Terminal USA
U.S., 1993

Ultra-indie master Jon Moritsugu holds a prominent place in Giant Robot’s 1994 debut issue with a lengthy interview alongside a profile of the Japanese noise rock band Boredoms and an essay by Lynn Padilla on the politics of being asked “What are you?” Moritsugu directs his up-from-the-underground cinematic assaults (Der Elvis, Mod Fuck Explosion, Fame Whore) across wide swaths of brain-dead American culture but this juxtaposition in GR #1 is particularly appropriate for his third feature Terminal USA about a deliriously dysfunctional Japanese American family that demolishes “model minority” stereotypes in their pursuit of sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll.   

DCP, color, 60 min. Director: Jon Moritsugu. Screenwriter: Jon Moritsugu. With: Jon Moritsugu, Amy Davis, Jenny Woo.

Mysterious Skin
U.S./Netherlands, 2004

Writer-director Gregg Araki and his young cast never take a wrong step in this powerful, sensitive and deeply moving story of sexual abuse and its long aftermath. Based on the novel by Scott Heim, the film follows two suburban boys, Neil and Brady, from childhood into young adulthood whose different responses to the predations of their little league coach set them on divergent paths until the need to remember and heal brings them back together. From its almost languorous pacing to its caressing close-ups and close attention  to period details, the whole film feels like an act of care.

35mm, color, 105 min. Director: Gregg Araki. Screenwriter: Gregg Araki. With: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brady Corbet, Michelle Trachtenberg.

Series website: https://cinema.ucla.edu/events/2024/celebrating-giant-robot

Admission is free. No advance reservations. Your seat will be assigned to you when you pick up your ticket at the box office. Seats are assigned on a first come, first served basis. The box office opens one hour before the event.

Sponsor(s): Terasaki Center for Japanese Studies, Film and Television Archive, Yanai Initiative for Globalizing Japanese Humanities, Consulate-General of Japan in Los Angeles, Japanese American Cultural & Community Center, UCLA Alumni Association, West Los Angeles Sawtelle Neighborhood Council.