The world in focus

* Recommended or notable

Thursday 12

Change of Address Dir. Emmanuel Mouret. 2006. 85mins. France. This annoying comedy concerns the romantic tribulations of a shy French horn teacher. Newly arrived in Paris, he’s invited to share the apartment of a neurotic blond honey who vamps him outrageously but then rebuffs his reciprocal overtures. Most of the alleged humor hinges on his stammering reticence and brain-dead double entendres about embouchures. 4pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.—Cliff Doerksen

The Collector Dir. Feliks Falk. 2005. 93mins. Poland. A remorseless repo man (Andrzej Chyra) who conducts property seizures for the Polish state government experiences an epiphany (unless it’s a mental breakdown) and tries to atone for the evil he has done in this weird, gripping little drama. 4pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.—Cliff Doerksen

DarkBlueAlmostBlack Dir. Daniel Sánchez Arévalo. 2006. 105mins. Spain. Notable mostly for its attractive leads, this Spanish dramatic comedy follows a young business graduate (Quim Gutiérrez) saddled with caring for his disabled father, and obliging an infertile brother (Antonio de la Torre of Volver) by wooing his girlfriend (Marta Etura). A gay subplot exists merely as a ploy for hipness cachet. 8:15pm, AMC River East.—Andrea Gronvall

Dirt Nap Dir. D.B. Sweeney. 2006. 95mins. USA. Three men who have been pals since high school find that they are big failures as adults, so they decide to fake their own deaths and start over. Of course, they could apply all that creative energy toward making something of themselves, but who are we to judge? Not previewed. 9:30pm, AMC River East.

* Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing
Dirs. Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck. 2006. 99mins. Documentary. USA. No stranger to the Heartland, Oscar-winner Kopple (Harlan County, U.S.A.; American Dream) and Peck craft a music documentary as relevant today as Woodstock was in 1970. They track the top-selling female group’s comeback following lead singer Natalie Maines’s anti-Bush remark at a 2003 London concert. After country stations nationwide drop them from airplay rotation, the artists reinvent themselves for a wider audience. Without ever taking their eyes off ticket and album sales, the Chicks remain defiant, refusing to let the Red States define what patriotism means. See Thu 12.—Andrea Gronvall

*Fireworks Wednesday Dir. Asghar Farhadi. 2006. 104mins. Iran. The radiant Taraneh Alidoosti, who starred in the Iranian film I Am Taraneh, is a young woman making some extra money as a maid before she gets married. But she steps into an apartment bristling with marital recriminations. The action, which takes place over the course of one day, is taut and crisply directed, and the various relationships are beautifully detailed. 4:45pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.—J. Robert Parks

*Iraq in Fragments Dir. James Longley. 2006. 94mins. USA/Iraq. The turbulent lives of ordinary Iraqis in three different ethnic enclaves are explored in this compelling vérité doc, portions of which clearly required considerable courage on the part of the filmmaker. 7pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.—Cliff Doerksen

The Italian Dir. Andre Kravchuk. 2005. 97mins. Russia. Embodying the Miramax conceit that any foreign film goes better with a wide-eyed moppet, The Italian is an entertaining piece of middlebrow fare. A six-year-old Russian orphan decides he doesn’t want to go live with the nice Italian couple but instead wants to find his biological mother. Fortunately, the child actors are great, and Kravchuk directs with a mostly deft hand. 7pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.—J. Robert Parks

No. 2 Dir. Toa Fraser. 2006. 94mins. New Zealand. An aging matriarch (Ruby Dee) tries to get her family together for a big pig roast at which she plans to name her successor as head of the family. The younger generation reluctantly gathers and interacts. Fraser’s ambitions are not large, but as a simple family drama with some light moments, this works pretty well. 7pm, AMC River East.—Hank Sartin

Only God Knows Dir. Carlos Bolado. 2006. 115mins. Brazil/Mexico. A coed (Alice Braga) vacationing in Tijuana begins a fling with a brooding young local (Diego Luna) and they embark on a spiritual journey of discovery. Not previewed. 9:15pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

