Movie lovers look forward to this premiere film festival for a number of reasons. You get an early view of the best major motion pictures, starring some of your favorite actors featuring exciting directors. There’s also that chance to see a great gem of a film that may have limited or zero advertising. Since both types of films may play in the same theater back to back, one trip to the movie house provides a high yield return.

The big three marquee films are "Elizabethtown," "Bee Season" and "The Weather Man." Opening the festival on Thursday, October 6^th is "Elizabethtown," directed by Cameron Crowe ("Almost Famous," "Vanilla Sky," "Jerry Maguire"). It stars Orlando Bloom, Kirsten Dunst and Susan Sarandon. Bloom travels from the big city to Elizabethtown, KY to make arrangements for the death of his father. Enroute he meets flight attendant Dunst, who becomes his savior and confidant throughout the ordeal. The story that unfolds shares insights about loss, redemption and love. Roger Ebert will host the screening and Susan Sarandon will be on hand to receive a Career Achievement Award.

"Bee Season" screens on Saturday, October 15^th. Directors Scott Mcgehee and David Siegel ("The Deep End") once again bring us a moving and original family drama. "Bee Season" focuses on the implosion of what appears to be the perfect family. When Richard Gere starts overly enjoying the spotlight of his daughter’s spelling bee success, his older son becomes interested in a young woman (Kate Bosworth) and his wife Juliette Binoche ("Chocolate") reveals dark secrets that will change the dynamics of the family forever.

Closing the festival is "The Weather Man," which stars Nicolas Cage, Michael Caine and Hope Davis. Directed by Gore Verbinski ("Pirates of the Caribbean," "The Ring"), the film centers on Cage, a Chicago TV weatherman who lives a life just this side of overcast. Chicago is showcased brilliantly in the film. Cage is separated from his wife Davis and his two teenage children. His son is being hit on by a male high school counselor and is experimenting with drugs. His daughter is somewhat overweight and has some major self-image issues. Cage’s father, Michael Caine, is a highly successful writer who, unlike his son, was able to balance his career objectives and still be a caring and attentive father and husband. "The Weather Man" is analogous to many things in life. The wind can change quickly and we cannot control it.

North Country: The director of "Whale Rider" turns her attention once again to women in a male dominated society. This time the focus is on a woman (Oscar winner Charlize Theron, "Monster"), rather than a teen. A single mom with two kids moves back in with her parents and is desperate to get a job. Her employment in an iron mine brings with it taunts and sexual harassment. When she takes legal steps to end that negative behavior, neither her family nor female co-workers provide much support. Also stars Frances MacDormand (Fargo).

Protocols of Zion: Filmmaker Marc Levin gives us an explosive exploration of resurgent anti-Semitism in the wake of September 11^th. Levin's film draws its inspiration from an encounter he had in a New York taxi not long after 9/11. His driver, an Egyptian immigrant, made the disturbing claim that the Jews had been warned not to go to work at the World Trade Center on the day of the attack. He then said, "It's all written in the book," referring to "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion," a notorious forgery created 100 years ago this year, purporting to be the Jews' master plan to rule the world. Long ago discredited as a fake, "The Protocols" was a crucial influence on Hitler, and has fueled hatred, violence, and ultimately genocide through the first half of the twentieth century.

The Squid and the Whale: Winner of the Best Director and Screenwriter awards at Sundance, this film captures a family that seems to have it all yet possesses a determination to let everything slip away. Jeff Daniels ("Because of Winn Dixie") and Laura Linney ("The Exorcism of Emily Rose") are literary writers, and he a self-proclaimed intellectual. She is enjoying newfound literary success, with a novel to be published, while he’s gone unpublished for some time. Their two teenage sons, Walt (Jesse Eisenberg, "The Village") and the younger Frank (Owen Kline), very much need support and direction from their parents. Both young actors deliver daring and convincing performances. Coming of age and personal identity are issues facing the sons, and these parents can use a dose of maturity as well. Also features Academy Award winner Anna Paquin ("X2," "The Piano," "Finding Forrester").

