elle Fanning as Sylvie Russo, and Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez.
Selected as the Latvian entry for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards.
The film follows a courageous cat after his home is devastated by a great flood. Teaming up with a capybara, a lemur, a bird, and a dog to navigate a boat in search of dry land, they must rely on trust, courage, and wits to survive the perils of a newly aquatic planet.
A wondrous journey, through realms natural and mystical. An animated spectacle as well as a profound meditation on the fragility of the environment and the spirit of friendship and community.
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