Rampage Dir. George Gittoes. 2006. 103mins. Australia. Australian filmmaker Gittoes opens a window on the Hobbesian hell of a drug-drenched Miami ghetto where life is cheap and everybody is an aspiring rapper, but his relationship to the subject matter is creepily romantic and deeply sketchy. 4pm, AMC River East.—Cliff Doerksen

*Requiem Dir. Hans-Christian Schmid. 2006. 93mins. Germany. A provocative exploration of a young woman’s struggle with suffering, despair and faith, Requiem may be the first understated movie that also includes an exorcism. Director Schmid uses razor-sharp editing, and Sandra Huller gives a bravura performance. With a tone and thematic approach strikingly reminiscent of Werner Herzog, this is more evidence of the resurgence of German cinema. 8:30pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.—J. Robert Parks

*Steel City Dir. Brian Jun. 2006. 95mins. USA. Two adult brothers try to come to terms with their screwed-up lives while their father stews in prison for manslaughter after a car accident. Jun’s secret weapons are John Heard as the father and Raymond J. Barry as his estranged brother. Their terrific work in well-written roles raises this above most indies. 3:30pm, AMC River East.—Hank Sartin

Tough Enough Dir. Detlev Buck. 2006. 98mins. Germany. A German teenager and his mother move into a tough neighborhood where Turkish immigrants dominate. The boy has to learn a whole new set of survival skills. We have not previewed this film, but it picked up two awards at the Berlin Film Festival, for what it’s worth. 6pm, AMC River East.

The Trials of Darryl HuntDirs. Ricki Stern and Annie Stern. 2006. 113mins. USA. This documentary investigates the case of a black man wrongly convicted for the rape of a white woman in North Carolina. Racism, the film argues, clearly played a part in his trial. Not previewed. 6pm, AMC River East.

True Blue Dir. Yannis Diamandopoulos. 2005. 108mins. Greece. A mother tries to deal with the trauma when her adult son decides to have gender-reassignment surgery. Not previewed. 6pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

*12:08 East of Bucharest Dir. Corneliu Porumboiu. 2006. 89mins. Romania. A talk show brings together a trio of Romanian men on the 16th anniversary of the revolution to debate what happened that day, and the result is caustic and hilarious. Director Porumboiu has a marvelous eye for constructing characters out of details, and the three leads possess great comic timing. 9:15pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.—J. Robert Parks

The Unforgiven Dir. Yoon Jong-bin. 2005. 126mins. South Korea. A young man doing his mandatory military service suffers under the command of an officer who used to be his friend. Not previewed. 6pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

*Waiter Dir. Alex van Warmerdam. 2006. 96mins. Netherlands. Having deconstructed fairy tales in Grimm, van Warmerdam here tackles surrealism with mordant Dutch flair. He plays a waiter suffering the caprices of a screenwriter who reinvents his life daily—until he shows up at the author’s door demanding a rewrite. The premise resembles Stranger than Fiction’s, but the laughs are much darker. 9:30pm, AMC River East.—Andrea Gronvall

Wounded Animals Dir. Ventura Pons. 2006. 94mins. Spain. Three loosely connected stories of love and sex are presented: A married man meets his lover in a hotel, where he can spy on his bored, unhappy wife; a hotel clerk and her husband vacation by the sea, where she is tempted to cheat; a maid and her boyfriend enjoy her wealthy employers’ house while they are away. The acting is good enough, but Pons doesn’t seem to have much to say about sex, class, love or anything else, no matter how much the voiceover tries to make it about human desperation and other big ideas. 4pm, AMC River East.—Hank Sartin

The Zero Years Dir. Nikos Nikolaidis. 2005. 120mins. Greece. Four prostitutes in an S&M brothel come under suspicion when one of their clients disappears. Not previewed. 8:30pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

Friday 13

The Aura Dir. Fabian Bielinsky. 2005. 134mins. Argentina/France/Spain. From the late director of Nine Queens comes another heist film, though more slowly paced and philosophically rich. The monochromatic color palette adds to the understated tone, as does Ricardo Darin’s stoic lead performance. This film is for those who like their crime pictures to have more atmosphere than plot. 9:15pm, AMC River East.—J. Robert Parks