Transamerica: A highly educated transsexual woman, and a jailed teenage runaway take a road trip from New York City to Los Angeles after she bails him out of jail. The two embark on an unexpected journey, but she chooses not to divulge her secret that will ultimately change both their lives.

Shopgirl: Mirabelle (Claire Danes of "Stage Beauty") brings charm to this romantic comedy. She is an attractive woman who has left Vermont to make it as a successful artist in LA. The small town girl, with a tender heart and a tendency toward depression, works at the glove counter at Sak’s. When she’s not working, she’s a spinster in waiting, with only her sad sack apartment to keep her company.

While at the laundromat, Mirabelle meets the geeky and totally unrefined Jeremy (Jason Schwartzman of "Bewitched"). After a very awkward getting to know you scene, Jeremy leaves with Mirabelle’s phone number. Their first date is so over the top that it’s painfully funny to watch. Later when reflecting on her loneliness, Mirabelle gives Jeremy a call and they end up in bed together in one of the funniest sex scenes you’ll ever see.

Ray (Steve Martin) visits Sak’s and purchases a pair of gloves from Mirabelle. Much to her surprise a few days later, at her home, the gloves arrive for her from Ray, with a note asking her out to dinner at an upscale restaurant. Ray is a rich businessman, over 50, divorced, and looking for a good time. He owns a large private jet that he uses for business and commuting between luxury homes in LA and Seattle. Ray knows the power that personal attention backed by money can have on a woman from a modest background. His idea of being fair with her on why they have only a sexual affair is to tell her he travels a lot so they will have limited time together.

Mirabelle will send chills through the spine of parents who have a daughter in a distant large city. They know she is trying to make her way in the world and they will now better understand the choices she is presented with.

Some of these films will be shown within the coming year at local theaters, but many will not. If something sounds interesting to you, the time to see it is now. There may not be a later. ê indicates the film is recommended.

Shorts: Personal Revelations ê : This collection of short films boasts some heavyweight talent including Spike Lee directing "Jesus Children of America," a painful vision of the bleak present and uncertain future for a young girl whose junkie mother (Rosie Perez) and father have left their shy young daughter HIV positive. Taunted by mean girls at school, she comes home to her arguing parents and must face facts about what lies ahead. Also recommended: "The Raftmans Razor," a humorous and sardonic narrative about two teen boys and their futile adolescent obsession for a comic book hero who does the same thing on every page in every issue of a graphic novel; "Nothing Special," about a young man’s effort to escape his mother’s assertion throughout his childhood that he was nothing less than the reincarnation of Jesus Christ; and "Holiday," an ode to escaping everyday life for two teen age boys. *(SC)

I Am a Sex Addict ê : is a fairly diverting documentary that occasionally lapses into self-indulgence. The film is highly autobiographical, and the audience’s reaction may depend upon how well they like the director/narrator. It chronicles how he eventually overcame his unhealthy sex habits and became more stable and happy. *(VC)

Bee Season ê : Directors Scott Mcgehee and David Siegel ("The Deep End") once again bring us a moving and original family drama. "Bee Season" focuses on the implosion of what appears to be the perfect family. When Richard Gere starts overly enjoying the spotlight of his daughter’s spelling bee success, his older son becomes interested in a young woman (Kate Bosworth) and his wife Juliette Binoche ("Chocolate") reveals dark secrets that will change the dynamics of the family forever.

Bang Bang Orangutang ê:Accomplished young Danish director Simon Staho’s "Day and Night," the story of a man resigned to disconnect from love and commit suicide, was the highlight of the 2004 Chicago International Film Festival. His new film, "Bang Bang Orangutang," follows a similar theme—an arrogant European executive (Mikael Perspbrandt, returning from ‘Day’) accidentally runs over his young son with his SUV and shatters his seemingly normal family. His devastated wife (Lena Olin) immediately shuts him out of their life and their daughter’s. He turns to family, who rejects and loathes him equally, and his comeuppance continues when he loses his precious job. It’s a classic fall, and Staho interestingly stages the events with 70s American music from Supertramp, Kool and the Gang and more. Unable to find work except driving a cab, he falls for another outsider, a damaged young woman who causes him more pain than love, before desperation leads him to inadvertently kidnap his own daughter. Like Staho’s prior film, this one takes place largely inside a roomy SUV, a sort of ironic comfort zone that insulates the anti-hero from the awful reality outside. The pain is palpable under the sometimes bizarre comic tone, culminating in an almost-reconciliation that stings with melancholy. Highly recommended. (Swedish with English subtitles) (LS)*

