OPENINGS

20 DATES--Broadway Market
BABY GENIUSES--Factoria, Grand Alderwood,Redmond Town Center, Uptown
CHILDREN OF HEAVEN--Metro
THE CORRUPTOR--Factoria, Lewis & Clark, Metro, Pacific Place 11, Redmond Town Center
DEEP END OF THE OCEAN--Factoria, GrandAlderwood, Pacific Place 11, Seven Gables
LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS--Neptune
THE RAGE: CARRIE 2--Factoria, Lewis & Clark, Oak Tree, Pacific Place 11, Redmond Town Center
WING COMMANDER--Grand Alderwood, Lewis & Clark, Meridian 16, Oak Tree

REPERTORY & REVIVAL

BIGGER THAN LIFE--Grand Illusion
THE BOYS IN THE BAND--The Little Theater
FANTASTIC PLANET--Egyptian
FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS--Egyptian THE FILMS OF JON MORITSUGU--The Little Theater
HEAD--Grand Illusion
JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL--King Cat Theater, Meany Hall
THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE--Seattle Art Museum
PANEL DISCUSSION--Hotel Edgewater
ROBERT BRESSON FILM SERIES--Grand Illusion
SCREENINGS BY KOREAN AMERICAN FILMMAKERS--Theater Off Jackson
SCRIPT READING: DIG--Alibi Room
SLAM NATION--911 Media Arts
SPACE COWBOY CABARET--Rendezvous
TRUE STORIES VIDEO RELEASE--ARO.space
TURNER MOVIE CLASSICS--Pacific Place Cinema

COMING SOON

MARCH 19--Ravenous, True Crime, God Said Ha!, Forces of Nature, The King and I, The Harmonists, The Last Days
MARCH 26--The Mod Squad, Doug's First Movie, The Out of Towners, Twin Dragons, Go!, Ed TV

MOVIES & EVENTS

20 DATES--A fake documentary about one man's search for love. Reviewed this issue. Broadway Market

200 CIGARETTES--A movie filled with a host of "wacky" characters searching for love and adventure on New Years Eve of 1981 in New York City. The film's basically a never-ending sitcom, with just enough laughs to keep you interested but enough barren stretches to make you wonder if you're not really just wasting your time. (Gillian G. Gaar) Factoria, Grand Alderwood, Oak Tree, Pacific Place 11, Varsity

8MM--Tom Welles (Nicolas Cage) is a private investigator hired by a rich widow whose now-dead husband has left behind a little 8mm snuff film, where a young woman is shown to be raped and killed, presumably for erotic kicks. Even though everybody tells her snuff films are the stuff of urban legend, she needs proof that it's fake (as if that would make her feel better about her husband's sexual deviance), so she hires Welles to find the "actress" and prove she's not dead. That is the beginning of Tom Welles' descent into the hell of hardcore American pornography. I didn't like this movie--not because it took me to places I didn't want to go, but because I thought it was stupid. The whole thing feels like a Hollywood pitch meeting, where the idea of a character makes his way through the idea of a plot. There is no substance, no context, and what's worse, Cage gives another minimalistically boring performance. (Andy Spletzer) Lewis & Clark, Metro, Oak Tree, Pacific Place 11, Redmond Town Center

*AFFLICTION--The snow-shrouded, economically depressed town of Lawford, New Hampshire, is where Wade Whitehouse (Nick Nolte) has lived his entire life: a childhood dominated by an abusive, drunken father (James Coburn), and a young adulthood of running around and getting in trouble. Now, on the depressing side of middle-age, he's Lawford's police officer; a job that entails little more than writing up traffic violations and guarding the crosswalk when the school bus empties. When a big-shot businessman dies in a hunting accident, Wade suspects murder, and he clings to that belief with the exultant certainty of a desperate man. Coburn's brutal patriarch is a sight to behold, Willem Dafoe perfectly captures the despair of the quiet man unwilling to own up to the demons he so easily recognizes in his older brother, and then there's Nolte. There are, perhaps, better actors around today, but after two viewings of Afflamesiction, I'm convinced that this is one of the greatest performances ever captured on film. (Bruce Reid) Meridian 16, Metro

ALASKA: SPIRIT OF THE WILD--More of a nature documentary than a ghost story. Omnidome

ANALYZE THIS--Paul Vitti (Robert DeNiro) is a New York mobster with problems: the pressure is killing him! With a big meeting of all the New York families coming up, he needs to get rid of his anxiety about [insert Italian stereotype here]. Enter Ben Sobel (Billy Crystal), a Jewish family therapist with [insert Jewish stereotype here]. Vitti wants Sobel to help him. Sobel just wants Vitti to leave him alone. What are they both to do? Analyze This is a [insert sarcastic film reviewer comment here], with a few laughs, but never anything special. Basically, it's exactly what you'd expect. (Bradley Steinbacher) Factoria, Grand Alderwood, Metro, Northgate, Pacific Place 11, Southcenter