Change of Address6:30pm, AMC River East. S

Climates Dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan. 2006. 101mins. Turkey. A frontrunner for the fest’s most jaw-dropping is-it-or-is-it-not-consensual? sex scene, Climates is mostly more of the same from Ceylan—a wry, multiseason variation on his wintry Distant (2003). This leisurely paced story of a fractured relationship peaks early, as the couple (played by Ceylan and his wife) dispassionately calls it quits on the sun-dappled beach. 8pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.—Ben Kenigsberg

Face Control Dir. Vangelis Seitanidis. 2006. 84mins. Greece. A nightclub bouncer tired of the young hipsters he deals with gets into a weird relationship with a masochistic young woman he meets when they crash into each other on Christmas Eve. Not previewed. 9:15pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

The Family Friend Dir. Paolo Sorrentino. 2006. 108mins. Italy. A woman agrees to sleep with a loan shark in return for a reduced interest rate on her father’s loan. Chase Bank did not agree to a similar offer in regard to our mortgage. We did not preview this film, but it was a serious contender for the Palme d’Or at Cannes. 7pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

*Flannel Pajamas Dir. Jeff Lipsky. 2006. 124mins. USA. Former October Films and Lot 47 honcho Lipsky examines the building and razing of a New York relationship in this hyperwritten, small-scale drama, filmed with sweaty integrity and a would-be Cassavetean penchant for going over the top. The performances (by the seldom offscreen Julianne Nicholson and Justin Kirk) negate many of the Off Broadway contrivances. 5pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.—Ben Kenigsberg

*God Willing Dir. Amir Chamdin. 2006. 87mins. Sweden. Juan is an immigrant working two jobs and waiting for his wife to arrive when he meets the beautiful Juli. The two leads are winning, and the black-and-white widescreen cinematography is spectacular. The film makes sly nods to surrealism—Kojak and Aki Kaurismäki—but the sheer style on display is the movie’s own. It’s the coolest thing to come out of Sweden since…ever. 7pm, AMC River East.—J. Robert Parks

*The Host Dir. Joon-ho Bong. 2006. 119mins. South Korea. From the director of the underseen Memories of Murder, this allegorical horror-comedy comfortably bridges the gap between art film and cult item. Courtesy of a cross-eyed American scientist, the dumping of toxic chemicals into the Han River begets a human-hungry monster with the speed of the cheetah and a weakness for bad beer. 11pm, AMC River East.—Ben Kenigsberg

Host and Guest Dir. Shin Dong-il. 2005. 92mins. South Korea. Early in this South Korean seriocomedy, a depressed film professor (Kim Jae-rok) locked in his bathroom nearly dies, but is rescued by a Christian evangelist (Kang Ji-Hwan). Homages to art movies and digs at George W. Bush provide the lighter moments in a surprisingly moving tale about the strength of faith. 5pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.—Andrea Gronvall

Jasmine Women Dir. Hou Yong. 2004. 130mins. China. China’s history from the 1930s through the 1980s is viewed through four generations of women unlucky in love. Joan Chen and Ziyi Zhang play mother and daughter, respectively, in each successive tale, a gimmick that soon gets stale. Anachronisms like stiletto heels and portable hair dryers in 1930s Shanghai torpedo attempts at seriousness. 5pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.—Andrea Gronvall

Just Sex and Nothing Else Dir. Krisztina Goda. 2005. 90mins. Hungary. A sexy Budapest dramaturge (Judith Schell) yearns for a baby but is sick of male fecklessness, so she sets her sights lower, bypassing love for a sperm donor. Some snappy dialogue and nicely chiseled naked flesh help compensate for the tired clichés about life in the theater. 7:45pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.—Andrea Gronvall

The Page Turner Dir. Denis Dercourt. 2006. 85mins. France. Deborah Francois (L’Enfant) plays an ice-cool assistant to a celebrated concert pianist (Catherine Frot) struggling toward a comeback. But the pianist doesn’t know that years ago she destroyed the girl’s chances for a music career. Finely tuned performances make the front half of this French psychodrama suspenseful, but later plot twists lack credibility. 9pm, AMC River East.—Andrea Gronvall

