* 21 Grams
In Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s 21 Grams, tragedy is finally given its due, and the respect it deserves. The story is told in a series of fragments. Flashing forward and back, the audience is given glimpses of its three main characters; Paul (Sean Penn) is on the cusp of death, waiting for his heart condition to finally claim him. Cristina (Naomi Watts) is a suburban wife with two children and a doting husband–who is soon to be scarred by an accident of epic proportions. Jack (Benicio del Toro) is an ex-jailbird turned fundamentalist Christian who can’t escape the tragedies of his past which, like the repeated scenes of this film, keep returning as his future. The previously mentioned accident binds these three into an unwanted triad, sending each on a skidding path with their pasts, and sealing what seems to be a predestined fate. (Wm. Steven Humphrey) Fox Tower 10
* Bad Santa
Despite his crippling, perpetual drunkenness, Willy (Billy Bob Thornton) possesses a strange gift: he can crack a mean safe. Every Christmas he and his fiery dwarf friend (Tony Cox, hilarious) team up as a Santa/elf team to work the papier-m=ché North Pole in some generic department store, case the joint for a few days, then sneak in after hours and rob it. It’s a ridiculous premise that feels almost like an afterthought as director Zwigoff relentlessly mines the angst-riddled depths of his characters. (Justin Wescoat Sanders) Broadway Metroplex, Division Street, Evergreen Parkway, Lloyd Mall, Movies on TV, Vancouver Plaza
* The Barbarian Invasions
A Canadian dramedy about a man dying of cancer who reconnects with his son, ex-wife, and old lovers before he kicks the bucket. Koin Center
* The Bed You Sleep In
The second film the Northwest Film Center will show in honor of visiting director Jon Jost. The Bed You Sleep In, the third in a trilogy Jost made about rural America, is a fitting choice as it follows the fate of a lumber mill owner in a small Oregon coastal town. Jost will be in town January 10 and 11. Guild Theater
* Big Fish
While director Tim Burton may have been pooh-poohed in the past for placing cinematic glitz over story-telling ability, with Big Fish he finally brings them together in glorious harmony. Switching back and forth between reality and tall tales, Burton weaves a truly poignant story about the complicated ties between fathers and sons, and how severing those ties can eventually strengthen them. The cast is uniformly terrific, with an absolutely amazing performance by Albert Finney. (Wm. Steven Humphrey) Century Eastport 16, Cinema 99, City Center 12, Clackamas Town Ctr., Division Street, Evergreen Parkway, Lloyd Cinemas, Oak Grove 8 Theater, Pioneer Place Stadium 6, Sherwood 10 , Tigard Cinemas, Vancouver Plaza , Wilsonville
* Bollywood/Hollywood See review this issue. Hollywood Theatre
* Bookshelf on Top of the Sky
Northwest Film Center continues its Reel Music festival with this documentary by German filmmaker Claudia Heuerman on the enigmatic composer John Zorn. Some people hate this guy and some people love him, but he’s undoubtedly one of the great innovators in modern avant-garde music. Guild Theater
Brother Bear
The Disney movie you have to take your kids to between Pixar movies. Avalon, Bagdad Theater, Kennedy School, Milwaukie 3 Theater
Bubba Ho-tep
Bubba Ho-Tep has an ingenious premise: Elvis (Bruce Campbell)–who didn’t die, but instead swapped places with an Elvis impersonator–is stuck in a dilapidated rest home, spending his days desperately trying to convince nurses and visitors that he’s The King. Unfortunately, the only person who’ll believe Elvis’ claims is another rest home resident: JFK (Ossie Davis), who insists that he survived his assassination, was dyed black, then stuck in the retirement home thanks to a Lyndon Johnson-led conspiracy. Elvis and JFK soon notice their geriatric compatriots are dying off even more often than usual. After some investigation, they discover that the culprit is an evil, soul-sucking mummy, Bubba Ho-Tep. So, as only two American mega-icons can, the two combine forces to kick some undead Egyptian ass. (Erik Henriksen) Laurelhurst, Mission Theater
Calendar Girls
