The Prince Charles Cinema

Sort By Name Sort By Date
Anatomy of a Fall
2023 152mins France (15) Drama
Directed by Justine Triet Starring Sandra Hüller, Swann Arlaud, Milo Machado-Graner, Antoine Reinartz, Samuel Theis, Jehnny Beth

Winner of the 2023 Palme d'Or, a gripping courtroom thriller, mystery and family drama all in one. The first film in Cannes history to win both the Palme d'Or and the equally prestigious Palm Dog!

When her husband Samuel is mysteriously found dead in the snow below their secluded chalet, Sandra (Sandra Hüller) becomes the main suspect when the police begin to question whether he fell or was pushed. The trial soon becomes not just an investigation, but a gripping psychological journey into the depths of Sandra and Samuel's complicated marriage. With conflicting evidence and inconsistent testimony, words are wielded like weapons and shocking truths come to light in this acclaimed drama.

Fallen Angels
1995 99mins Hong Kong (15) Thriller / Romance
Directed by Wong Kar Wai Starring Takeshi Kaneshiro, Leon Lai, Michele Reis, Karen Mok

An assassin goes through obstacles as he attempts to escape his violent lifestyle despite the opposition of his partner, who is secretly attracted to him.

Chungking Express
1994 101mins Hong Kong (12) Romance/Drama
Directed by Wong Kar Wai Starring Takeshi Kaneshiro, Brigitte Lin, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Faye Wong, Valerie Chow, Tony Leung

Every day, Cop 223 (Takeshi Kaneshiro) buys a can of pineapple with an expiration date of May 1, symbolizing the day he'll get over his lost love. He's also got his eye on a mysterious woman in a blond wig (Brigitte Lin), oblivious of the fact she's a drug dealer. Cop 663 (Tony Leung Chiu Wai) is distraught with heartbreak over a breakup. But when his ex drops a spare set of his keys at a local cafe, a waitress (Faye Wong) lets herself into his apartment and spruces up his life.

As Tears Go By
1988 98mins Hong Kong (18) Romance
Directed by Wong Kar Wai Starring Andy Lau, Maggie Cheung, Jacky Cheung

A low-level triad "big brother" has a hot-tempered "little brother" who can't keep out of trouble, and consequently is in constant need of being bailed out by his protector. The "big brother" is super cool, but lacks the ambition to rise in the ranks of the triad societies - and once he meets his cousin from Kowloon and falls in love with her, he even thinks about leaving "the life"

Solaris (1972)
1972 167mins Soviet Union (12A) Science Fiction
Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky Starring Natalya Bondarchuk, Donatas Banionis, Jüri Järvet

A psychologist is sent to a station orbiting a distant planet in order to discover what has caused the crew to go insane.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Wo hu cang long)
2000 120mins China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, USA (12) Action/Adventure
Directed by Ang Lee Starring Yun-Fat Chow, Michelle Yeoh, Ziyi Zhang

In 19th century Qing Dynasty China, a warrior (Chow Yun-Fat) gives his sword, Green Destiny, to his lover (Michelle Yeoh) to deliver to safe keeping, but it is stolen, and the chase is on to find it. The search leads to the House of Yu where the story takes on a whole different level.

Nosferatu
1922 94mins Germany (PG) Horror
Directed by F.W. Murnau Starring Max Schreck, Alexander Granach, Gustav von Wangenheim

This performance will feature a live score performed by Hugo Max.

"I first saw Murnau’s Symphony of Horror when I was nine years old. The film’s expressionistic images continue to haunt me, the chiaroscuro compositions tapping vividly into timeless subconscious fears.

My improvisations on viola and piano draw inspiration from the leitmotifs and sound effects of 70s horror soundtracks and the languages of Second Viennese School composers contemporary to Murnau, also Jewish Traditional Music that informs my personal approach to creating a score for the film." - Hugo Max

Please view this YouTube video for a sample of Hugo's work.


Photo Credit - Richard Ecclestone

An iconic film of the German expressionist cinema, and one of the most famous of all silent movies, F. W. Murnau's Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror continues to haunt — and, indeed, terrify — modern audiences with the unshakable power of its images. By teasing a host of occult atmospherics out of dilapidated set-pieces and innocuous real-world locations alike, Murnau captured on celluloid the deeply-rooted elements of a waking nightmare, and launched the signature "Murnau-style" that would change cinema history forever.

In this first-ever screen adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula, a simple real-estate transaction leads an intrepid businessman deep into the superstitious heart of Transylvania. There he encounters the otherworldly Count Orlok — portrayed by the legendary Max Schreck, in a performance the very backstory of which has spawned its own mythology — who soon after embarks upon a cross-continental voyage to take up residence in a distant new land... and establish his ambiguous dominion. As to whether the count's campaign against the plague-wracked populace erupts from satanic decree, erotic compulsion, or the simple impulse of survival — that remains, perhaps, the greatest mystery of all in this film that's like a blackout...

Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles
1975 202mins Belgium, France (15) Drama
Directed by Chantal Akerman Starring Delphine Seyrig, January Decorte, Henri Storck

Jeanne Dielman (Delphine Seyrig), the widowed mother of a teenage son, Sylvain (Jan Decorte), ekes out a drab, repetitive existence in her tiny Brussels apartment. Jeanne's days are divided between humdrum domestic chores -- shopping, cooking, housework -- and her job as an occasional prostitute, which keeps her financially afloat. She seems perfectly resigned to her situation until a series of slight interruptions in her routine leads to unexpected and dramatic changes.

Chinese Roulette
1976 86mins Germany (15) Drama
Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder Starring Ulli Lommel, Margit Carstensen, Brigitte Mira, Anna Karina

A husband and wife lie to each other about their weekend travel plans, only to both show up at the family's country house with their lovers.

Shogun Assassin
1980 85mins Japan (18) Action/Adventure
Directed by Robert Houston|Kenji Misumi Starring Tomisaburō Wakayama, Akihiro Tomikawa, Kayo Matsuo

The legendary midnight movie sensation that firmly embedded samurai mythology within American pop culture consciousness, this English-dubbed reedit of the first two films in the classic Japanese chanbaraseries Lone Wolf and Cub is a giddily entertaining, mesmerizingly gory classic of East-meets-West grindhouse mayhem. Following the murder of his wife at the hands of an evil shogun, an avenging ronin (Tomisaburo Wakayama) roams the countryside with his young son—and the boy's sword-shooting baby carriage—in tow, dispatching ninja assassins with steely resolve in operatically stylized flurries of hallucinatory violence. With its pulsing synth soundtrack (cowritten by Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere & the Raiders) and delirious action set pieces—kinetically edited whirlwinds of flashing blades, spurting blood, and severed limbs—Shogun Assassin proved an instant cult favorite that has bubbled its way up from the underground to the mainstream thanks to its influence on artists ranging from the Wu-Tang Clan to Quentin Tarantino.

Pauline at the Beach [Pauline à la plage]
1983 95mins France (15) Romance/Comedy
Directed by Éric Rohmer Starring Amanda Langlet, Arielle Dombasle, Pascal Greggory

Fifteen-year-old Pauline (Amanda Langlet) journeys to the Normandy coast for a summer vacation with her adult cousin Marion (Arielle Dombasle). Marion is waiting out her divorce and, along the shore, runs into her old flame Pierre (Pascal Greggory). Although he's anxious to rekindle their former romance, Marion wants nothing to do with him, and she sets him up with Pauline. The romantic web gets more tangled yet when Marion starts a liaison with Henri (Féodor Atkine), a middle-aged playboy.

Paprika
2006 90mins Japan (15) Adventure / Drama
Directed by Satoshi Kon| Toshi Starring Megumi Hayashibara, Tôru Emori, Katsunosuke Hori

When a machine that allows therapists to enter their patients' dreams is stolen, all hell breaks loose. Only a young female therapist, Paprika, can stop it.

Days Of Being Wild
1990 95mins Hong Kong (12) Romance/Drama
Directed by Wong Kar Wai Starring Leslie Cheung, Andy Lau, Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung, Carina Lau, Jacky Cheung, Tik-Wa Poon

Yuddy, a Hong Kong playboy known for breaking girls' hearts, tries to find solace and the truth after discovering the woman who raised him isn't his mother.

The Handmaiden [Theatrical Cut]
145mins (18) Thriller / Romance
Directed by Park Chan-Wook Starring Kim Min-hee, Kim Tae-ri, Ha Jung-woo

In 1930s Korea, a swindler and a young woman pose as a Japanese count and a handmaiden to seduce a Japanese heiress and steal her fortune.

Playtime
1967 123mins France, Italy (PG) Comedy Genius
Directed by Jacques Tati Starring Jacques Tati, Barbara Dennek, Rita Maiden

Clumsy Monsieur Hulot (Jacques Tati) finds himself perplexed by the intimidating complexity of a gadget-filled Paris. He attempts to meet with a business contact but soon becomes lost. His roundabout journey parallels that of an American tourist (Barbara Dennek), and as they weave through the inventive urban environment, they intermittently meet, developing an interest in one another. They eventually get together at a chaotic restaurant, along with several other quirky characters.

Beau Travail
1999 93mins France (15) Drama
Directed by Claire Denis Starring Denis Lavant, Gregoire Colin, Michel Subor

Foreign Legion officer Galoup recalls his once glorious life, training troops in the Gulf of Djibouti. His existence there was happy, strict and regimented, until the arrival of a promising young recruit, Sentain, plants the seeds of jealousy in Galoup's mind.

Happy Together
1997 96mins Hong Kong (15) Romance
Directed by Wong Kar Wai Starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Leslie Cheung, Tony Leung, Kwok-Wing

A couple take a trip to Argentina but both men find their lives drifting apart in opposite directions.