Princess Dir. Anders Morgenthaler. 2006. 77mins. Denmark/Germany. Here’s a novelty item: a Danish anime with Dogme-style flashbacks. Aggressively tasteless, the plot involves a lapsed priest avenging his abused niece by attacking the denizens of the pornographic underworld, for whom the girl’s late mother worked. The film is not for the squeamish, but the use of animation to convey the child’s-eye present is certainly an arresting aesthetic choice. 9:15pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.—Ben Kenigsberg

Rock the BellsDirs. Casey Suchan and Denis Henry Hennelly. 2006. 113mins. USA. This documentary chronicles a concert that featured a reunion of the members of Wu-Tang Clan. Not previewed. 6:30pm, AMC River East.

*Severance Dir. Christopher Smith. 2006. 96mins. United Kingdom. The punishment fits the crime for munitions manufacturers on a corporate retreat in a wooded Eastern European border region. Hilarity piles on horror as the British and American co-workers—all team players, but wilderness misfits—are hunted by murderous locals. It’s smart filmmaking, especially the stuff happening in the corners of the frame. 11pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.—Andrea Gronvall

* Shortbus
Dir. John Cameron Mitchell. 2006. 102mins. USA. The sex is explicit and real in this flick about some of the habitués of a Manhattan sex club. Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) strikes an amazing balance: The film is both happily, healthily sex-positive and also has a hint of melancholy as the characters search for some connection (and sometimes find it) in bodily pleasures. Some critics have emphasized the significance of the fact that this drama unfolds in post-9/11 New York, which is fair enough, but we’d make a broader claim for this as a serious but upbeat film about what goes on in the bedroom (and the kitchen, and the alley, and the club…) It’s one of the most honest films about sex we can remember. See Fri 13, Sat 14.—Hank Sartin

Shorts 1: Homegrown VariousDirs. and years. 90mins. USA. This program showcases work by local talents, including everything from the avant-garde to straightforward narratives. 4:30pm, AMC River East.

Soul Kicking Dir. Yannis Economidis. 2006. 111mins. Greece. To call the world of the abused protagonist grim would be a vast understatement. Everyone treats him and each other like shit, whether at home or at the factory where he assembles lighting fixtures while his co-workers spew an endless stream of bile. After about 20 minutes, this bleakness without purpose wears thin. After an hour, it is infuriating. After the film finally ends, it leaves nothing but a nasty aftertaste. 7pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.—Hank Sartin

*Syndromes and a Century Dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul. 2006. 105mins. Thailand/Austria/France. This ingenious new diptych makes a second viewing essential and highly worthwhile. Dropping narrative threads at will, the movie concerns two doctors whose lives are mirror images of each other, as well as the friendship between a dentist/country-music singer and a monk who wishes he’d been a DJ. There are also strange confluences between amputation and aerobics, a solar eclipse and a medical-lab suction pipe. 4:30pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.—Ben Kenigsberg

Taking Father Home Dir. Ying Liang. 2005. 100mins. China. Ying’s visually impressive low-budget debut—a reverse-Confucian parable about a country boy searching for his deadbeat father in the Chinese city of Zigong—owes much to Jia Zhangke (the influential director of Platform and The World) in its depiction of characters rendered insignificant by a China in transition. It’s not on a level with Jia’s new films, Dong and Still Life—though they aren’t in the festival and don’t have distributors. 4:30pm, AMC River East.—Ben Kenigsberg

The Trials of Darryl Hunt4pm, AMC River East.

Saturday 14

Avenue Montaigne Dir. Danièle Thompson. 2006. 105mins. France. As a gamine cross between Jean Seberg and Audrey Hepburn, Cecile de France (Haute Tension) traipses through the luxe environs of Paris’ Right Bank, inspiring a troubled pianist and a batty actress while enchanting a wealthy collector and his malcontent son. Inexplicably, Sydney Pollack echoes his Tootsie role for this half-baked soufflé. 2pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.—Andrea Gronvall

Babel Dir. Alejandro González Iñárritu. 2006. 142mins. USA. Iñárritu is a formidable talent, but the interlocking trilogy mode of his Amores Perros and 21 Grams is getting stale. Brad Pitt (was none better available?) emotes lots as he tries to save his stricken wife (Cate Blanchett) in Morocco, while their kids are imperiled with their Mexican nanny. A Japanese story line barely fits. 7pm, Thorne Auditorium.—Andrea Gronvall