This film tells the true story of a rogue faction of a women’s group in North Yorkshire, England. Ahem. These goosey rebels make a nude calendar of themselves in order to raise money for medical research after one of the women’s husband dies. It’s entertaining in that fond, hangin’ with your spunky grandma way, when things are cute/funny just because the person saying them is “mature,” but would in fact not be funny in the least if anyone else said them. It’s a bit of a one-trick pony, and the whole stuffy, naked, British matron schtick only carries so far. Plus, the latter half of the movie becomes an avalanche of predictable, cheesy moments. (They go to Hollywood! The hijinks!) Besides that, the story levels a rare blow at ageism in eroticism, for whatever that may or may not be worth to you. (Marjorie Skinner) Century Eastport 16, Evergreen Parkway, Lloyd Cinemas, Pioneer Place Stadium 6, Tigard Cinemas
The Cat in the Hat
Staying true to the original Dr. Seuss classic, two siblings are tempted by a talking cat into wrecking their house. Surprisingly, this live action version nicely captures Seuss’ sense of unbridled mischief. In a startling turn, the kids who play Conrad and Sally are completely charming and non-annoying. Their mom (Kelly Preston) is hot and believable, and Alec Baldwin is a goddamn hoot as her slimy boyfriend. Though Seuss purists may pooh-pooh the appearance of a slimy boyfriend, rest assured you’ll thank your lucky stars Alec Baldwin is here–because Mike Myers STINKS! (Wm. Steven Humphrey) Milwaukie 3 Theater, Tigard-Joy Theater
Chasing Liberty
Chasing Liberty depends on the appeal of Mandy Moore as the daughter of the President. It assumes we’ll buy that her charm and goodwill make international relations fall into place like so many Scrabble tiles. Except that she is not in the least appealing, which causes the plot to collapse at the center, sucking the whole movie into a dark vortex and pushing it out the other side like a prolapsed intestine. Moore is one of those mushy-faced pop star/actresses who depends very hard on the method she learned at the 90210 School of Acting: the eyes rolled skyward to indicate frustration, the fists balled to indicate impatience, and other shortcuts to establishing character. Everyone she meets falls under her spell and develops a Taste For Life, including the uncommonly cute Matthew Goode, who obliges with the most understated Virgin Deflowering in the history of cinema. (Emily Hall) 82nd Avenue, Broadway Metroplex, Century Eastport 16, Cinema 99, City Center 12, Division Street, Evergreen Parkway, Lloyd Cinemas, Movies on TV, Oak Grove 8 Theater, Sherwood 10 , Tigard Cinemas, Vancouver Plaza , Wilsonville
* Cheaper by the Dozen
A remake of the 1950 film, this time starring Steve Martin as a dad with 12 kids who moves from a small town to Chicago where he’s offered a job as the football coach at Northwestern. Also stars the real sexiest man alive, Ashton Kutcher. Century Eastport 16, Cinema 99, City Center 12, Clackamas Town Ctr., Division Street, Evergreen Parkway, Hilltop, Koin Center , Lloyd Mall, Movies on TV, Oak Grove 8 Theater, Sherwood 10 , St. Johns Theater, Tigard Cinemas, Vancouver Plaza , Westgate, Wilsonville
Cold Mountain
Nicole Kidman and Jude Law are both freakishly beautiful people, with chilling blue eyes that slice through the tragedies surrounding them. Despite gritty, tough performances from both in this civil war epic about a soldier trying to get home to his lover, they are ultimately miscast, as their beauty objectifies them, and as a result, distances them. They look like glorious statues, not real people who have real feelings for each other. Minghella’s filmmaking is as lush and gorgeous as ever, with scenes of magnificent violence and power. But it’s all supported by nothing; an epic journey inspired by a love that never rang true to begin with. (Justin Sanders) 82nd Avenue, Century Eastport 16, Cinema 99, City Center 12, Division Street, Evergreen Parkway, Fox Tower 10, Hilltop, Lloyd Cinemas, Movies on TV, Oak Grove 8 Theater, Sherwood 10 , Tigard Cinemas, Vancouver Plaza , Wilsonville
The Cooler
The Cooler is a small, unremarkable film that’s watchable due to one thing: sex. Specifically, a sex scene between William H. Macy and Maria Bello. Director Wayne Kramer has managed to give audiences something all too rare in films these days–a sexy scene that not only causes the audience to flush, but makes sense as well. The coitus in The Cooler is refreshing, fun, and the tangling of bodies helps elevate the entire endeavor above its somewhat middling quality. (Bradley Steinbacher) Fox Tower 10
Elephant