Cure
1997 111mins Japan (15) Horror
Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa Starring Kôji Yakusho, Masato Hagiwara, Tsuyoshi Ujiki

A detective starts spiraling out of control when a wave of gruesome murders with seemingly similar bizarre circumstances are sweeping Tokyo.

The Marriage of Maria Braun [Die Ehe der Maria Braun]
1979 120mins Germany (15) Romance/Drama
Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder Starring Hanna Schygulla, Klaus Löwitsch, Ivan Desny, Gisela Uhlen, Micahel Ballhaus

Maria (Hanna Schygulla) marries Hermann Braun in the last days of World War II, only for him to go missing in the war. Alone, Maria puts to use her beauty and ambition in order to find prosperity during Germany’s “economic miracle” of the 1950s. Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s biggest international box-office success, The Marriage of Maria Braun is a heartbreaking study of a woman picking herself up from the ruins of her own life, as well as a pointed metaphorical attack on a society determined to forget its past.

Perfect Blue
1997 81mins Japan (18) Anime
Directed by Satoshi Kon| Toshi Starring Junko Iwao, Rica Matsumoto, Shinpachi Tsuji

"THE COLOUR OF ILLUSION IS PERFECT BLUE"

A young Japanese singer is encouraged by her agent to quit singing and pursue an acting career, beginning with a role in a murder mystery TV show.

Memories of Murder [Salinui chueok]
2003 132mins South Korea (15) Crime / Thriller
Directed by Bong Joon Ho Starring Kang-ho Song, Sang-kyung Kim, Roe-ha Kim

In 1986, Park (Song Kang-ho) and Cho (Kim Roi-ha) are two simple-minded detectives assigned to a double murder investigation in a South Korean province. But when the murderer strikes several more times with the same pattern, the detectives realize that they are chasing the country's first documented serial killer. Relying on only their basic skills and tools, Park and Jo attempt to piece together the clues and solve the case in this thriller based on true events.

Come and See
1985 141mins Russia (15) War / Horror
Directed by Elem Klimov Starring Aleksei Kravchenko, Olga Mironova

This widely acclaimed film from Soviet director Elem Klimov is a stunning, senses-shattering plunge into the dehumanizing horrors of war. As Nazi forces encroach on his small village in present-day Belarus, teenage Flyora (Aleksei Kravchenko, in one of the screen’s most searing depictions of anguish since Renée Falconetti’s Joan of Arc) eagerly joins the Soviet resistance. Rather than the adventure and glory he envisioned, what he finds is a waking nightmare of unimaginable carnage and cruelty—rendered with a feverish, otherworldly intensity by Klimov’s subjective camerawork and expressionistic sound design. Nearly suppressed by Soviet censors who took eight years to approve its script, Come and See is perhaps the most visceral, impossible-to-forget antiwar film ever made.

BLEAK WEEK : CINEMA OF DESPAIR is co-presented by the American Cinematheque.

Isola: Multiple Personality Girl
2000 94mins Japan (15) Horror / Mystery
Directed by Toshiyuki Mizutani Starring Yoshino Kimura, Yû Kurosawa, Ken Ishiguro

When a woman, able to read the thoughts of others, comes to help survivors of the 1995 Kobe earthquake, she encounters a girl with Multiple Personality Disorder whose dangerous 13th personality, Isola, must be stopped.

BLEAK WEEK : CINEMA OF DESPAIR is co-presented by the American Cinematheque.

Le Samourai
1967 105mins France, Italy (PG) Crime
Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville Starring Alain Delon, François Périer, Nathalie Delon, Caty Rosier, Jacques Leroy, Michel Boisrond

After professional hitman Jef Costello is seen by witnesses his efforts to provide himself an alibi drive him further into a corner.

The Devil (1972)
1972 124mins Poland (15) Horror
Directed by Andrzej Zulawski Starring Leszek Teleszynski, Malgorzata Braunek, Wojciech Pszoniak

Featuring Intro by Robert Eggers (Director of The Witch, The Lighthouse and Nosferatu)

During the Prussian invasion of Poland in 1793, a Polish nobleman is saved from imprisonment by a stranger who wants a list of conspirators as repayment. He travels across the country with his rescuer and commits a number of gory murders.

BLEAK WEEK : CINEMA OF DESPAIR is co-presented by the American Cinematheque.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo)
1966 180mins Italy, Spain, USA, West Germany (18) Western
Directed by Sergio Leone Starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Eli Wallach

While the Civil War rages on between the Union and the Confederacy, three men – a quiet loner, a ruthless hitman, and a Mexican bandit – comb the American Southwest in search of a strongbox containing $200,000 in stolen gold.