Belle Toujours Dir. Manoel de Oliveira. 2006. 68mins. Portugal/France. The world’s only practicing 97-year-old director once again confronts his mortality, fashioning a stylistically discontinuous, 40-years-later sequel to Luis Buñuel’s Belle de Jour. Slow-paced, nostalgic and verbose, the film stages a reunion between Henri (Michel Piccoli) and former prostitute-by-day Severine (Bulle Ogier, strangely, rather than Catherine Deneuve—herself an Oliveira veteran). 4pm, Landmark’s Century Cinema.—Ben Kenigsberg

Buzz Dir. Spiro N. Taraviras. 2005. 120mins. Greece. A.J. “Buzz” Bezzerides was the moderately successful screenwriter responsible for Kiss Me Deadly and They Drive By Night, but his left-wing leanings got him into trouble during the Black List era. This modest portrait of a Hollywood journeyman lacks critical distance, and the old boy himself is a rather annoying screen presence. 6:30pm, AMC River East.—Cliff Doerksen

Dirt Nap 4pm, AMC River East. See Thu 12.A Dirty Carnival Dir. Yoo Ha. 2006. 141mins. South Korea. Were it not so lengthy, this South Korean crime flick might have scored with its novel premise about a downtrodden gangster (Jo In-seong) whose fortunes turn after a reunion with his school buddy, a struggling filmmaker (Nam Gung-Mim). The cinematography and choreography are solid, but the mopey hero’s a marshmallow center. 8:15pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.—Andrea Gronvall

Family Law Dir. Daniel Burman. 2006. 102mins. Argentina/Spain/Italy/France. A Buenos Aires jurisprudence professor (Daniel Hendler of HBO’s Epitafios) labors in the shadow of his acclaimed father (Arturo Goetz), who belatedly wants to bring him into his successful law firm. Like his less polished but more satisfying Lost Embrace, Burman’s seriocomic film also tackles family relationships burdened by an unexamined past. 7:30pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.—Andrea Gronvall

*God Willing4pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

Madeinusa Dir. Claudia Llosa. 2006. 103mins. Peru/Spain. Any movie where the main character is a Peruvian named Madeinusa, a strange character arrives from the big city with a Polaroid camera, and two teen sisters collect trinkets and pore over magazine advertisements is meant to be read allegorically. But damned if we know what it means. The thin story revolves around the aforementioned teens and their incestuous father, and it’s even weirder than it sounds. 3pm, AMC River East.—J. Robert Parks

Only God Knows3:30pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

Paprika Dir. Satoshi Kan. 90mins. 2006. Japan. In this anime flick, a device that allows the user to project himself into other people’s dreams goes missing. After the thief starts trapping people in their dreams, a “dream detective” has to track down the device. Not previewed. 11pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

* Paris, Je T’Aime
Various dirs. 2006. 120mins. France/Liechtenstein/Switzerland. More hits than misses distinguish this lively anthology of 21 A-list directors’ short takes on the City of Love. Beyond those individual works—such as Oliver Schmitz’s tale of star-crossed French-Africans—that are perfectly realized examples of the short form, the collective whole is so well-edited the viewer is swept along. Highlights include the Coen brothers’ skit about a tourist’s (Steve Buscemi) guidebook mistake, Frederic Auburtin and Gerard Depardieu’s portrait of a long-married couple (Gena Rowlands and Ben Gazzara), Wes Craven’s witty romance set in Pere-Lachaise cemetery, and Alexander Payne’s hilarious finale. See Sat 14.—Andrea Gronvall

Pixar: An Afternoon with Gary Rydstrom VariousDirs. and years. 90mins. Sound engineer Rydstrom will show off the tricks of the trade. 1:30pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

Rock the Bells9pm, AMC River East.

Shoot the Messenger Dir. Ngozi Onwurah. 100mins. 2006. United Kingdom. A man trying to do some good by teaching troubled kids is accused of racism, though both he and the accusing student are black, in this drama. Not previewed. 2pm, AMC River East.

