Early Spring
In his first film after the commercial and critical success of Tokyo Story, director Yasujirō Ozu examines life in postwar Japan through the eyes of a young salaryman. Dissatisfied with career and marriage, office worker Shoji Sugiyama begins an affair with a flirtatious co-worker, and he and his wife grow estranged. The film adeptly depicts “the claustrophobia of office life” as “Ozu finds dramatic depths in quiet, ordinary lives” (The New York Times). Description adapted from Janus Films.
Director: Yasujirō Ozu. Country: Japan. Released: 1956. Length: 145 min. Format: DCP. Language: Japanese with English subtitles. Image courtesy of Janus Films.
Venue: Asian Art Museum, West Building. Building: West Building. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free. Register in advance (recommended). Get Tickets/Register: https://nmaamatinees.eventive.org/schedule/694972e549fb56a847faf44b. Categories: Films. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible. Captioning. Assisted listening devices.
Wednesday, May 13, 2026, 2:00 PM – 4:30 PM.
Devi
4K Restoration!
Master filmmaker Satyajit Ray explores the conflict between fanaticism and free will in Devi. In turn, he issues a subversively modern challenge to religious orthodoxy and patriarchal power structures.
In rural India in the second half of the nineteenth century, a wealthy feudal landlord (Chhabi Biswas) is seized by the notion that his beloved daughter-in-law (a hauntingly sad-eyed Sharmila Tagore) is an incarnation of the Mother Goddess. This delusion proves devastating to the young woman and those around her.
The elegantly stylized compositions and the chiaroscuro lighting by cinematographer Subrata Mitra heighten the expressionistic intensity of this domestic tragedy, making for an experience that is both sublime and shattering. Description adapted from Janus Films.
Director: Satyajit Ray. Country: India. Released: 1960. Length: 99 min. Format: DCP, B&W. Language: Bengali with English subtitles. Image courtesy of Janus Films.
Venue: Asian Art Museum, West Building. Building: West Building. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free. Register in advance (recommended). Get Tickets/Register: https://ray4k.eventive.org/films. Categories: Films. After Five. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible. Assisted listening devices. Captioning.
Friday, May 29, 2026, 7:00 PM – 8:45 PM.
Days and Nights in the Forest
4K Restoration!
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Adapted from Sunil Gangopadhyay’s celebrated 1968 novel, Days and Nights in the Forest is a modern search for connection that conjures the timeless resonance of a folktale.
Desperate to flee Calcutta’s rat race, four young men drive to Palamu, one of India’s rural “tribal lands.” Despite vowing to get away from it all, the crew soon mixes with the locals. Through these relationships, Ray touches on masculine vulnerabilities and Indian class divisions with the graceful complexity of a master at his peak. Meanwhile, longtime cinematographer Soumendu Roy delivers these characters through lavish images. Description adapted from Janus Films.
Director: Satyajit Ray. Country: India. Released: 1970. Length: 116 min. Format: DCP, B&W. Language: Bengali with English subtitles.
Restored in 4K in 2025 by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project and Film Heritage Foundation in collaboration with Janus Films – The Criterion Collection at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory, from the…
Venue: Asian Art Museum, West Building. Building: West Building. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free. Register in advance (recommended). Get Tickets/Register: https://ray4k.eventive.org/films. Categories: Films. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible. Captioning. Assisted listening devices.
Sunday, May 31, 2026, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster
After laying waste to an alien civilization on Venus, the three-headed, lightning-emitting space monster Ghidorah brings its insatiable thirst for destruction to Earth. The monstrous foes Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra must join forces in order to deal with the unprecedented threat. An electrifying screen debut for Godzilla’s archenemy Ghidorah, this film also marks a turning point for the series—for the first time, the King of the Monsters acts to protect the planet. Description adapted from Janus Films.
Director: Ishirō Honda. Country: Japan. Released: 1964. Length: 92 min. Format: DCP. Language: Japanese with English subtitles. Image courtesy of Janus Films.
Venue: Asian Art Museum, West Building. Building: West Building. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free. Register in advance (recommended). Get Tickets/Register: https://nmaamatinees.eventive.org/schedule/6949762530ce9578cb604536. Categories: Films. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Captioning. Wheelchair accessible.
Wednesday, June 10, 2026, 2:00 PM – 3:45 PM.