We kick off the summer holiday with animated and action movies perfect for the whole family, an art documentary, a French drama running only at the Elvira Popesco Cinema, and the reopening of the Film Garden.

Titian. The Empire of Color (dir. Giulio Boato, Laura Chiossone)

Titian was an innovator in many ways, managing to become not only the official painter of Venice but also one of the most acclaimed artists in Europe, even during his lifetime. The documentary follows his journey,  which starts in Venice, when the artist, a child at that time, arrives in the city and embarks on the path towards his prolific career.

Experts, critics, and artists discuss his style, character, ambitions, and incredible ability to interpret religion and mythology and bring it to life through color and form. His oeuvre remains proof that Titian created masterpieces always abiding by his motto, “Art is more powerful than Nature.”

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (dir. Steven Caple Jr.)

Even robot movies are hit by the nostalgia of the old times. The explosive and always captivating spectacle returns to the cinema this time with a story set in the ’90s.

The Autobots are joined by a new faction of Transformers, the Maximals, who appear out of nowhere to warn and help them in the life-and-death battle that is, of course, about to take place. The battle is just the beginning as Rise of the Beasts is the first part of a trilogy that will explore new dangers and enemies.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts puts the spotlight on the characters, following in the footsteps of Bumblebee, but also retains the intense action moments à la Michael Bay, which have made the series famous since 2007.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (dir. Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin Thompson)

Miles Morales, one of the many Spider-Men, is catapulted through the Multiverse, where he meets other Spider-People tasked with protecting its very existence. It may sound complicated, but those familiar with the hero’s adventures know that such events are commonplace.

This time, Miles is faced with a difficult choice: save one person in particular or save everyone else. To make things even harder, he’s surrounded by versions of himself, and they are all constantly telling him what decision to make because it’s the one they’ve made before.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has surprises for all Spider-Man fans, whether we’re talking about movies, animations, games, or comics; there’s a little bit of everything here, including the appearance of the beloved characters Gwen and Peter Parker.

Promises / Les promesses (dir. Thomas Kruithof)

Clémence is in the final stage of her political career as a Mayor of Parisian suburbs. She fights everything and everyone to save a neighborhood in the city, alongside her trusted partner, Yazid, but when she is offered to become a minister, her integrity begins to waver.

The film explores two directions: the precarious living conditions in the suburbs of Paris, the ferocity of real estate developers, gentrification, and erasure of poor communities on one side, and on the other, the ambition of a politician who doesn’t want to reach power at any cost but who also knows her abilities and believes she can change things for the better. They all have their own interests in this political dance of lies and broken promises, and in the end, no one truly comes out victorious.

The next screening of Les promesses will take place on June 13.

Grădina cu filme (Film Garden)

With summer comes the return of the Film Garden for its 10th edition. Until autumn, the public will enjoy evenings with Romanian and international films, as well as concerts, in a relaxed, open-air setting.

This week we have:

The Goat and Her Three Kids / Capra cu trei iezi (dir. Victor Canache), starring Maia Morgenstern, Marius Bodochi, Răzvan Ilina, Antonio Gavrilă, Silviu Corbu – on Thursday, June 15, at 9 pm;

ZUM – Journey of a Soul in Mandalay – concert on Saturday, June 17, at 8:30 pm;

Pinocchio (dir. Robert Zemeckis), starring Tom Hanks, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Benjamin Evan Ainsworth – on Sunday, June 18, at 8:30 pm.

For the full program, follow the event page.

Melissa Antonescu

Writer, photographer and videographer. For Films in Frame she writes news about the latest happenings in the film world and brings to the readers' attention the productions that can be seen at the cinema. When she's not writing articles, she's photographing people in a small studio or searching for new cake recipes.