All of a Sudden at the Hammer Museum

The Hammer Museum's film programming tends to land on the serious, thoughtful end of the calendar, and this one fits. On Friday, November 13, the museum screens All of a Sudden, the 2026 film from writer-director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, with a conversation with Hamaguchi after the film. If you are sorting through things to do in Los Angeles this month and want something that gives you a lot to talk about on the drive home, this is a strong pick.

When: Friday, November 13, 2026, 7:30 PM Where: Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90024 Tickets: $23.18 on Eventbrite (listing also names $20 general admission and $10 for Hammer members)

What the film is about

The listing describes the film as based on an exchange of letters between philosopher Makiko Miyano and medical anthropologist Maho Isono. Hamaguchi uses it to tell the story of a chance meeting in Paris between Marie-Lou, a French nursing home director and caregiver, and Mari, a Japanese theater director facing terminal cancer. The two spend time together after a performance of one of Mari's plays and at the nursing home, where Marie-Lou is trying a new program of radical empathy for patients' bodies and souls, over the doubts of skeptical colleagues.

The cast includes Virginie Efira, Tao Okamoto and Kyôzô Nagatsuka. It is a France, Japan, Germany and Belgium co-production, in French and Japanese with English subtitles, and it runs 196 minutes. That is a long sitting, so plan your evening around it. The DCP is courtesy of NEON.

What to expect

The post-screening conversation with Hamaguchi is the draw for many people here. The listing does not name a moderator or say how long the talk will run, so check the Eventbrite page closer to the date for updates.

Getting there and seating

The Hammer sits on Wilshire Boulevard in Westwood, next to the UCLA campus. The box office opens at 6:30 PM, and seats are assigned first come, first served when you pick up your tickets. There is no late seating, and unclaimed tickets are released shortly before the start, so arrive early rather than on the dot.

If you like to build a weekend around one anchor, a Friday screening here leaves Saturday open for the rest of the upcoming events Los Angeles has on the calendar. Tickets are sold through Eventbrite, so buy ahead and bring your confirmation to the box office.