Elephant shows us a couple days in the life of two grumpy teens who go all Vice City on their Portland high school. Both the boys are cardboard characters who shop for guns on the internet, play violent video games, and have a brief homosexual affair. Neither is likeable, neither evokes sympathy. Their fellow high school students, however, are worse. (Katie Shimer) Cinemagic
* Elf
It’s no secret that Will Ferrell is one funny mo-fo, and yet to this point in time his movie roles have been limited to comic relief. Elf begs the question: Can Ferrell carry a feature-length film, and can he do it wearing tights in every scene? The answer is yes, because Ferrell, for all his goofiness, has the uncanny ability to take himself utterly seriously. (Justin Sanders) Division Street, Lloyd Mall, Milwaukie 3 Theater, Westgate
* Eyes Without A Face
Billed as a “post-war euro chiller,” this 1959 French film tells the story of a brilliant surgeon, Professor Genessier, who kidnaps nice young girls, removes their faces, and tries to graft them onto the head of his beloved daughter. See review this issue. Cinema 21
* Fargo
The Coen brothers’ incredibly bitchin’ film about a botched kidnapping, a pregnant sheriff, and a well-oiled wood chipper. Laurelhurst
The Haunted Mansion
Eddie “Anything-for-a-Buck” Murphy stars in a traditional haunted house movie (based on the Disneyland ride), playing smarmy real estate agent Jim Evers. Jim misses all his kids’ soccer games and cello recitals, which we know because the screenwriters kindly give his wife Sara a whole scene to explain it. Beyond that, there’s a heck of a lot of un-comic relief from Jennifer Tilly as Madame Leota, playing a head in a crystal ball. If you’re as geeky a Disneyland fan as I am, there are plenty of scenes copped directly from the original ride, and most of them are letter-perfect. It’s one of the prettiest haunted houses you’re ever going to see on screen–but you’ll have to ignore Murphy and Tilly to enjoy it. (Dan Howland) Movies on TV, Vancouver Plaza
The House of Sand and Fog
When a recovering addict/slacker (Jennifer Connolly) temporarily loses her family’s house on a technicality, a disgraced Iranian officer (Ben Kingsley) dives through the loophole and refuses to budge, resulting in mounting levels of righteous obsession for all concerned. However, while debuting screenwriter/director Vadim Perelman aces the surface details, he’s unable to adequately illustrate the tragically flawed interior motives that gave the novel this film is based on its power. Instead, his visual symbolism is thud-heavy, while his many gazes inward reek of self-loathing. (Andrew Wright) City Center 12, Fox Tower 10, Movies on TV
In America
Claimed to be his most personal film yet, In America is based roughly on the time director Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father) spent in New York City in the early ’80s. For the sake of authenticity, it was co-written by his daughter, who was a girl during this time. The movie begins with a tense moment: A young Irish family in a beat-up car is attempting to enter the land of milk and honey from Canada. The immigration officer sternly looks at the girls, the husband and wife, and then breaks into a smile: “Welcome to the United States of America.” Once in, they travel to the heart of New York City, settle in a rundown apartment, and begin to build a new life as illegal immigrants. (Charles Mudede) City Center 12, Fox Tower 10
Intolerable Cruelty
George Clooney is charming, playing a caricature of a rich divorce lawyer who is bored with winning cases and making buckets of money. Enter Catherine Zeta, a gold-digging man hater, who is just clever enough to perk Clooney’s interest. A battle of the sexes ensues, between two of the most selfish, loveless human beings on the planet. The Coen brothers give us a pleasant comedy with Intolerable Cruelty, which is worth seeing for Clooney’s performance alone, but the film doesn’t breach any new territory, and certainly doesn’t measure up to Fargo or Miller’s Crossing. (Katie Shimer) Bagdad Theater, Kennedy School, Kiggins Theater, Laurelhurst, Mission Theater , Mt. Hood Theater , St. Johns Pub
* Kill Bill: Volume 1
Unlike the meandering plots of Tarantino’s previous films, Kill Bill is dead-on simple: Uma Thurman stars as “The Bride”–an assassin who’s shot in the noggin on her wedding day by a band of killers sent out by her former boss, Bill. Unfortunately for the prop masters who had to come up with a kajillion gallons of fake blood, The Bride didn’t die–and after snapping out of a coma, she commissions a samurai blade from a venerable sword-maker (Sonny Chiba) and sets off to slice and dice everyone who dared ruin her perfect day of wedded bliss. And what a bloodbath it is! (Wm. Steven Humphrey) Edgefield, Koin Center, Tigard-Joy Theater
