From visionary anime auteur Masaaki Yuasa comes a joyously hallucinogenic but family-friendly take on the classic fairy tale about a little mermaid who comes ashore to join a middle-school rock band and propel them to fame. Kai is talented but adrift, spending his days sulking in a small fishing village after his family moves from Tokyo. His only joy is uploading songs he writes to the internet. When his classmates invite him to play keyboard in their band, their practice sessions bring an unexpected guest: Lu, a young mermaid whose fins turn to feet when she hears the beats, and whose singing causes humans to compulsively dance – whether they want to or not.

As Kai spends more time with Lu, he finds he is able to tell her what he is really thinking, and a bond begins to form. But since ancient times, the people in the village have believed that mermaids bring disaster and soon there is trouble between Lu and the townspeople, putting the town in grave danger.

Winner of the Grand Prize at the prestigious Annecy Animation Festival and an official selection of Sundance 2018, LU OVER THE WALL is a toe-tapping, feel-good demonstration of Yuasa’s genre-mixing mastery that will leave you humming long after you leave the theater.

"Throughout, director Masaaki Yuasa's imagination runs so wild that it becomes impossible to resist." (Slant Magazine)

"There's lots to admire about Yuasa's style, which is flat and free-form, with loose lines and a curvy, cartoonish, distinctly 2D quality reminiscent of the animation that emerged from the 1920s and 30s ..." (The Observer, UK)

Tuesday, May 29 *This screening is in Japanese w/ English subs
Doors 6:00 pm | Movie 6:30 pm

Tickets $10 advance | $12 at the door

Why not make it a double bill with TEKKONKINKREET at 9:15 pm for one sweeet price?
Double bill tickets $16 advance | $18 at the door

*Minors welcome in the balcony! Must be 19+ w/ID for bar service and main floor seating.
**Rio Theatre Groupons and passes OK for any single screening! Please redeem at the door.

LU OVER THE WALL "Yoake tsugeru Rû no uta" (Masaaki Yuasa, 2018 / 112 mins / PG) Kai is talented but adrift, spending his days sulking in a small fishing village after his family moves from Tokyo. When his classmates invite him to play the keyboard in their band, their practice sessions bring an unexpected guest: Lu, a young mermaid whose singing causes humans to compulsively dance - whether they want to or not. As Kai spends more time with Lu, he finds he is able to tell her what he is really thinking, and a bond begins to form.