(and a few animated favorites from Japan)
Almost 20 years ago, Masaaki Yuasa made one hell of a first impression with the animated madness of Mindgame, and established himself as one of the best animator-directors in modern cinema. We’re thrilled to get his newest film, Inu-oh, on screen.
Alongside Inu-oh, we’ll be playing a few other selections from GKIDS. GKIDS is the US distributor for Inu-oh, and they’ve amassed a truly impressive back catalogue of international animation, so it only felt fair to draw attention to it. Read on to learn more…
Fri (8/26) - Sun (8/28) 7:00
Mon (8/29) - Thu (9/1) 6:00
“Masaaki Yuasa has long established himself as one of the most creatively unbridled minds in all of modern animation … but not even his die-hard fans could hope to adequately prepare themselves for the head-scratching, jaw-dropping, head-banging freak-out of the director’s latest and potentially last feature, Inu-Oh.” - indiewire.com
Fri (8/26) 9:15 - Mon (8/29) 8:15 - Thurs (9/1) 8:15
Though he’d been active as an animator for years, MINDGAME was Masaaki Yuasa’s directorial debut. MINDGAME is the kind of anarchic genius that happens when someone as wildly creative as Yuasa is set loose for the first time. It’s a constantly shifting bombardment of genres and animation styles that’s never anything less than exhilarating.
Sat (8/27) 9:15 - Sun (8/28) 4:30 - Tues (8/30) 8:15
Like many of Miyazaki’s films, Spirited Away is meant for children. But unlike so many of his contemporaries, Miyazaki has faith in his audience. He allows pain, death, and melancholy to exist within the world of Spirited Away. The end result is a film that seems impossible: a story about childhood that meets you wherever you are in life, and tells you something a little different every time.
The 4:30 Sunday show of Spirited Away will be dubbed in English. All other shows in Japanese with English Subtitles.
Sat (8/27) 5:00 - Sun (8/28) 9:15 - Weds (8/31) 8:15
Satoshi Kon only directed 4 films in his lifetime, and every one of them is exceptional. Hopefully we’ll play them all someday, but for now, let’s start at the beginning. Perfect Blue is a grueling psychological thriller, and a testament to the ways animation can serve a story that seemingly doesn’t require it.
A parting thought…
This week is something of an experiment. We’d love to get more anime on screen, but we don’t have a good sense for how big the audience is.
If this is something you want to see more of, let us know. And if you want to help us make this a regular thing, tell your friends. Getting word out is the hardest part of running events like this.