The Last Samurai
The year is 1876, and Tom Cruise plays Civil War hero Nathan Algren, who has been reduced to a drunken carnival sideshow attraction. To make a quick buck, he accepts a post overseas training Japanese soldiers to battle samurai insurgents, and bring the country’s military machine into the modern age. Unfortunately, his trainees are forced into battle far too early, and Algren is taken captive by the enemy. Befriended by the group’s leader (Ken Watanabe), Algren must decide if he should betray his own army to join a coup led by ass-kicking samurai. The only logical answer: Shit, yeah. (Wm. Steven Humphrey) Century Eastport 16, Cinema 99, City Center 12, Division Street, Evergreen Parkway, Hilltop, Lloyd Cinemas, Milwaukie 3 Theater, Movies on TV, Pioneer Place Stadium 6, Sherwood 10 , Tigard Cinemas
Looney Tunes: Back in Action
Loony Tunes: Back in Action is dumb. Boring, even. Yes, there were a few funny moments, and your eight-year-old niece would probably love it, but despite the couple of chuckles, it really had nothing to offer anyone with a brain over 10 years old. The film doesn’t do anything Who Framed Roger Rabbit didn’t do way back in the day. My point? Since the movie is pretty un-funny, and since it isn’t bringing anything new to the whole cartoons mixed with real actors “thing” (assuming you’d consider Brendan Fraiser a “real actor”), it really seemed forced, like Warner Bros. was trying to prove that they’ve still got it. (Megan Selling) Kiggins Theater, Laurelhurst
* Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
After greeting the first two films with slack-jawed reverence, I found myself viewing the third with a kind of grumpy anticipation. What I soon discovered, however, was that the begrudging-ness of my affection for the film was no match for Peter Jackson’s swashbuckling craft. If this is just a fantasy, Jackson seems to say, it’s going to deliver on every level available. And it does. Unburdened from the need to be relevant, the director reveals a far deeper mission: to make these absurd surroundings not only cinematically credible, but emotionally resonant. (Sean Nelson) 82nd Avenue, Broadway Metroplex, Century Eastport 16, Cinema 99, City Center 12, Division Street, Evergreen Parkway, Hilltop, Lake Twin Cinema , Lloyd Cinemas, Movies on TV, Oak Grove 8 Theater, Roseway Theatre , Sherwood 10, St. Johns Theater, Tigard Cinemas, Vancouver Plaza , Westgate, Wilsonville
* The Loser’s Club
Cowabunga, dudes! It’s a whole documentary devoted to local music legends Jim Mesi and Steve Bradley! These guys started with surf music and Hot Rods in the ’60s and never looked back. Mesi became a world-class blues guitarist, touring with, among others, BB King while Bradley went on to rock the house of nearly every venue in Portland. The two musicians continue to play away, and will put on a special concert immediately following the screening. Mission Theater
* Lost in Translation
In less delicate hands, Lost in Translation could easily have been a dull, pretentious disaster, but Sofia Coppola has two cards tucked up her sleeve. One is the city of Tokyo itself, which has never looked so mysterious and engaging in an American film, and the other is Bill Murray, the bulk of whose part comes across as having been improvised. Why someone has not thought of dropping Murray among the citizens of a strange foreign city before remains a mystery, but without him–and despite the fine work of Coppola and Scarlett Johansson–Lost in Translation would surely fail. (Bradley Steinbacher) Century Eastport 16, Fox Tower 10, Lloyd Mall, Movies on TV
* Love Actually
Yes, it’s frequently saccharine, and it’s a Christmas movie, but it has an incredible cast. Any movie with Alan Rickman, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, and Laura Linney is going to have to work its ass off to suck. Love Actually doesn’t even work its ass off. Several of its many love-themed story threads are genuinely moving, and several of its scenes are surprisingly hilarious. (Justin Sanders) Koin Center
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