Poets of the Wastes ê : A raw, powerful, and visceral film about a romantic dreamer that works as a street cleaner in Iran. He disobeys orders and begins to get involved in the lives of some of the townspeople. The poet speaks in mostly aphoristic statements reminiscent of the ones uttered by the lead character in "Being There." He delivers all the most memorable lines in the film. ‘Poets’ does an exemplary job of depicting the grim social realities in Tehran, and the characters are unforgettable. It also has one of the most gorgeous/ugly conclusions within memory.

Brick ê : Set in a California high school, a student investigates the murder of his ex girlfriend. His quest takes him to the seedy underbelly of what appears on the surface to be the ideal suburban community. This is a modern day film noir shot in color, with femme fatales, dark humor and witty dialogue. The film noir comparison is somewhat analogous to filming a modern day version of a Shakespearean play. This is an unusual film dealing with the life of teenagers. Hopefully this story exaggerates the situation, but we have a feeling that it’s more truth than fiction.

Lola Montes: A dreary, snail-paced historical biopic about the rise and fall of a famous courtesan in 19th century France. However, many critics consider the film a masterpiece. According to the Chicago Film Festival brochure, Andrew Sarris called it the greatest movie ever made. The film begins with Lola Montes being humiliated in a circus, which is run by the peppy but sadistic Peter Ustinov. Circus goers are encouraged to ask any questions they want of the famous courtesan.

Eventually we see huge chunks of her scandal filled life depicted on screen, and it turns out she is responsible for the fall of many powerful men. We see her affairs with King Ludwig of Bavaria, and even the composer, Frank Liszt.

The Weather Man ê : stars Nicolas Cage, Michael Caine and Hope Davis. Directed by Gore Verbinski ("Pirates of the Caribbean," "The Ring"), the film centers on Cage, a Chicago TV weatherman who lives a life just this side of overcast. Chicago is showcased brilliantly in the film. Cage is separated from his wife Davis and his two teenage children. His son is being hit on by a male high school counselor and is experimenting with drugs. His daughter is somewhat overweight and has some major self-image issues. Cage’s father, Michael Caine, is a highly successful writer who, unlike his son, was able to balance his career objectives and still be a caring and attentive father and husband. Nicolas Cage will be in attendance at this screening. Get your tickets early for this one, as it will sell out quickly.

ê Recommended

Friday, October 14

(Also 13; Fri, Oct 14)

As much a documentary about an interesting cult icon as it as a record of sexual mores in the 70s, That Man: Peter Berlin is an absorbing bio-doc about the gay sex icon Peter Berlin, who made only two adult films in the 70s but was internationally known as a golden Adonis with an anatomically charged visage that led him to fame both on the streets and in print. Combining interviews with figures such as John Waters, Wakefield Poole and Armistead Maupin, as well as time spent with sixty-year-old Berlin himself, a fascinating story emerges—a historical record of a boy who emigrated from War-torn Europe to the U.S. re-inventing himself after discovering his own erotic power. "I like to be in the gutter myself," he said, and he became a poster boy for Tom of Finland and Robert Mapplethorpe, but also for an entire generation of sexual liberation circa 1970s—an image of golden beauty inseparable from the liberated haze of gay porn and drugs, yet still somehow innocent. Today, Berlin is funny, well spoken, still handsome and candid in his genuflections, resulting is an entertaining, poignant trip through the life of a liberator of men before disease struck them down. One witty passage has Berlin recalling a Paris encounter with a fetish-obsessed Sal Mineo. Director Jim Tushinski has an impressive grip on the connection between the visual and sexual in men, incorporating a cavalcade of seductive photos and titillating porn clips. (LS)

