The Grand Illusion

Directors Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach (THE GIRL WITHOUT HANDS) unleash a unique visual marvel of hand-painted animation with bright, color-blocked characters, and a story that is an intoxicating blend of slapstick comedy, musical, and family drama.

Paulette feels guilty after unjustly punishing her daughter Linda and would do anything to make it up to her. Linda immediately asks for a meal of chicken with peppers, which reminds her of the dish her father used to make. But with a general strike closing stores all across town and pushing people into the streets, this innocent request quickly leads to an outrageous series of events that spirals out of control, as Paulette does everything she can to keep her promise and find a chicken for Linda. Through this adventure, mother and daughter confront the grief of an unspoken tragedy, and the meal that could finally bring them closer together.

In French with English subtitles.

“[A] modest masterwork… Malta and Laudenbach have crafted an entertaining, kid-friendly toon whose power lies less in its plot than the surprising insights into human behavior revealed along the way.” Peter Debruge, Variety

“One of the best animated movies in years… [this] extraordinary film draws an ocean of feeling from just a few splashes of color.” David Ehrlich, indieWire

When Bruce Lee died in 1974 at the peak of his superstardom, he had completed only four feature films. But within hours of his funeral, Hong Kong movie studios began to produce hundreds of unauthorized biopics, sequels, prequels, spin-offs, and rip-offs starring a competing series of Lee lookalikes. Over the next decade, fueled by both deception and demand, ‘Bruceploitation’ would become a staple of global cinema.

Director David Gregory—who’d previously explored film’s transgressive edges in his award-winning documentaries LOST SOUL: THE DOOMED JOURNEY OF RICHARD STANLEY'S ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU and FLESH & BLOOD: THE REEL LIFE & GHASTLY DEATH OF AL ADAMSON—now examines this uniquely ‘70s phenomenon through interviews with Bruce Li, Bruce Le, Bruce Liang and Dragon Lee, and a host of other martial arts legends that, for the first time, reveal the history, controversy, and legacy behind one of the most bizarre and successful genres in movie history.

Part of Kung Fu Clubhouse’s Bruceploitation Bonanza!

Those attending the showing on Tuesday, April 30th will have a chance to win a ticket to the screening of DRAGON SUPERMAN at this year’s Seattle International Film Festival!

“A zippy, smartly-cut story of the absolute moral depths the film industry can sink to, all while forming a genuinely heartfelt love letter to kung fu genre movies.” Ben Robins, HeyUGuys

“Considerable fun… this high-kicking flashback should appeal to the same fans who previously enjoyed such prior psychotronic excavations as Not Quite Hollywood, Electric Boogaloo or this director’s own prior investigations of cult figures Al Adamson and Richard Stanley.” Dennis Harvey, Variety

New restoration! One of the more ridiculous titles and the "Mount Rushmore" of Bruceploitation, THE CLONES OF BRUCE LEE parodies parallel films in this manufactured subgenre by shamelessly going for the jugular and establishing its own voice with no less than four Bruce lookalikes!

Bruce Lee has just passed away and the world is at a standstill. Fortunately, brilliant scientists find a way to clone Lee from his brain tissue and produce three separate copies. After training them in martial arts, the Special Branch of Investigations sends them off to fight crime in Southeast Asia.

Bruce 1 (Dragon Lee) is sent to perform in a film produced by a gold smuggler who plans to kill Bruce on camera. Bruce 2 (Bruce Le) and Bruce 3 (Bruce Lai) are sent to Thailand to defeat the evil Dr. Ngai, a mad scientist with plans to dominate the world with his bronze automatons, and the help of SBI agent Chuck (Bruce Thai).

Part of Kung Fu Clubhouse’s Bruceploitation Bonanza!

“It’s hard not to love this. In addition to the mad plot and the star power (the three Bruces bump into a Brucie Bonus of Bruce Thai when they hit Thailand!), there’s a ton of dirty fighting, gratuitous nudity, and endlessly quotable dialogue.” Craig Lines, Den of Geek

New restoration! TWO ON THE ROAD is a bizarre buddy comedy with a surprising presence of off-the-wall humor. Not all of its jokes land (including a head-scratching MIDNIGHT EXPRESS gag), but when they do, it's pure perfect lunacy.