Redline
2009 102mins Japan (15) Anime
Directed by Takeshi Koike Starring Takuya Kimura, Yû Aoi, Tatsuya Gashûin, Yoshinori Okada, Kanji Tsuda

A daredevil driver is determined to compete in Redline, the most popular race in the galaxy. The race only occurs every five years, but in order to participate he must overcome the mafia, the government and even love.

Perfect Days
2023 125mins Germany, Japan (PG) Drama
Directed by Wim Wenders Starring Kôji Yakusho, Aoi Yamada, Min Tanaka, Tokio Emoto, Arisa Nakano, Yumi Aso

Hirayama is content with his life as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo. Outside of his structured routine, he cherishes music on cassette tapes, books, and taking photos of trees. Through unexpected encounters, he reflects on finding beauty in the world.

Brother
2000 114mins France, Japan, UK, USA (18) Crime / Thriller
Directed by Takeshi Kitano Starring Takeshi Kitano, Omar Epps, Claude Maki

A Japanese Yakuza gangster's deadly existence in his homeland gets him exiled to Los Angeles, where he is taken in by his little brother and his brother's gang.

Full Moon in Paris [Les nuits de la pleine lune]
1984 105mins France (15) Romance/Comedy
Directed by Éric Rohmer Starring Pascale Ogier, Tchéky Karyo, Fabrice Luchini

After Louise (Pascale Ogier) completes her art school studies, she begins to work as an interior designer in Paris, but her burgeoning career soon takes a back seat to her personal life. Although Louise lives with her lover Remi (Tcheky Karyo), an architect, his desire to settle down and experience marital bliss conflicts with her late-night lifestyle. Also complicating matters is Octave (Fabrice Luchini), a charming, married writer who is smitten with Louise.

Drunken Angel [Yoidore tenshi]
1948 98mins Japan (PG) Film Noir
Directed by Akira Kurosawa Starring Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Toshi, Reizaburô Yamamoto

The chaotic worlds of the Japanese Mafia (Yakuza) and an alcoholic doctor collide in this film noir classic from Akira Kurosawa. Gangster Toshiro Mifune visits doctor Takashi Shimura, after an unfortunate incident with a bullet. The doctor, who despises the Yakuza, discovers the young man is suffering from tuberculosis, a disease symbolic of what is happening to the doctor and the community he serves. Facing his own anger and fear, the doctor aligns himself with the gangster's world.

The Third Generation
1979 110mins West Germany (15) Comedy/Crime
Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder Starring Harry Baer, Hark Bohm, Margit Carstensen

Rainer Werner Fassbinder's follow-up to his international breakthrough THE MARRIAGE OF MARIA BRAUN is a wildly anarchic satire of guerrilla terrorism in which a band of leftist radicals inadvertently become puppets of the West German government, which uses them to justify its authoritarian policies. Taking aim at the entire spectrum of political ideologies, THE THIRD GENERATION stands as one of Fassbinder's most provocative and explosively controversial explorations of power and control.

Ran
1985 160mins Japan (12A) War
Directed by Akira Kurosawa Starring Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu

At the age of seventy, after years of consolidating his empire, the Great Lord Hidetora Ichimonji (Tatsuya Nakadai) decides to abdicate and divide his domain amongst his three sons. Taro (Akira Terao), the eldest, will rule. Jiro (Jinpachi Nezu), his second son, and Saburo (Daisuke Ryu) will take command of the Second and Third Castles but are expected to obey and support their elder brother. Saburo defies the pledge of obedience and is banished.

Oldboy [Oldeuboi]
2003 120mins South Korea (18) Psychological Horror
Directed by Chan-wook Park Starring Min-sik Choi, Ji-tae Yu, Hye-jeong Kang

Dae-Su is an obnoxious drunk bailed from the police station yet again by a friend. However, he's abducted from the street and wakes up in a cell, where he remains for the next 15 years, drugged unconscious when human contact is unavoidable, otherwise with only the television as company. And then, suddenly released, he is invited to track down his jailor with a denouement that is simply stunning.

High and Low
1963 143mins Japan (12) Crime / Thriller
Directed by Akira Kurosawa Starring Toshirô Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Kyôko Kagawa

Toshiro Mifune is unforgettable as Kingo Gondo, a wealthy industrialist whose family becomes the target of a cold-blooded kidnapper in High and Low (Tengoku to jigoku), the highly influential domestic drama and police procedural from director Akira Kurosawa. Adapting Ed McBain's detective novel King's Ransom, Kurosawa moves effortlessly from compelling race-against-time thriller to exacting social commentary, creating a diabolical treatise on contemporary Japanese society.

One Cut of the Dead (Kamera o tomeru na!)
2018 96mins Japan (15) Comedy / Horror
Directed by Shinichiro Ueda Starring Takayuki Hamatsu / Mao / Harumi Shuhama / Kazuaki Nagaya

Things go badly for a hack director and film crew shooting a low budget zombie film in an abandoned WWII Japanese facility when they are attacked by real zombies.