(Also Sat, Oct 15; Sun, Oct 16)

Deserves to be. Beautifully shot yet cloying and embarrassing dysfunctional Southern family nonsense about the homecoming of a Black college professor (Steve Harris) whose father’s death leads him home twenty years after a tragic misunderstanding. He reconnects with his childhood friend (Gale Harold), who has a blind brother (Phillip Bloch, in a nails-on-blackboard performance) kept prisoner in their own home. After freeing the brother for an afternoon, hell breaks loose. Or hokum, rather. It’s a gorgeous, burnished film that cranks its melodrama up to a feverish pitch. Which is exactly how I felt—sick. (LS)

(Also Sat, Oct 15)

Accomplished young Danish director Simon Staho’s Day and Night, the story of a man resigned to disconnect from love and commit suicide, was the highlight of the 2004 Chicago International Film Festival. His new film, Bang Bang Orangutang, follows a similar theme—an arrogant European executive (Mikael Perspbrandt, returning from Day) accidentally runs over his young son with his SUV and shatters his seemingly normal family. His devastated wife (Lena Olin) immediately shuts him out of their life and daughter. He turns to family who reject loathe him equally, and his comeuppance continues when he loses his precious job. It’s a classic fall, and Staho interestingly stages the events with 70s American music from Supertramp, Kool and the Gang and more. Unable to find work except driving a cab, he falls for another outsider, a damaged young woman who causes him more pain than love, before desperation leads him to inadvertently kidnap his own daughter. Like the prior film, this one takes place largely inside a roomy SUV, a sort of ironic comfort zone that insulates the anti-hero from the awful reality outside. The pain is palpable under the sometimes bizarre comic tone, culminating in an almost reconciliation that stings with melancholy. Highly recommended. (Swedish with English subtitles) (LS)

(Also Sun, Oct 16)

This collection of short films boasts some heavyweight talent including Spike Lee directing Jesus Children of America, a painful vision of the bleak present and uncertain future for a young girl whose junkie mother (Rosie Perez) and father have left their shy young daughter HIV positive. Taunted by mean girls at school, she comes home to her arguing parents and must face facts about what lies ahead. Also recommended are The Raftmans Razor, a humorous and sardonic narrative about two early teen boys and their futile adolescent obsession for a comic book hero who does the same thing on every page in every issue of a graphic novel; Nothing Special, about a young man’s effort to escape his mother’s assertion throughout his childhood that he was nothing less than the reincarnation of Jesus Christ; and Holiday, an ode to escaping everyday life for two teen boys. (SC)

(Also Sun, Oct 16; Tues, Oct 18)

Sometimes folks who have the deck stacked against them get a lucky break. For a group of disadvantaged junior high age African American boys from Baltimore, a break came in the form of a two year school program in Kenya, North Africa. Chosen from the pool of boys who expressed an interest, and not because they’d been identified as particularly outstanding academically or otherwise, the boys and their families decided for themselves that they would like to participate. This documentary from directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady follows the boys through the selection and orientation process, and on to the school.

From their arrival at Baraka, we see their evolution as they embrace the adventure and also struggle with landing in a place as foreign to them as Oz to Dorothy. During their first year in the remote village, two brothers seem to switch roles as the leader and the one who is lead, another boy blossoms with extraordinary math skills and a third hones his remarkable flair for preaching. Just when most of them have begun to really flourish far from the mean streets of Baltimore, they get the devastating news of financial cutbacks that put the program on indefinite suspension. The final quarter of the film after the program was aborted and they return to Baltimore shows their rapid growth into the life seemingly preordained for them. It sadly suggests discouraging future prospects for most of them and also how the loss of the short lived new hope affects their families.  For more information, contact Heidi Ewing at lokifilms@aol.com. (SC)

ê CONSTELLATION (United States)

(Also Sun. Oct. 16; Mon. Oct. 17)

