“Liz and the Blue Bird,” an animated coming-of-age drama directed by Naoko Yamada, is currently playing at the following theaters in California:
Anaheim — Starlight Cinema City, Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m.
Cerritos — Hawkins Cerritos, through Nov. 15 at 1 and 7 p.m.
Corona — Starlight Dos Lagos 15, Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m.
Costa Mesa — Starlight Triangle Square, Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m.
Garden Grove — Starlight 4 Star Cinemas, Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m.
Glendale — Laemmle Glendale, Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m.
Larkspur — Nov. 12 at 4:20 p.m.
Monrovia — Studio Movie Grill-Monrovia, Nov. 12 and 13 at 6:45 p.m.
Murrieta — Reading Cinemas Cal Oaks, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m.
North Hollywood —?Laemmle NoHo, Nov. 12 at 7:30 p .m.
Rancho Palos Verdes — Starlight Terrace Cinemas, Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m.
Redlands — Studio Movie Grill-Redlands, Nov. 12 and 13 at 6:45 p.m.
Rocklin — Studio Movie Grill-Rocklin, Nov. 12 and 13 at 6:45 p.m.
Sacramento — Tower Theatre, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m.
San Diego — Angelika Carmel Mountain, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m.; Town Square 14, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m.
San Francisco — New People Cinema, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m.
Santa Monica — Laemmle Monica, Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m.
Simi Valley — Studio Movie Grill-Simi Valley, Nov. 12 and 13 at 6:45 p.m.
Whittier — Starlight Whittier Village, Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m.
Mizore Yoroizuka plays the oboe, and Nozomi Kasaki plays the flute in Kita Uji High School concert band. As seniors, this will be their last competition together, and the selected piece, “Liz and the Blue Bird,” features a duet for the oboe and flute.
“This piece reminds me of us,” Nozomi says cheerfully, enjoying the solo, while Mizore’s usual happiness to play with Nozomi is tinged with the dread of their inevitable parting. By all accounts the girls are best friends, but the oboe and flute duet sounds disjointed, as if underscoring a growing distance between them.
Talk of college creates a small rift in their relationship, as the story evolves to reveal a shocking and emotional conclusion
For ticket information, go to: www.elevenarts.net/animedistrbution/liz-and-the-blue-bird