I Live in Fear [Ikimono no kiroku]
1955 104mins Japan (PG) Drama
Directed by Akira Kurosawa Starring Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Toshi, Minoru Chiaki

Both the final film of this period in which Akira Kurosawa would directly wrestle with the demons of the Second World War and his most literal representation of living in an atomic age, the galvanizing I Live in Fear presents Toshiro Mifune as an elderly, stubborn businessman so fearful of a nuclear attack that he resolves to move his reluctant family to South America. With this mournful film, the director depicts a society emerging from the shadows but still terrorized by memories of the past and anxieties for the future.

Cinema Paradiso [Nuovo Cinema Paradiso]
1988 124mins Italy (12A) Drama
Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore Starring Philippe Noiret, Enzo Cannavale, Antonella Attili

A winner of awards across the world including Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, 5 BAFTA Awards including Best Actor, Original Screenplay and Score, the Grand Prize of the Jury at the Cannes Film Festival and many more.

Giuseppe Tornatore's loving homage to the cinema tells the story of Salvatore, a successful film director, returning home for the funeral of Alfredo, his old friend who was the projectionist at the local cinema throughout his childhood. Soon memories of his first love affair with the beautiful Elena and all the highs and lows that shaped his life come flooding back, as Salvatore reconnects with the community he left 30 years earlier.

The Green Ray [Le rayon vert]
1986 98mins France (12A) Romance
Directed by Éric Rohmer Starring Marie Rivière, María Luisa García, Vincent Gauthier

Delphine (Marie Rivière) is a beautiful young Parisian who is still smarting from a recent break-up. When a friend nixes their travel plans shortly before the trip, Delphine is left to decide how to spend her holiday. Soon she is dealing with various uncomfortable situations, including a beach getaway where she is the only single person. After attempting a trip to the overcrowded Alps, Delphine entertains more vacation options, but will the restless soul ever find what she's looking for?

Paris, Texas
1984 145mins France, Germany, UK, USA, West Germany (12A) Drama
Directed by Wim Wenders Starring Harry Dean Stanton, Nastassja Kinski, Dean Stockwell

A disheveled man who wanders out of the desert, Travis Henderson (Harry Dean Stanton) seems to have no idea who he is. When a stranger manages to contact his brother, Walt (Dean Stockwell), Travis is awkwardly reunited with his sibling. Travis has been missing for years, and his presence unsettles Walt and his family, which also includes Travis's own son, Hunter (Hunter Carson). Soon Travis must confront his wife, Jane (Nastassja Kinski), and try to put his life back together.

Enter The Dragon
1973 99mins Hong Kong, USA (15) Martial Arts
Directed by Robert Clouse Starring Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Jim Kelly

Sent to an exotic island by his government, a spy (Lee) competes in a deadly tournament by day and infiltrates a ruthless crime lord's illegal drug operation by night. With plot twists, exquisite cinematography and bone-crushing fight scenes choreographed by Lee himself, ENTER THE DRAGON remains cinema's most influential martial arts action film.

The Cranes are Flying
1957 91mins Soviet Union (PG) War
Directed by Mikhail Kalatozov Starring Tatyana Samojlova, Aleksey Batalov, Vasili Merkuryev, Aleksandr Shvorin

Veronica and Boris are blissfully in love, until the eruption of World War II tears them apart. Boris is sent to the front lines…and then communication stops. Meanwhile, Veronica tries to ward off spiritual numbness while Boris's draft-dodging cousin makes increasingly forceful overtures. Winner of the Palme d'Or at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival, The Cranes Are Flying is a superbly crafted drama, bolstered by stunning cinematography and impassioned performances.

Rashomon [Rashômon]
1950 88mins Japan (12A) Drama
Directed by Akira Kurosawa Starring Toshirô Mifune, Machiko Kyo, Masayuki Mori, Toshi

Set in feudal Japan, this film presents an intriguing tale of violent crime in the woods, told from the perspective of four different characters -- a bandit, a woman, her husband and a woodcutter. Only two things about the incident seem to be clear -- the woman was raped and her husband is now dead. However, the other elements radically differ as the four participants and/or witnesses relate their own stories (with the dead man, eerily enough, speaking through a medium). As each account is revealed, what seemed black-and-white turns to various hues of gray, leading to surprising -- and confounding -- revelations.

My Girlfriend's Boyfriend [L'ami de mon amie]
1987 103mins France (PG) Romance/Comedy
Directed by Éric Rohmer Starring Emmanuelle Chaulet, Sophie Renoir, Anne-Laure Meury

The lives of various young French people intersect in a recently constructed suburb near Paris. Blanche (Emmanuelle Chaulet), an uptight office worker, falls for the handsome Alexandre (Francois-Eric Gendron), whom she meets through her vibrant new friend, Lea (Sophie Renoir). Unfortunately for Blanche, Alexandre is dating the artistic Adrienne (Anne-Laure Meury), while Lea is seeing Fabien (Eric Viellard). Before long, though, these relationships shift, leading to new romantic pairings.