Meandering through the knotty past of a Huntsville, Alabama family gathered for the funeral of a beloved member, the well chosen jazzy score with songs from John Coltrane, Billie Holiday, and others play like a Greek chorus to comment on the family bonds and disconnections. Beginning with a flashback some 40 years earlier when forbidden love between the deceased woman and a young soldier result in heartache that lasts a lifetime, the film moves to the funeral that draws her estranged brother (Billy Dee Williams), his assorted ex-wives, daughters, in-laws and the older, but wiser soldier. This mood piece from director Jordan Walker-Pearlman, similar in theme to his previous effort The Visit, effectively compresses into a few days the variety of emotions and memories only a funeral can illicit. Essentially about longing, regret, forgiveness, and love that transcends the more petty concerns of life, through one woman’s untimely death, her brother learns that her life and love were not wasted. He comes to better understand his own decisions and makes good on some overlooked responsibilities. The it’s-never-too-late-to-change territory is not new, but Constellation’s ensemble cast (Leslie Ann Warren, Rae Dawn Chong, Gabrille Union, Zoe Saldana, Hill Harper) and understated screenplay unfold like snapshots in a family album that coalesce to reveal a family, warts and all.

(Also Sun Oct 16; Thurs Oct 20)

From the opening shot of a rural funeral with angry mourners punctuated by gunshots, this film is a non-stop composite vignette of lives sucked into the vortex of the lucrative and deadly drug trade surrounding Medillin, Columbia. Through an abundance of encounters simmering with tense undertones, the stage is set: family parties full of woe, drug deals masquerading as construction deals and everything pregnant with the possibility of volatile outburst. In other words, it believably captures a slice of life in Columbia’s Medellin drug cartel. Set in the 1980s heyday of the cartel, director Victor Gaviria depicts the murky overlapping machinations at the source of an illegal industry. The story centers around a young engineer with a wife and baby who convinces himself the deals he is making with shady characters are just smart business deals to jump start his career. Unlike Traffic that bounced around between many different scenarios shaped by illegal drug trade, this film confines itself to the daily workings of people at the source of the drugs. With grainy shots by a handheld camera, it exposes a world where no one is playing according to a business practices manual, they make up the rules to suit the occasion. The lure of easy money blinds the young engineer to what he is getting into and Fabio Restrepo as a sleazy construction boss steals the show with his raw, chilling performance. Sometimes striking, sometimes bordering on cliché, it is not the usual movie about drug dealing and possesses a fascinating authenticity. In Spanish with English subtitles. (SC)

(Also Sun, Oct 16)

Belonging to the contemporary crisscrossing lives genre frequently referred to as Altman-esque, Look Both Ways is part human drama, part conceptual stunt and all contrived. If only it had been compelling. When a passenger train derails in Adelaide, Australia on a hot summer day, a group of people—some linked, some not—deal with its aftermath in various ways ranging from emotional paralysis to a retreat into animated fantasies of malice. Meryl and Nick attempt a relationship while Nick conceals his cancer diagnosis. Another character faces divorce and pregnancy. The train conductor is understandably in shock. Much is made of a photo blasted on the front page of the daily rag, depicting a grieving widow. It’s all ho-hum here, and the crosscutting becomes tiresome because we are never invited deeply enough into the lives. Look Both Ways admirably reaches to address the big questions—fate, coincidence, happiness and mortality—but in its effort, the humans get lost in the shuffle. It’s well acted, just remote and directed with attention to the broad canvas but less to intimacy. (LS)

Sunday, October 16

(Also Tues, Oct 18; Wed, Oct 19)

Failed rocker turned slacker (writer Mark Duplass) hits the road with hippie brother and frustrated girlfriend to pick up nostalgic eBay lazy-boy for dad’s birthday, and the comedy cuts loose in inspired, hilarious, truthful comedy. The big laughs in this Christopher Guest-esque, twenty-something reality-feeling feature—and there are many—include a hysterical attempt to defraud a motel proprietor, a confrontation with the lazy-boy seller, an impromptu backyard wedding and the unlikely demise of upholstery. But describing the road-movie comic set-ups can’t tell you how sharp and perceptive the performances are and how beautifully director Jay Duplass (brother of the lead) integrates the absurd comedy with real relationship pathos enroute to an unexpectedly bittersweet final scene. The Puffy Chair is a comic miracle of sorts, and it had me laughing myself sick. A gem. (LS)