*Shortbus8pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

Shorts 2: Animation Nations VariousDirs., years and countries. 90mins. The title says it all about this program of animated films from around the world. Noon, AMC River East.

Shorts 3: Crossroads and Contrasts VariousDirs., years and countries. 90mins. This collection of short films deals with people in moments of big life change. 2pm, AMC River East.

Soul Kicking9pm, AMC River East.

Summer Palace Dir. Lou Ye. 2006. 140mins. China. A sexy partial misfire from talented newcomer Lou Ye (Suzhou River, Purple Butterfly), this is still required viewing for anyone interested in Beijing student life at the time of the Tiananmen Square uprising. (Lou has been temporarily banned from making films in China for taking the film to Cannes before showing it to government censors.) The second half flashes forward to the late ’90s, removing the characters from the milieu that makes them interesting. 1pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.—Ben Kenigsberg

Taxidermia Dir. György Pálfi. 2006. 90mins. Hungary. Norman Bates stuffing his mother looks downright prosaic next to the goings-on in Taxidermia, an aggressively grotesque triptych from Hungarian set-piece maestro Pálfi (Hukkle)—who may or may not have made a serious commentary on modern art. The movie follows three generations: a soldier with stomach-churning fetishes, a competitive eater and a taxidermist. Eat afterward. 6pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.—Ben Kenigsberg

Tough Enough4:15pm, AMC River East.

Towards the Moon with Fellini Dir. Eugenio Cappuccio. 2006. 78mins. Italy. Shot during production of Fellini’s last movie, 1990’s The Voice of the Moon, this plays more like a “making of” film than a doc, partly because actor Christina Englehardt appears as a faux reporter. She uncovers little about the maestro’s methods, but Roberto Benigni obligingly riffs for the camera. Noon, AMC River East.—Andrea Gronvall

Triad Election Dir. Johnny To. 2006. 92mins. Hong Kong. This somber and talky sequel to To’s Election lacks his bravura stylish flourishes of Exiled or Breaking News. The intermittent violence is quite gruesome as a Hong Kong triad head (Simon Yam) tries to hold onto power while a corporate-style gangster (Louis Koo) and a pouty hoodlum (Nick Cheung) vie for control. 11pm, AMC River East.—Andrea Gronvall

The Trials of Darryl Hunt6:30pm, AMC River East.

*12:08 East of Bucharest8pm, AMC River East.

The Unforgiven5:15pm, AMC River East.

Wristcutters: A Love Story Dir. Goran Dukic. 2006. 91mins. USA. A promising high concept—people who commit suicide are sent to their own surreal afterlife—bogs down in underwritten scenes and too much whimsy. Patrick Fugit and Shannyn Sossamon don’t exactly light up the screen, but some of the secondary cast, especially Shea Wigham as a Russian immigrant, have great fun with the material. 6pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.—J. Robert Parks

Sunday 15

The Aura5pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

Aviva My Love Dir. Aviva Ahuvati. 2006. 107mins. Israel. A woman pursues her dream of being a writer, but when the author who tutors her offers to buy her writing so he can publish it as his own, she can’t afford to say no. The injustice of Aviva’s life is moving, but the film frankly drags at times. 4pm, AMC River East.—Hank Sartin

Barrio Cuba Dir. Humberto Solás. 2006. 105mins. Cuba. Three tales of struggle play out in Havana’s slums and suburbs. Not previewed. 8:30pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

Buzz3pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

Climates3:45pm, AMC River East.

Days of Glory Dir. Rachid Bouchareb. 2006. 120mins. France/Algeria. If only this were as good a war picture as it is an indictment of European colonialism. The film only comes alive through its stars,who play North African Muslims fighting to liberate the France who’s exploited and scorned them. 7pm, Thorne Auditorium.—Andrea Gronvall

Face Control1pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

In Bed Dir. Matías Bize. 2006. 85mins. Chile/Germany. A man and woman who could grace the cover of any fashion magazine come together for a one-night stand. Between the bouts of vigorous sex, there are deep discussions that become increasingly personal. The sex is as real as late-night Cinemax, the conversations only a bit more so. 8:15pm, AMC River East.—J. Robert Parks