Stalker
1979 161mins Soviet Union (PG) Science Fiction
Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky Starring Anatoliy Solonitsyn, Alisa Freyndlikh, Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy

In an unnamed country at an unspecified time, there is a fiercely protected post-apocalyptic wasteland known as The Zone. An illegal guide (Aleksandr Kajdanovsky), whose mutant child suggests unspeakable horrors within The Zone, leads a writer (Anatoliy Solonitsyn) and a scientist (Nikolay Grinko) into the heart of the devastation in search of a mythical place known only as The Room. Anyone who enters The Room will supposedly have any of his earthly desires immediately fulfilled.

Persona
1966 85mins Sweden (15) Romance/Drama
Directed by Ingmar Bergman Starring Bibi Andersson, Liv Ullmann, Margaretha Krook

Famed stage actress Elisabeth Vogler (Liv Ullmann) suffers a moment of blankness during a performance and the next day lapses into total silence. Advised by her doctor to take time off to recover from what appears to be an emotional breakdown, Elisabeth goes to a beach house on the Baltic Sea with only Anna (Bibi Andersson), a nurse, as company. Over the next several weeks, as Anna struggles to reach her mute patient, the two women find themselves experiencing a strange emotional convergence.

The Bad Sleep Well
1960 131mins Japan (PG) Neo Noir
Directed by Akira Kurosawa Starring Toshirô Mifune, Masayuki Mori, Toshi, Kyôko Kagawa

A young executive hunts down his father's killer in director Akira Kurosawa's scathing The Bad Sleep Well. Continuing his legendary collaboration with actor Toshiro Mifune, Kurosawa combines elements of Hamlet and American film noir to chilling effect in exposing the corrupt boardrooms of postwar corporate Japan.

Pather Panchali
1955 125mins India (U) Film
Directed by Satyajit Ray Starring Subir Banerjee, Kanu Banerjee, Karuna Banerjee, Uma Dasgupta

With the release in 1955 of Satyajit Ray’s debut, Pather Panchali, an eloquent and important new cinematic voice made itself heard all over the world. A depiction of rural Bengali life in a style inspired by Italian neorealism, this naturalistic but poetic evocation of a number of years in the life of a family introduces us to both little Apu and, just as essentially, the women who will help shape him: his independent older sister, Durga; his harried mother, Sarbajaya, who, with her husband away, must hold the family together; and his kindly and mischievous elderly “auntie,” Indir—vivid, multifaceted characters all. With resplendent photography informed by its young protagonist’s perpetual sense of discovery, Pather Panchali, which won an award for Best Human Document at the Cannes Film Festival, is an immersive cinematic experience and a film of elemental power.

Four Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle
1987 99mins France (PG) Comedy / Drama
Directed by Éric Rohmer Starring Joëlle Miquel, Jessica Forde, Mr. Housseau

Two young girls meet, Reinette from the countryside and Mirabelle from Paris, and decide to take a flat together in Paris where they attend University. Four successive stories about their daily lives illustrate the very different views, characters and relation to the world of these two friends.

Tokyo Story [Tôkyô monogatari]
1953 135mins Japan (U) Drama
Directed by Yasujirō Ozu Starring Chishū Ryū, Chieko Higashiyama, Sô Yamamura

The elderly Shukishi and his wife, Tomi, take the long journey from their small seaside village to visit their adult children in Tokyo. Their elder son, a doctor, and their daughter, a hairdresser, don't have much time to spend with their aged parents, and so it falls to Noriko the widow of their younger son who was killed in the war, to keep her in-laws company.

Au Hasard Balthazar
1966 95mins France (15) Drama
Directed by Robert Bresson Starring Anne Wiazemsky, Walter Green, François Lafarge

The story of a mistreated donkey and the people around him. A study on saintliness and a sister piece to Bresson's Mouchette.

My Neighbor Totoro
1988 87mins Japan (U) Anime
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki Starring Hitoshi Takagi, Noriko Hidaka, Toshi, Chika Sakamoto

Satsuki and Mei's mother has taken ill. In order to be closer to her while she recovers in a rural convalescent hospital, their father moves the two sisters from their home in a city to the countryside. The house they move into is a ramshackle old place in the shadow of an ancient camphor tree, and Satsuki and Mei embark on adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live nearby.

Presented in Both Subtitled and Dubbed Performances; see SUB or DUB tags next to film time for performance info.

English Dub Voice Cast: Dakota Fanning, Elle Fanning, Tim Daley, Pat Caroll, Lea Salonga, Frank Welker and Paul Butcher

Japanese Language Voice Cast: Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, Shigesato Itoi, Sumi Shimamoto, Tanie Kitabayashi, Hitoshi Takagi

Jour de Fête
86mins (PG) Comedy
Directed by Jacques Tati Starring Jacques Tati, Guy Decomble, Paul Frankeur

Jour de Fête tells the story of an inept and easily-distracted French mailman who frequently interrupts his duties to converse with the local inhabitants, as well as inspect the traveling fair that has come to his small community. Influenced by too much wine and a newsreel account of rapid transportation methods used by the United States postal system, he goes to hilarious lengths to speed the delivery of mail while aboard his bicycle.