The year is 1805 and Napoleon is running roughshod over Europe. The only thing stopping France from infecting the whole of the continent is the tiny island of England, which may be lacking in ground forces, but kicks ass on the high seas. Russell Crowe plays Cap’n “Lucky” Jack Aubrey, one of Britain’s finest seamen, who runs afoul of a Frenchy frigate boasting twice the guns and manpower. Barely escaping with their lives, Cap’n Jack becomes obsessed with the Froggie warboat, and vows to send ship and crew to the bottom of the briny blue. (Wm. Steven Humphrey) Cinema 99, Clackamas Town Ctr., Koin Center , Lloyd Mall, Milwaukie 3 Theater, Movies on TV, Tigard-Joy Theater, Westgate
The Missing
The fact that The Missing is directed by Ron Howard should be a tip-off that it isn’t the supernatural and eerie tale promised by the advertisements. Set in 1885 New Mexico, the story starts with intriguing promise. Maggie (played by Cate Blanchett) is a single mom raising two daughters. When her eldest sets out to town one day, she is abducted by an evil shaman and his lawless pack of Navajo Indians, who plan to sell her and several other frontier teens in Mexico. With the cavalry and the sheriff unable to help out, Maggie, along with her long-absent father (Tommy Lee Jones), take off after the kidnappers. What could have been friction between frontier families and Indians, between Christianity and witchcraft, instead turns into long, drawn-out galloping scenes and achingly empty conversations between Maggie and her desperado father. (Phil Busse) Laurelhurst
* Modern Times
Charlie Chaplin struggles to assert himself in the modern, dehumanized, mechanized world. Cinema 21
Mona Lisa Smile
There is an extraordinary scene in Mike Newell’s Mona Lisa Smile, an emotionally brutal few moments in which the perilously cracked veneer blocking the anger within Kirsten Dunst’s privileged and viperous Wellesley girl splinters away, releasing a storm of cruel, outward criticism in footage that aches with the character’s underlying self-hatred. Rather than strike back, however, the girl’s classmate (Maggie Gyllenhaal) wordlessly wraps her arms around the shaking, still screaming student, and by sheer force of empathy directs the torrent to cease. This scene is in the tradition of Newell’s Enchanted April, and it helps demonstrate the director’s canny awareness of the secret language spoken silently among women. (Kathleen Wilson) 82nd Avenue, Century Eastport 16, Cinema 99, City Center 12, Division Street, Evergreen Parkway, Hilltop, Lloyd Cinemas, Movies on TV, Oak Grove 8 Theater, Pioneer Place Stadium 6, Sherwood 10 , Tigard Cinemas, Vancouver Plaza , Wilsonville
My Baby’s Daddy
Remember when Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, and Ted Danson got pissed on and barfed on by an infant in Three Men and a Baby? My Baby’s Daddy seems to think that premise will still be funny, especially when there are three babies instead of one, and the three men are a trio of utterly forgettable Philadelphia hoodlums. And what is Eddie Griffin doing with the bulbous glasses and squeaky voice? Is he TRYING to commit career suicide by imitating Urkel? Century Eastport 16, Clackamas Town Ctr., Division Street, Lloyd Mall, Westgate
Mystic River
For all the “inexorability” and “meditation” of its violence, Mystic River feels desperately contrived. Whether director Clint Eastwood has some deep understanding of the nature of violence remains unclear. What is certain is that he knows how to make a movie, even a dumb one, well worth watching. I only wish someone would send him some better books. (Sean Nelson) Fox Tower 10
Oui Non
Director Jon Jost will be on hand to screen this his newest film, a strange sort of docu-drama that toys with the narrative conventions of a classic Parisian romance. Guild Theater
Paycheck
Instead of manifesting as a visionary, futuristic feature about a man’s search for the missing pieces of his memory, director John Woo’s Paycheck (based on a Philip K. Dick story of the same name) is an action flick impersonating a sci-fi film–a case of mistaken identity. 82nd Avenue, Broadway Metroplex, Century Eastport 16, Cinema 99, City Center 12, Division Street, Evergreen Parkway, Hilltop, Lloyd Cinemas, Movies on TV, Oak Grove 8 Theater, Sherwood 10 , Tigard Cinemas, Vancouver Plaza , Wilsonville
* Peter Pan