Intercom VariousDirs., years and countries. Winners of the Intercom, the competition recognizing work in educational, corporate-sponsored, industrial and interactive productions, will be shown. 2pm, AMC River East.The Italian 2pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

Just Sex and Nothing Else4pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

*King and the Clown Dir. Lee Jun-ik. 2006. 119mins. South Korea. Court intrigue, glittering pageantry and suppressed gay love make this South Korean period drama enthralling. A pair of 16th-century traveling acrobats mock a cruel king, and the show is a hit with the public and also, unexpectedly, the lonely monarch, who responds to the younger man’s beauty and ingenuity. 5:30pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.—Andrea Gronvall

La Terra Dir. Sergio Rubini. 2006. 112mins. Italy. Four brothers argue over what to do with the family land. Yelling, gesticulating hands and other stereotypes are on full display, but it’s all calculated to please your parents. And lest things get too boring (which they do), a beautiful woman is on hand occasionally to disrobe. 8pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.—J. Robert Parks

Midnight My Love Dir. Kongdej Jaturanrasamee. 2006. 104mins. Thailand. This film asks us to believe that a gorgeous prostitute will fall for a taciturn, middle-aged cab driver, and the narrative incongruities pile on from there. It doesn’t make a lick of sense but earns plenty of style points. 7:15pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.—J. Robert Parks

Nina’s Heavenly Delights Dir. Pratibha Parmar. 2006. 96mins. United Kingdom. A woman takes over her family’s foundering business and finds love. Not previewed. 2:30pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

No. 2Noon, AMC River East.

Princess2pm, AMC River East.

Shoot the Messenger4pm, AMC River East.

Shorts 2: Animation NationsNoon, AMC River East.

Slumming Dir. Michael Glawogger. 2006. 100mins. Austria/Switzerland. Glawogger (the magisterial doc Workingman’s Death) goes, well, slumming with this noxious fiction feature about two young men who dump an unconscious hobo on the far side of the Czech border. The film’s brave stance against wealthy assholes has a didactic simplicity that outdoes Michael Haneke. 8:30pm, AMC River East.—Ben Kenigsberg

* Son of Man
Dir. Mark Dornford-May. 2006. 86mins. South Africa. The South African musical group that brought last year’s fest favorite Carmen in Khayelitsha has aimed even higher this year with a retelling of the life of Jesus. By re-contextualizing his story in the midst of a civil war–torn African country, the movie not only reinvigorates familiar Sunday-school lessons but infuses a welcome political aspect. The music is soaring, the visual metaphors are striking, the portrait of Africa is rich, and the spiritual message is profound. A vital and important work, this is must-see viewing for anyone tired of seeing Jesus hijacked by the Religious Right. See Sun 15, Mon 16, Wed 18.—J. Robert Parks

Starter for Ten Dir. Tom Vaughan. 2006. 96mins. United Kingdom/USA. A working-class student adapts to university life among the well-to-do. Not previewed. 6:30pm, AMC River East.

*Suburban Mayhem Dir. Paul Goldman. 2006. 89mins. Australia. This dark comedy about a self-centered teen who murders her father is carried along on its jaunty energy. 6pm, AMC River East.—Hank Sartin

Summer Palace4:15pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

*Summercamp!Dirs. Bradley Beesley and Sarah Price. 2006. 85mins. USA. If the thought of green Jell-O and campfire songs makes you break out in a cold sweat, then avoid this at all costs. But otherwise this hilarious documentary about tweeners spreading their wings at camp should delight all but the deeply cynical. The movie captures both the silly and serious moments, and the poignant scenes earn their sentiment. Noon, AMC River East.—J. Robert Parks

Triad Election8pm, AMC River East.

*Waiter6:30pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

The Wake Dir. Nikos Grammatikos. 2006. 105mins. Greece. Feuding brothers, one a crooked cop and the other a priest, are reunited after an accidental shooting. Not previewed. 8pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

Monday 16

Aurore Dir. Nils Tavernier. 2006. 97mins. France. A princess falls in love with a painter, although her father plans to marry her off to a wealthy man to restore the kingdom’s coffers. Not previewed. 4pm, AMC River East.

