L.A. movie openings, April 6

April 6

Big Fish & Begonia

Chinese animated fantasy about mystical beings who control the tides and the seasons and a young female who wants to experience the human realm. Directed by Xuan Liang and Chun Zhang. In both English and Mandarin (with English subtitles) versions. (1:45) PG-13.

Blockers

Three parents attempt to prevent their teenage daughters from losing their virginity at prom. With Leslie Mann, Ike Barinholtz, John Cena, Kathryn Newton, Geraldine Indira Viswanathan, Gideon Adlan. Writtten by Brian Kehoe & Jim Kehoe, Jon Hurwitz & Hayden Schlossberg, Eben Russell. Directed by Kay Cannon. (1:42) R.

Chappaquiddick

Jason Clarke stars as Ted Kennedy in this drama about the scandal and mystery surrounding the death of Mary Jo Kopechne in 1969. With Kate Mara, Ed Helms, Bruce Dern. Written by Taylor Allen and Andrew Logan. Directed by John Curran. (1:41) PG-13.

Ismael’s Ghosts

Life and art intertwine in the mind of a French filmmaker whose wife disappeared 21 years earlier. With Mathieu Amalric, Marion Cottilard, Charlotte Gainsbourg. Directed by Arnaud Desplechin. In French with English subtitles. (2:15) R.

Lean on Pete

A 15-year-old bonds with an aging quarter-horse and goes to great lengths to save it. With Steve Buscemi, Chloë Sevigny, Charlie Plummer. Written and directed by Andrew Haigh, based on the novel by Willy Vlautin. (2:01) R.

Love After Love

A family struggles with grief in different ways after the death of their husband and father. With Andie MacDowell, Chris O’Dowd, Juliet Rylance. Written by Russell Harbaugh, Eric Mendelsohn. Directed by Harbaugh. (1:31) NR.

Lowlife

A crime lord kidnaps immigrants, murdering them for their organs or enslaving them for prostitution. With Nikki Micheaux, Ricardo Adam Zarate, Jon Oswald. Written by Ryan Prows, Tim Cairo, Jake Gibson, Shaye Ogbonna and Maxwell Michael Towson. Directed by Prows. (1:36) NR.

The Miracle Season

A high school girls’ volleyball team strives for the state championship after losing its best player in an accident. With Helen Hunt, William Hurt, Danika Yarosh, Erin Moriarty. Written by David Aaron Cohen, Elissa Matsueda. Directed by Sean McNamara. PG.

Pandas

Nature documentary follows the exploits of a captive-born cub named Qian Qian as she learns to navigate the real world in the mountains of Sichuan. Narrated by Kristen Bell. Directed by David Douglas, Drew Fellman. (:43) G. (California Science Center, Exposition Park)

A Quiet Place

A family faces terror in the woods. With Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Noah Jupe, Millicent Simmonds. Written by Bryan Woods & Scott Beck and Krasinski. Directed by Krasinski. (1:30) PG-13.

Rogers Park

Four Chicagoans navigate relationships while experiencing personal crises. With Antoine McKay, Sara Sevigny, Jonny Mars, Christine Horn. Written by Carlos Treviño. Directed by Kyle Henry. (1:27) NR.

Shelter

A female Mossad agent guards an informant, a Lebanese woman recovering from identity-changing plastic surgery in a Hamburg safe house. With Golshifteh Farahani, Neta Riskin, Lior Ashkenazi. Written and directed by Eran Riklis. In English, Hebrew and Arabic with English subtitles. (1:33) NR.

Spinning Man

An academic falls under suspicion when a female student goes missing. With Guy Pearce, Pierce Brosnan, Minnie Driver, Jamie Kennedy. Written by Matt Aldrich, based on the book by George Harrar. Directed by Simon Kaijser.(1:40 ) R.

Summer in the Forest

Documentary on L’Arche, a commune for the developmentally disabled outside Paris, begun in the 1960s by Jean Vanier. Directed by Randall Wright. (1:48) NR.

Sweet Country

After a deadly act of self-defense, an Aboriginal man and his wife go on the run in the Australian outback in 1929. With Hamilton Morris, Sam Neill, Bryan Brown, Ewen Leslie. Written by Steven McGregor, David Tranter. Directed by Warwick Thornton. (1:53) R.

The Workshop

In the South of France, a young man violently rebels while in a summer writing program with a famous novelist. With Marina Foïs, Matthieu Lucci, Warda Rammach. Written by Robin Campillo, Laurent Cantet. Directed by Cantet. In French with English subtitles. (1:53) NR.

You Were Never Really Here

Joaquin Phoenix plays a troubled veteran whose job finding missing girls leads him to a crossroads. With Judith Roberts, Ekaterina Samsonov, John Doman, Alex Manette, Dante Pereira-Olsen, Alessandro Nivola. Written and directed By Lynne Ramsay, based on the book by Jonathan Ames. (1:29) R.

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