After being chastised by her parents to be more “adult,” Wendy and her brothers are whisked away to Never Never Land by a tow-headed boy and his pet fairy. As young love/lust begins to bloom, the fairy gets pissed and narcs out the pair to the evil Cap’n Hook, whose almost pedophilic obsession with Peter (and more pointedly, “youthfulness”) drives him to murderous intentions. while the special effects are spot-on, this Peter Pan is a slooooooow starter. Though it takes a good 45 minutes to get going, Pan is still visually pleasing enough to maintain interest. Besides, the slow sections give you plenty of time to fill in the psychological/sexual subtext. (Wm. Steven Humphrey) Century Eastport 16, Cinema 99, City Center 12, Clackamas Town Ctr., Division Street, Evergreen Parkway, Hilltop, Koin Center, Lloyd Mall, Movies on TV, Oak Grove 8 Theater, Sherwood 10 , Tigard Cinemas, Vancouver Plaza , Westgate, Wilsonville
* Pieces of April
Starring Katie Holmes, Patricia Clarkson, and Oliver Platt, Pieces of April has a look and feel that I hesitate to label “documentary-like.” Gritty due to its transfer of digital to celluloid and mainly handheld, there is a certain spontaneity in the film, almost an improvised feel, that is enhanced by the sharp cast. Clarkson is particularly good, becoming the heart of the film that the rest of the group rotates around. (Bradley Steinbacher) Hollywood Theatre
Pirates of the Caribbean
Johnny Depp plays Captain Jack Sparrow, a pirate so swishy that upon first seeing him, a kid sitting behind me cried out, “He walks like a girl!” Depp acts as if he were auditioning to play a new Austin Powers villain, Rear Admiral Stinky. Geoffrey Rush, on the other hand, was born to play a scrofulous, cursed old seadog, and he gives almost as convincing a performance as your average theme park robot. Plus, he has a naughty zombie monkey who rides around on his shoulder. As much as I love the ride, if I were thinking of ways to improve it (mind you, I’m NOT, because you CAN’T), making it two and a half hours long would be at the bottom of my list. (Dan Howland) Avalon, Laurelhurst
* Return of the Street Fighter (1974)
The sequel to the ever-gory Street Fighter, and starring the ubiquitous movie bad-ass, Sonny Chiba. Clinton Street Theater
* Scarface See review this issue. Clinton Street Theater
Something’s Gotta Give
Here is a movie so filled with unappealing, uninteresting people, inane, pandering dialogue, and contemptuous pop psychologizing that it is humiliating to watch. I spent most of the film doodling on my notebook, in the dark. Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton spoof their on-screen personas–his cad, her compulsive nervous wreck–so thoroughly that they may very well erase years of good work in the process (and never mind that in this token bone tossed to the elderly among us who are apparently longing for a romantic comedy of their own, the lady is still a good 10 years younger than the gent). And do you really want to see Nicholson’s bare ass? (Emily Hall) 82nd Avenue, Century Eastport 16, Cinema 99, City Center 12, Division Street, Evergreen Parkway, Hilltop, Lake Twin Cinema , Lloyd Cinemas, Milwaukie 3 Theater, Moreland Theater, Movies on TV, Pioneer Place Stadium 6, Sherwood 10 , Tigard Cinemas, Vancouver Plaza , Wilsonville
* Street Fighter (1974)
No, it’s not the insipid film adaptation of the popular video game, but the old school Japanese martial arts flick starring Sonny Chiba, one of the most ubiquitous movie bad-asses ever. This was the first film to ever receive an X-rating for violence, so feed your date AFTER the show. Clinton Street Theater
Stuck on You
Stuck On You, the Farrelly Brothers latest film, stars Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear as conjoined twins named Bob and Walt Tenor. Connected by nine inches of tissue (including a shared liver), the twins live a quiet, happy life in Martha’s Vineyard. Walt, though, has dreams; he wishes to move to Los Angeles and become an actor. So off the brothers go. What happens to them in LA? In a word: wackiness. (Bradley Steinbacher) Lloyd Mall, Movies on TV
* To Be and To Have
A documentary about a school in Auvergne, France, where, helped by the extreme patience of the teacher Georges Lopez, children of all ages learn together and become something of a family. Winner of Best Documentary at the European Film Awards, in case you trust the taste of Europeans. Whitsell Auditorium
* The Triplets of Belleville
An animated French film that speaks nary an intelligible word throughout its entire 80-minute running time, Les Triplettes de Belleville‘s jaw-dropping artwork alone could have kept me riveted for hours. Physically exaggerated characterizations and dark, dank urban landscapes give the film a particularly strong noir sensibility, and in the void of spoken word, layered sound effects add to the feeling of ambience. (Justin Sanders) Fox Tower 10