Avenue Montaigne5pm, AMC River East.

Barrio Cuba8:30pm, AMC River East.

Belle Toujours9pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

Days of Glory4pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

The Family Friend4pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

The Fountain Dir. Darren Aronofsky. 2006. 96mins. USA. A full six years after Requiem for a Dream, an uncharacteristically mellow Aronofsky returns with this belly flop of a personal project, which has something to do with a 16th-century conquistador, a 21st-century scientist, a 26th-century astronaut and the women they love, with all three duos played by a stranded Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz. 7pm, Thorne Auditorium.—Ben Kenigsberg

La Terra8:15pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

Midnight My Love6:30pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

Nina’s Heavenly Delights6:15pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

No. 26pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

Only God Knows6pm, AMC River East.

Slumming6pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

*Son of Man4pm, AMC River East.

Taking Father Home8pm, AMC River East.

Taxidermia8:30pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

Towards the Moon with Fellini6pm, AMC River East.

*12:08 East of Bucharest4pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

The Unforgiven7:30pm, AMC River East.

Wristcutters: A Love Story8:15pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

Tuesday 17

Aurore6pm, AMC River East.

Aviva My Love8pm, AMC River East.

DarkBlueAlmostBlack8:30pm, AMC River East.

A Dirty Carnival5:30pm, AMC River East.

*God Willing7pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

Host and Guest8:15pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

In Bed9:15pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

Liza Minnelli: Her Films, Her Life Minnelli gets a tribute to her career on film, with clips from her movies and testimonials.7pm, Thorne Auditorium.

Madeinusa6pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

*Severance8:30pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

Shoot the Messenger6:30pm, AMC River East.

Shorts 4: Moment of Impact VariousDirs., years and countries. 90mins. Eight short films deal with dramatic moments. Not previewed. 4pm, AMC River East.

Summer Palace6:30pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

Suzanne Dir. Viviane Candas. 2006. 92mins. France. Without resorting to theatrics, Patrick Bauchau (Panic Room) runs the gamut of emotions in this observant French drama, playing a literature professor struck by family tragedy. His best friend (Jean-Pierre Kalfon) amuses and distracts with his womanizing antics, but it’s a quiet bakery assistant (Christine Citti) who heralds the way to recovery. 6:30pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.—Andrea Gronvall

Taking FatherHome 4pm, AMC River East.

Taxidermia8:45pm, AMC River East.

Triad Election9pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

Wednesday 18

Aurore4:30pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

Aviva My Love5pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

Barrio Cuba4pm, AMC River East.

Chicago Dir. Frank Urson. 1927. 90mins. USA. No, it’s not the popular musical, but it’s the same story of dueling murdering ladies vying for the fickle public’s attention. Not previewed. 7pm, Thorne Auditorium.

DarkBlueAlmostBlack7pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

A Dirty Carnival 5:15pm, AMC River East.

Family Law8:30pm, AMC River East.

*The Host7:30pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

Host and Guest6:15pm, AMC River East.

In Bed5pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

Jasmine Women1:30pm, AMC River East.

Madeinusa8:45pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

Nina’s Heavenly Delights8:30pm, AMC River East.

Paprika7pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

Retribution Dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa. 2006. 103mins. Japan. A homicide detective is haunted by a ghostNot previewed. 9:15pm Landmark’s Century Centre.

Shorts 3: Crossroads and Contrasts3pm, AMC River East.

Slumming6:30pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

*Son of Man4:15pm, AMC River East.

Starter for Ten 9pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

Street Thief Dir. Malik Bader. 2006. 89mins. USA. In a gimmick that drew the ire of bloggers, Street Thief was billed at the Tribeca Film Festival as a documentary—a filmic record of the burglaries committed by Chicago thief Kaspar Carr (actually played by Bader). Viewed as a doc, Street Thief is a repository of candid robbery tips and how-did-they-shoot-that? angles. But seen accurately as a fiction film, it’s glib and pointless, a showcase only for Bader’s committed lead performance. 8:30pm, AMC River East.—Ben Kenigsberg

*Waiter4pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.

Wristcutters: A Love Story8:15pm, Landmark’s Century Centre.