In the early 1900s, conman Lively Dragon (Leung Kar-Yan) and wanted criminal Crazy Horse (Philip Ko) stumble across a group of robbers who make off with cash and gold from the town of Ming On. The mayor accuses them of the crime while the real thieves escape scot-free. To avoid imprisonment, the two, at first, compete to capture each other for the rewards on their heads; but they eventually work together to find the gold and expose the real bandits. However, the bandit chief isn't giving up so easily... leading to an incredible finale with such blazing-hot choreography, it must be seen to be believed.

Part of Kung Fu Clubhouse’s Bruceploitation Bonanza!

“Turns out, Phillip Ko and Leung Kar-yan are a fantastic double act. They have such great comedic chemistry in Fearless Dragons, and the fights are just fantastic. 1 on 1, 2 on 1, the choreography here is bliss. A ton of fighting styles on display here, including horse style, complete with hilarious horse sound effects!” Jack, Letterboxd

“Add it to the pile of movies that in itself are a means to an end, that end kickstarting with Phillip Ko whinnying and Leung Kar-yan going ‘Horse fist!!!’ and then s#!t gets real. Along the way we find out that Jaws from the James Bond movies has a long lost brother locked up in a dungeon in Taiwan somewhere because no one said you can’t do that.” Carlo V, Letterboxd

Drew is approaching the end of his twenties and, with it, his relative youth. Looking to make a sudden change, he decides to quit his cushy desk job and “embrace life.” Cycling quickly through friends, hobbies, and goals, it’s not long until Drew realizes he has no idea what to do with his newfound freedom.

Led by Colin Burgess and featuring a wide ensemble of New York City's funniest performers, Ryan Martin Brown's debut feature is an uproarious comedy — filmed on location in the midst of America's "Great Resignation" — about the search for meaning in the modern world.

“This is one of the better indie comedies in a long time, enjoyable from minute one until the final frame, and deceptively insightful about the structure of the modern world.” Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com

“[A] cleverly concocted and occasionally hilarious tale of Generation Z malaise… the kind of down-and-dirty NYC indie we see less and less of nowadays, at a time when indie film itself seems to be in great peril.” Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter

Visually audacious director Bertrand Bonello fashions his most accomplished film to date: a sci-fi epic, inspired by Henry James’ turn-of-the-century novella, suffused with mounting dread and a haunting sense of mystery. Punctuated by a career-defining, three-role performance by Léa Seydoux, THE BEAST poignantly conveys humanity’s struggle against dissociative identity and emotionless existence.

The year is 2044: artificial intelligence controls all facets of a stoic society as humans routinely “erase” their feelings. Hoping to eliminate pain caused by their past-life romances, Gabrielle (Seydoux) continually falls in love with different incarnations of Louis (George MacKay). Set first in Belle Époque-era Paris, Louis is a British man who woos her away from a cold husband, then in early 21st Century Los Angeles, he is a disturbed American bent on delivering violent “retribution.” Will the process allow Gabrielle to fully connect with Louis in the present, or are the two doomed to repeat their previous fates?

In English and French with English subtitles.

CRITIC’S PICK! “An audacious interdimensional romance, techno-thriller and Los Angeles noir rolled up in one.” Beatrice Loayza, The New York Times

“What [Bonello] delivers is not just a densely packed art movie but the most potent horror picture of the decade so far.” Glenn Kenny, RogerEbert.com

Encore screening! MAY THE FARCE BE WITH CHEW!

In this 19th century, supernatural winter epic, a drunken applejack salesman must go from zero to hero and become North America’s greatest fur trapper by defeating hundreds of beavers.

Created by Mike Cheslik and Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, the duo behind the modern cult hit LAKE MICHIGAN MONSTER (2018).

“Starts strange, gets stranger, and yet remains resolutely adorable… embraces the defiant glee of art cinema and distills it into something so thoroughly pure and sincere that it is surely hard not to fall in love with it.” Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Alliance of Women Film Journalists

“It’s sure to develop a significant cult following with its unique mix of silent-era slapstick, animation elements, theme-park-style critter costumes, and general air of inspired absurdity.” Dennis Harvey, Variety

“Steroidally swollen with gags and smarts.” Guy Maddin