BABY GENIUSES--All babies can speak to each other and know the secrets of the universe, but lose the ability when they turn two-years-old and start to learn language skills. Dr. Elena Kinder (Kathleen Turner) runs Babyco, the world's largest manufacturer of baby products. She also has a secret lab where she's gathered some genius babies and is trying to crack their language code. Like in any other children's film, corporations are evil and parents are good, and the story plays up its scatalogical humor. Unlike most children's films, the premise is interesting and strange. Watching toddlers in a sci-fi, children's action movie is just plain weird. Even more unsettling is the use of computer animation to make these kids speak. If you're the least bit curious about this movie, then you'll probably enjoy it. Strange film. (Andy Spletzer) Factoria, Grand Alderwood, Redmond Town Center, Uptown

BIGGER THAN LIFE--James Mason plays a teacher who recovers from sickness thanks to an experimental medicine, which leads to abuse of the medicine and wild mood swings. Directed by Nicolas Ray. Grand Illusion

THE BOYS IN THE BAND--William Friedkin's adaptation of Walt Crowley's off-Broadway hit, about nine men (eight of whom are gay) throwing a birthday party. Thurs-Sun March 18-21 at 5, 7:15, 9:30. The Little Theater

CENTRAL STATION--Dora (Fernanda Montenegro), who writes letters for the illiterate poor, takes in Josue (Vinicius de Oliveira) after his mother is killed. Walter Salles' affecting new film risks sentimentality in order to steer close to issues of the human heart, but it's blessed by two impeccable performances from Montenegro and de Oliveira. (Matthew Stadler) Metro

*CHILDREN OF HEAVEN--Thanks to the Grand Illusion, the "Varsity/Egyptian Calendar," and the film festival, Seattleites have gotten a good glimpse of what Iranian film is all about. Now the rest of the country is catching up with the release of Children of Heaven, the first Iranian film to be nominated for a "Best Foreign Film" Oscar. Like The White Balloon from a couple years back, Children of Heaven is a children's film, and the plot is deceptively simple. A boy loses his sister's shoes, and instead of telling their poverty-stricken parents, they share his shoes until he can find a way to make amends. Eventually, he finds out about a race where the prize for third place is a pair of shoes. Through this sweet story, we get a glimpse of how people live through poverty and the picturesque alleys that weave through Tehran. (Andy Spletzer) Metro

A CIVIL ACTION--A hotshot lawyer (John Travolta) takes on big business. City Center

THE CORRUPTOR--Chow Yung Fat and Marky Mark try to clean up Chinatown! Factoria, Lewis & Clark, Metro, Pacific Place 11, Redmond Town Center

CRUEL INTENTIONS--If you love the Mean Teen genre, you'll get a rise out of Cruel Intentions, which is quite possibly the meanest teenage flick ever made. So mean, in fact, that I wouldn't recommend it to anyone under the age of 25--the average age when young adults are finally past believeing it's acceptable to act even remotely like anyone in the film. Based on Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Cruel Intentions is a fucking hoot, at least until it tries to get all mushy about love. But it's also VERY steamy: bring a date you've been trying to nail and you'll probably end up doing it in the car on the way home. (Kathleen Wilson) Factoria, Grand Alderwood, Lewis & Clark, Meridian 16, Metro, Oak Tree

DEEP END OF THE OCEAN--Michelle Pfeiffer and Treat Williams lose their son one day. Years later he returns. Cue the weeping! Factoria, Grand Alderwood, Pacific Place 11, Seven Gables

*ELIZABETH--This film details the ascension of Queen Elizabeth: her transformation from a naîve and sensual girl into a hard-hearted ruler who chopped off the heads of her enemies. Kapur films this brutal tale with a vibrancy and urgency matched by no other British or French costume drama. He photographs his subject, the pale and rosy Cate Blanchett, with the same shameless affection with which Josef Von Sternberg's camera captured Marlene Dietrich. There's also a splendid performance by the Australian actor Geoffrey Rush as the somber security chief to her Majesty the Queen. (Charles Mudede) Guild 45th, Meridian 16

THE ERUPTION OF MOUNT ST. HELENS--The mountain blew up in 1980, and has been blowing up on film ever since. Omnidome

EVEREST--The first IMAX footage ever shot on top of the world. Pacific Science Center

