“Raw, compelling.” —Cineuropa
Based on a true story. The gold medal dreams of Czech high diver Andrea Absolonová are shattered when she suffers a devastating spinal injury while training for the 1996 Olympics. Forced to leave the sport she loves, Andrea follows a photographer friend into the world of nude modeling, ultimately reinventing herself as adult actress Lea De Mae and performing in over 80 pornographic films.
“This shaggy-dog hipster road film is [Robert] Frank’s ultimate work.” —Village Voice
One of the great cult classics of the 1980s and starring character actors Kevin J O’Conner and Harris Yulin, the supporting cast features real-life music legends Tom Waits, Leon Redbone, Joe Strummer, Dr. John, David Johansen and more. “A wry, laid-back Heart of Darkness" (Chicago Reader), Candy Mountain combines the keen eye of legendary photographer Robert Frank with novelist/screenwriter Rudy Wurlitzer’s mythic American prose to produce the quintessential road movie.
“A stunning return. A quietly astonishing new movie.” —The New Yorker
Over three decades after the release of his previous film, revered Spanish auteur Víctor Erice (The Spirit of the Beehive, El Sur, and Dream of Light) returns with a “poignant cinematic swan song” (The Hollywood Reporter). A reflective culmination of Erice’s career in film, Close Your Eyes is a haunting meditation on memory, absence, and the enduring resonance of the moving image.
“Sakura Ando is that rare performer worthy of comparison to Japan’s all-time greatest actor, Toshiro Mifune.” —Variety
32-year-old Ichiko lives at home with her parents. One morning, after a heated argument, Ichiko decides to leave for good. With few options to support herself, she finds a job at a dollar store. Each day on her way home from work she passes a boxing gym where she watches Yuji Kano silently practicing. The two make plans to see each other, and suddenly life starts to change for Ichiko.
“Pure arthouse bliss. It’s stunning.” —Rolling Stone
Traversing time and space, Lisandro Alonso presents a meditation on the experiences of indigenous peoples across the Americas. Opening in the Old West, reality transitions to present day South Dakota and then to the jungles of 1970s Brazil. Featuring three-time Academy Award nominee Viggo Mortensen, EUREKA is a graceful refraction of history and place, marking it Alonso’s “most expansive and ambitious film to date” (Screen Anarchy).
“5/5. A compelling, visually exquisite piece of work.” —The Guardian
Simultaneously a sensual evocation of discovering the adult world and a sober reflection of what it represents, Robin Campillo’s anticipated follow-up to his acclaimed 120 BPM weaves together the personal and political in a “visually spectacular [and] masterful portrayal of colonialism through a child’s eyes” (The Upcoming).
“Excellent performances and direction. A standout from a crowded genre.” —Asian Movie Pulse
Presented in a new 4K restoration. Wandering female gambler Oryu the Red Peony (Junko Fuji) rambles into town searching for her father’s killer on a blood-soaked quest for vengeance in the inaugural entry in the Red Peony Gambler series which proved an influential watershed of the “chivalrous gangster” genre.
“Practically perfect in every way.” —Blood Brothers
Presented in a new 2K restoration. The second installment of the influential Red Peony Gambler series finds the titular heroine Oryu taken under the arm of the benevolent gang boss of a silk farming town. Noribumi (aka Norifumi) Suzuki, the screenwriter of the first film and a genre filmmaking stalwart in his own right, takes over the directorial reins with his patented style of taut action and drama inflected with ribald humor.
“The darkest, most complex and ultimately also the best of the series.” —Nippon Cinema
Presented in a new 4K restoration. Maestro of Japanese cinema Tai Kato simultaneously satiates and transcends genre tropes in his masterful direction of the celebrated third film in the Red Peony Gambler series in which Oryu steps in on the side of righteousness when a rival gang tries to sabotage the Nishinomaru family's gambling competition.
“One of the great film noirs from any country.” — Japan on Film
Legendary director Hideo Gosha (Samurai Wolf, Violent Streets, Onimasa) blends classic, gritty film noir tropes into a New Wave inflected cinematic fever dream of intrigue and paranoia in this “absolutely gripping and suspenseful movie, a masterpiece of genre filmmaking” (Japan on Film).
“Lush, irreverent. Played with cunning and exuberance by Sandra Hüller.” —Variety
Starring Academy Award-nominated Sandra Hüller alongside Susanne Wolff, SISI & I is a “thought-provoking and entertaining glance at the famous empress.” (Cineuropa).
“Thelma & Louise meets Blue is the Warmest Color.” —South China Morning Post
Chinese immigrant Jin Xia (Fan Bingbing) works security at South Korea's Incheon Airport, where she notices a green-haired girl (Lee Joo-young) acting suspiciously. Overcome by the unspoken attraction between them, she takes the enigmatic stranger home only to uncover her involvement in a drug trafficking ring. Han Shuai's female-led, neo-noir thriller features international megastar Fan Bingbing in a daring performance that “ranks as one of the most rugged in her career” (South China Morning Post).