South Bay Film Society screens “Colors of Time” at the Gardena Cinema

South Bay Film Society ventures across town

Randy Berler presents “Colors of Time” at the Gardena Cinema

by Bondo Wyszpolski

The South Bay Film Society has been screening independent, alternative, and foreign films since 2012 at the AMC Rolling Hills 20 in Torrance, and tickets often sell out without hours of being offered online. Which is to say, without much exaggeration, that if you sleep in, you’ll miss out. And that’s just not for one auditorium, but usually for two or three.

Organizer and founder Randy Berler has lately been testing the waters with regards to screening some of the films in a different venue, in addition to the AMC, and towards this end he’s been working with Judy Kim of the Gardena Cinema. Last month they showed “Late Shift” which had previously been well received in Torrance.

On Monday, March 30, the Gardena Cinema will screen “Colors of Time,” yet another film applauded by audience members who were fortunate to catch it when initially presented. There will be two screenings, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

“Colors of Time” is a comedy-drama directed by Céedric Klapisch, and it’s described as “a warm, soul-stirring, and occasionally hallucinogenic time-travel adventure — a joyful ode to art, invention, and the creative spirit. A treat for culture lovers everywhere.”

The plot, by way of Wikipedia, is thus: “In 2024, a family inherits an abandoned house and is plunged back to 1895 when four of them, Seb, Abdel, Céline and Guy, discover the existence of Adèle, their ancestor who left her native Normandy for Paris. This confrontation between the two eras will call into question their present.”

The film is in French, with English subtitles, and runs 2 hours and 4 minutes. You can watch a trailer for the film on YouTube.

The Gardena Cinema was built in 1946 and is the last free-standing single auditorium theater in the South Bay. These days it’s kind of a second-run/art house theater, showing a range of old films, often from the 1980s and on up to the near-present. It’s a spacious venue (with 800 seats), but it lacks a good sound system and stadium seating — which makes it tough if someone tall sits directly in front of you.

That said, there’s something endearing about it, and if you’re someone who doesn’t like driving at night the afternoon showing is perfect. The area is reasonably safe, and there’s ample parking adjacent to the north side of the theater.

“Colors of Time” will open in a few weeks, probably on the Westside or in L.A., so this is a good opportunity to see it ahead of time and locally. But what’s important to note is that if enough people show up then this collaboration between the South Bay Film Society and the Gardena Cinema could continue. And that would be a big win for adventurous moviegoers.

The Gardena Cinema is located at 14948 Crenshaw Blvd, Gardena (just north of Marine Avenue). You can buy tickets in advance ($12) or simply show up — it’s open seating.

(213) 839-0100 direct line; (310) 217-0404 or (310) 217-0405 box office. For further information, visit gardenacinema.com. ER