(Also Tues, Oct 18; Wed, Oct 19)

From Chicago Second City alum Mike Meiners, this ridiculous if well produced film brings us Dee Dee Rutherford, the irresponsible 42 year old daughter of wealth whose widowed father has presumably been too absorbed with his career to pay much attention to her unanchored life. Accustomed to unlimited funds backing up the credit cards and powered by Coca Cola and cookies, she speeds around town driving without a license, offering generous donations to homeless shelters or any poor sucker who asks, crashing society events, with her tall blond gay son and her housekeeper/guardian angel in tow. Played by Lisa Ann Walter, the Bette Midler type seems completely miscast as Dee Dee in this North shore waspish family, as though she were switched at birth. So loaded with illogical nonsense, one wonders if Meiners didn’t draw too heavily on his improv background and make it up as he went along, which does not translate very well when committed to film. There are a few amusing moments, but they are strictly throw away. Though energetically played by Walter, Dee Dee appears to be more mentally challenged than thoughtfully philanthropic. The premise as played out here just rings false, tongue in cheek or not. One can speculate on Meiners intention but why, the black sheep story is ultimately so contrived it fails to touch. The trouble with this movie is Dee Dee. (SC)

(Also Mon. Oct. 17; Tues. Oct 18)

This darkly comic cinema veritae-styled chronicle of a day in the life of an extended, blended southern California family is a contemporary account of emotional excess, malfunction and paralysis. Following his father’s last wish, the middle son (played by director Christopher Jaymes) of a former big time Hollywood producer, brings his video camera into his the old man’s sickroom to capture on film his dying day. As the old philanderer’s other two sons, assorted step-children, girlfriends, boyfriends, former spouses, lovers, cousins and guests assemble at the extravagant house, past history and convoluted relationships spill out. As the movie within a movie captures the overlapping, estranged or enmeshed situations, the dead man’s 26 year old shopaholic girlfriend feverishly mourns the old man and then moves on in quick succession. Reminiscent of Robert Altman’s Wedding, the often hilarious muddy melodramas ebb and flow as the wake turns into a party. Though it moves in that direction, it avoids falling into sitcom territory, and as the day wears into night it somehow feels very authenticity like the farewell party for a movie big shot would, fallout from past sins and all. A strong cast dramatizes the funny, pathetic occasion with Jaymes at the center, alternately crazed and reasoned. (SC)

ê DEVILS ON THE DOORSTEP (China)

(Also Wed. Oct 19; Thurs. Oct 20)

Director Wen Jiang’s inspired allegorical dark comedy about the absurdity of war, among other things, is told in this tale of a Chinese peasant who gets caught up in a no-win situation during the 1945 Japanese occupation of China. After the peasant (flawlessly played by Jiang) is inexplicably left in the dead of night with two large sacks to look after by an unseen gunman, his efforts to deal with the complex situation that follows are filled with a whole gamut of conundrums one person could come up against. Drawing on the complexities of the village, the country, and the larger world at war from his original story, Jiang brilliantly paints with strokes broad and narrow. It works not only as an engrossing story, but also as an exploration of human nature, the nature of enemies at war, mob mentality, and tough choices. Working on multiple levels, the simple yet intricate film is reminiscent of Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai and Yojimbo. Beautifully shot in black and white, Jiang pays tribute to the great master while making his film fresh and contemporary. With scathing humor and great humanity, Jaing follows the multiple threads of village hierarchy, personal relationships, the skewed conventions of war, and delicate interplay among individuals to weave a crazy quilt of finished fabric that shines. Highly recommended. In Mandarin and Japanese with English subtitles. (SC)

(Also Wed, Oct 19; Thurs, Oct 20)