The Tree, the Mayor and the Mediatheque
1993 105mins France (PG) Comedy / Drama
Directed by Éric Rohmer Starring Pascal Greggory, Arielle Dombasle, Fabrice Luchini

The socialist mayor of a small village in France dreams of building an arts center but he runs up against some opposition.

Pan's Labyrinth [El Laberinto del Fauno]
2006 118mins Spain (15) Fantasy
Directed by Guillermo del Toro Starring Ariadna Gil, Ivana Baquero, Sergi López

It's 1944 and the Allies have invaded Nazi-held Europe. In Spain, a troop of soldiers are sent to a remote forest to flush out the rebels. They are led by Capitan Vidal, a murdering sadist, and with him are his new wife Carmen and her daughter from a previous marriage, 11-year-old Ofelia. Ofelia witnesses her stepfather's sadistic brutality and is drawn into Pan's Labyrinth, a magical world of mythical beings.

Aparajito
1956 110mins India (U) Film
Directed by Satyajit Ray Starring Pinaki Sen Gupta, Kanu Banerjee, Karuna Banerjee, Smaran Ghosal

Satyajit Ray had not planned to make a sequel to Pather Panchali, but after the film’s international success, he decided to continue Apu’s narrative. Aparajito picks up where the first film leaves off, with Apu and his family having moved away from the country to live in the bustling holy city of Varanasi (then known as Benares). As Apu progresses from wide-eyed child to intellectually curious teenager, eventually studying in Kolkata, we witness his academic and moral education, as well as the growing complexity of his relationship with his mother. This tenderly expressive, often heart-wrenching film, which won three top prizes at the Venice Film Festival, including the Golden Lion, not only extends but also spiritually deepens the tale of Apu.

The Aviator's Wife [La Femme de l'aviateur]
1981 106mins France (PG) Romance/Comedy
Directed by Éric Rohmer Starring Philippe Marlaud, Marie Rivière, Anne-Laure Meury

A student is devastated when he finds that his girlfriend is cheating on him. In order to find out why she did it, he decides to spy on her and her airline pilot lover. Then he sees the pilot with a blonde woman and he begins to follow them…

Tetsuo : The Iron Man
64mins Japan (18) Horror / Sci-Fi / Thriller
Directed by Shinya Tsukamoto Starring Shinya Tsukamoto, Tomoroh Taguchi, Kei Fujiwara, Nobu Kanaoka, Naomasa Musaka, Renji Ishibashi

A "metal fetishist" (Shin'ya Tsukamoto), driven mad by the maggots wriggling in the wound he's made to embed metal into his flesh, runs out into the night and is accidentally run down by a Japanese businessman (Tomorowo Taguchi) and his girlfriend (Kei Fujiwara). The pair dispose of the corpse in hopes of quietly moving on with their lives. However, the businessman soon finds that he is now plagued by a vicious curse that transforms his flesh into iron.

Harakiri
1962 133mins Japan (15) Drama
Directed by Masaki Kobayashi Starring Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Ishihama, Shima Iwashita

Down-on-his-luck veteran Tsugumo Hanshirō enters the courtyard of the prosperous House of Iyi. Unemployed, and with no family, he hopes to find a place to commit seppuku—and a worthy second to deliver the coup de grâce in his suicide ritual. The senior counselor for the Iyi clan questions the ronin's resolve and integrity, suspecting Hanshirō of seeking charity rather than an honorable end. What follows is a pair of interlocking stories which lay bare the difference between honor and respect, and promises to examine the legendary foundations of the Samurai code.

Mr. Hulot's Holiday [Les vacances de Monsieur Hulot]
1953 95mins France (U) Film
Directed by Jacques Tati Starring Jacques Tati, Nathalie Pascaud, Micheline Rolla

When the ever-hapless Monsieur Hulot (Jacques Tati) decides to vacation at a beautiful seaside resort, rest and relaxation don't last long, given the gangly gent's penchant for ridiculous antics. While simply out to enjoy himself, the well-meaning Hulot inevitably stumbles into numerous misadventures, including an utterly disastrous attempt at playing tennis, as he encounters fellow French vacationers from various social classes, as well as foreign tourists.

The Worst Person in the World
2022 128mins Denmark, France, Norway, Sweden (15) Romance/Comedy
Directed by Joachim Trier Starring Renate Reinsve, Anders Danielsen Lie, Herbert Nordrum

On the verge of turning thirty, Julie is faced with a series of choices that force her to pursue new perspectives on her life in contemporary Oslo. Over the course of four years, she navigates love affairs and existential uncertainty as she starts deciding who she wants to become.