A sincere, fitfully compelling film that tells parallel stories—childless, cosmopolitan French Helene (regal Carole Bouquet) searches the black markets of Argentina to buy a baby while penniless, pregnant Argentinean Juana (Aymara Rovera) tries desperately to support her thirteen-year-old son amidst a developing country in which her home has been targeted for destruction. The widescreen picture here is bleak—a nation where babies are bought, sold and trafficked for all manner of degradation, including sex and organs—and the cycle is inadvertently perpetuated by a well-meaning person like Helene. Bouquet, the graceful French star, lends a particular upper crust desperation to Helene’s plight, though it’s hard to sympathize with her when she turns her back on a baby with brain disease. More affecting is Juana’s simple struggle to keep a roof above her boy’s head. (Spanish and French with English subtitles) (LS)

(Also Wed, Oct 19, Thurs, Oct 20)

In this powerfully subtle story of love, loss and loyalty, a young sound engineer and a working class woman are thrown together when his wife and her husband are involved in a serious auto crash. The pain of confronting the infidelity of their spouses is softened by the mutual attraction that builds between them as they spend time at the hospital bedsides of their unfaithful spouses. Director Hur Jin-Ho’s film speaks volumes in non verbal language about the subtleties of longing for someone so close yet so far away, and missing someone even before they are gone. It is a studied low key rendering of the fleeting nature of a promising connection that ends before it gets off the ground. Like snow in April, the transitory time they have together and their intense mutual attraction is doomed by fate and the forces of convention that compel them. Like Wong Kar Wai’s In the Mood for Love, the intensity of feeling Jin-Ho elicits for and from his characters is matched only the intensity of loss their thwarted love brings. A wistful soundtrack moves the would-be lovers together and then separates them. In Korean with English subtitles. Highly recommended. (SC)

(Also Wed, Oct 19, Thurs, Oct 20)

A gritty, erotic tease of a film featuring a showy physical performance from young French actor Johan Libereau. As Mickael, a talented seventeen-year-old high school judo ace from an impoverished home who strikes up a sexual fling with an uninhibited local girl before sharing, then losing her affections to his more upper caste buddy, Libereau is cocky swagger diffused by insecurity turned on by first sex, if not love. The idea here is that life is change—the world turns whether we want it to or not. The unblinking erotic couplings—the sexiest of which entails two boys and girl wrestling, clothed, on a mat—has a strong homoerotic undertow that gives way to a sexy ménage that becomes more complicated for Mickael to handle (they always do). Equal time is given to his tumultuous home life, involving an out-of-work father and desperate mother. The film is full of youthful energy and on Libereau’s back, it’s memorable. (French with English subtitles) (LS)

"Black Brush" is a slow paced but likeable art film that incorporates elements of farce and surrealism. The whole thing was shot in beautiful black and white, and it has a low budget look.

"Black Brush" is the directing debut for Roland Vranik, who also wrote the script. He started out doing commercials, music videos, and shorts. He worked as a member of the workshop, Pozitiv Production, and served as assistant director on Bela Tarr's critically acclaimed, "Werckmeister Harmonies."

"Black Brush" was made in Hungary and the film was highly acclaimed in its native country, as it took top honors at the 36th Hungarian Film Week in Budapest. It was co-produced by Hungary's best director, Bela Tarr, who made the unforgettable six-hour epic "Satantango." Tarr's own works tend to be far heavier and less whimsical than "Black Brush."

The film is about four young men with a leisure-driven lifestyle. The four stoned-out slackers become fake chimneysweepers, which will allow them to make some money. This also allows them to continue spending most of their time chatting about trivial things and getting high on roof tops.

They foolishly lose some of their boss's money on an ill advised bet, and they try to win some of it back by playing the lottery, but a goat devours the lottery ticket. The men must decide what to do, because one of them loves the goat and he doesn't want it to be sliced open.

There is also an absurd dream in which one of the men is menaced by a goat headed antagonist, and he wakes to find that a goat is licking him in real life.

Director, Roland Vranik and the prize winning cinematographer, Gergely Poharnok work wonders with a miniscule budget and seemingly limited plot line. "Black Brush" is a winning minor work by a promising filmmaker.