Ivan's Childhood
1962 95mins Soviet Union (12A) Film
Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky Starring Nikolay Burlyaev, Valentin Zubkov, Evgeniy Zharikov

Andrei Tarkovsky’s extraordinarily accomplished debut feature ‘Ivan’s Childhood’ is a powerful and moving tale of a 12-year-old boy who vows to avenge his family’s death at the hands of the Nazis.

Striking up a friendship with three sympathetic Soviet officers, young Ivan becomes a spy on the eastern front.

The film was awarded the Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival in 1962 and brought the Russian director international acclaim. A haunting and poetic depiction of a childhood ravaged by war.

★★★★★ “It is one of the great coups de cinéma. Unmissable” - Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

Spirited Away
2001 125mins English, Japan (PG) Fantasy
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki Starring Rumi Hiiragi, Miyu Irino, Mari Natsuki

In this animated feature by noted Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki, 10-year-old Chihiro (Rumi Hiiragi) and her parents (Takashi Naitô, Yasuko Sawaguchi) stumble upon a seemingly abandoned amusement park. After her mother and father are turned into giant pigs, Chihiro meets the mysterious Haku (Miyu Irino), who explains that the park is a resort for supernatural beings who need a break from their time spent in the earthly realm, and that she must work there to free herself and her parents.

Andrei Rublev
1966 183mins Soviet Union (15) Biography
Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky Starring Anatoliy Solonitsyn, Ivan Lapikov, Nikolay Grinko

Tracing the life of a renowned icon painter, the second feature by Andrei Tarkovsky vividly conjures the murky world of medieval Russia. This dreamlike and remarkably tactile film follows Andrei Rublev as he passes through a series of poetically linked scenes—snow falls inside an unfinished church, naked pagans stream through a thicket during a torchlit ritual, a boy oversees the clearing away of muddy earth for the forging of a gigantic bell—gradually emerging as a man struggling mightily to preserve his creative and religious integrity. Appearing here in the director's preferred 183-minute cut as well as the version that was originally suppressed by Soviet authorities, the masterwork Andrei Rublev is one of Tarkovsky's most revered films, an arresting meditation on art, faith, and endurance.

Apur Sansar
105mins (U) Drama
Directed by Satyajit Ray Starring Soumitra Chatterjee, Sharmila Tagore, Alok Chakravarty

By the time Apur Sansar was released, Satyajit Ray had directed not only the first two Apu films but also the masterpiece The Music Room, and was well on his way to becoming a legend. This extraordinary final chapter brings our protagonist’s journey full circle. Apu is now in his early twenties, out of college, and hoping to live as a writer. Alongside his professional ambitions, the film charts his romantic awakening, which occurs as the result of a most unlikely turn of events, and his eventual, fraught fatherhood. Featuring soon-to-be Ray regulars Soumitra Chatterjee and Sharmila Tagore in star-making performances, and demonstrating Ray’s ever more impressive skills as a crafter of pure cinematic imagery, Apur Sansar is a moving conclusion to this monumental trilogy.

Mon Oncle
1958 116mins France, Italy (U) Film
Directed by Jacques Tati Starring Jacques Tati, Jean-Pierre Zola, Adrienne Servantie

Monsieur Hulot visits the technology-driven world of his sister, brother-in-law, and nephew, but he can't quite fit into the surroundings. 1959 Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film.

Dreams
1990 120mins Japan, USA (PG) Fantasy
Directed by Akira Kurosawa Starring Akira Terao, Toshi, Mitsuko Baishô, Toshie Negishi

This imaginative Japanese production presents a series of short films by lauded director Akira Kurosawa. In one chapter, a young boy spies on foxes that are holding a wedding ceremony; the following installment features another youth, who witnesses a magical moment in an orchard. In the segment "Crows," an aspiring artist enters the world of a painting and encounters Vincent van Gogh (Martin Scorsese). Many of the films in this inventive movie are tied together by an environmental theme.

Trafic
1971 98mins France, Italy (PG) Film
Directed by Jacques Tati Starring Jacques Tati, Marcel Fraval, Honoré Bostel

Mr. Hulot (Jacques Tati) is the head designer of the Altra Automotive Co. His latest invention is a newfangled camper car loaded with outrageous extra features. Along with the company's manager (Honoré Bostel) and publicity model (Maria Kimberly), Hulot sets out from Paris with the intention of debuting the car at the annual auto show in Amsterdam. The going isn't easy, however, and the group encounters an increasingly bizarre series of hurdles and setbacks en route.
 

Mirror
1975 107mins Soviet Union (U) Drama
Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky Starring Margarita Terekhova, Filipp Yankovskiy, Ignat Daniltsev

Using a nonlinear structure interlaced with dreams and flashbacks, director Andrei Tarkovsky creates a stream-of-consciousness meditation on war, memory and time that draws heavily on events from his own life.