FANTASTIC PLANET--Twenty-six years after this film's release, it remains a bizarre and at times disturbing science fiction tale. The story's your basic morality tale of the humanoid "Oms," seeking to free themselves from their mentally-superior masters, the giant, blue-skinned Draags. The outcome--that it's better for all species to co-exist peacefully--is a forgone conclusion. The fun is in watching everyone get there. The dialogue is sparse; it's the visual effects that are the draw. Echoing the animated work of Terry Gilliam, and the art of Salvador Dali and Hieronymus Bosch, there's an abundant assortment of weird creatures, none of whom are sweet and cuddly in the Disney sense. The animation is on the primitive side, but there are enough striking set pieces to make Fantastic Planet a visual treat, especially since the film will be shown in a new 35mm print. Includes the short, "Escargot." Fri-Thurs March 12-18 at (Sat-Sun 1:30, 3:30), 5:30, 7:30, 9:30. (Gillian G. Gaar) Egyptian

FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS--The perfect midnight movie, if it wasn't a little too long. Lotsa drugs and alcohol, with an undercurrent of sadness and regret. Starring Johnny Depp as Hunter S. Thompson. (Andy Spletzer) Egyptian

THE FILMS OF JON MORITSUGU--Jon Moritsugu is a low-rent, old-school, punk rock filmmaker. Having seen Fame Whore recently, and with vague memories of Mod F**k Explosion from the Pike Street Cinema years ago, I must say I have mixed feelings about the Moritsugu character. I've got no problem with movies that shock, but when they miss their mark they merely annoy. Moritsugu's films feel like late-night theater, with the rare brilliant character (the imaginary friend in a dog suit, Mr. Peepers, from Fame Whore, for example) rising above the bad acting and obvious satire. The Little Theater is showing Terminal USA on Thurs March 11, Fame Whore on Fri-Sat March 12-13, and Mod F**k Explosion on Sun March 14. (Andy Spletzer) The Little Theater

*GODS AND MONSTERS--Excellent film about the death (and life) of James Whale, one of Hollywood's first "out" gay directors, and famous for Frankenstein and his bride. Broadway Market

HEAD--The Monkees spend an entire movie mocking their own prefab roots. Written by Jack Nicholson (really!) with director Bob Rafelson, Head actually gives a nice snapshot of 1968, albeit from the point of view of rebellious artistic surrealists. War footage is cut into earnest antiwar montage sequences, and pop up almost randomly. Meanwhile, the Monkees effortlessly move between skits, backstage drama, dream sequences, and musical numbers. Then there's the cameos: Ronald Reagan (in news footage), Teri Gaar, Nicholson, Annette Funacello, Sonny Liston, and the incomparable Victor Mature. To give you a taste, my favorite line comes from a waitress in a diner, directed at the band: "Well, if it isn't God's gift to the eight-year-olds." Indeed. (Andy Spletzer) Grand Illusion

HILARY AND JACKIE--Based on the true story of the world famous cellist Jacqueline du Pré, the explosive Emily Watson plays Jackie, and the more sedate Rachel Griffiths plays her sister Hilary. The film depicts Jackie's rise to international fame, and then, of course, her inevitable fall to death. Though predictable direction (by Anand Tucker) works counter to the film's goals, I have a bigger bone to pick with it: I'm tired of films that portray brilliant woman as neurotic, cold, and sterile. (Charles Mudede) Broadway Market

INTO THE DEEP--With Into The Deep, IMAX goes one step further; not only do you get a really big visual image, it's in 3-D to boot! 3-D imagery's come a long way from its occasional use as a novelty gimmick in '50s-era sci-fi films. Instead of just having the action taking place in front of you, it now swirls all around you, making Into The Deep more of a virtual reality experience. However many IMAX films have claimed to be "the closest you'll ever get to mountain climbing/sky diving/walking in space," the addition of 3-D makes you realize how much you were missing. Into The Deep really is like a 35-minute dive, plunging you smack dab in the middle of a mass squid orgy, facing off a shark, and calmly swimming through a kelp forest. The effect is further heightened by wearing a 3-D helmet instead of glasses. IMAX 3-D is no mere gimmick; it's an exciting way to see films. (Gillian G. Gaar) Pacific Science Center

*JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL--Chock full of Seattle premieres, the Seattle Jewish Film Festival, though relatively young, is a formidable entity. Opening night is The Harmonists, about an a cappella singing group with Jewish members in '30s Germany, and the $18 ticket includes a post-film gala. On Sunday, they'll screen The Last Days, a documentary about surviving the Nazis presented by Steven Spielberg's Shoah Foundation, and to be introduced by the CEO of Starbucks. Of interest to Seattle Art Museum patrons will be Making a Killing on Thursday the 18th, as it's about the difficulties of reclaiming Nazi-confiscated art. The festival continues until Saturday, March 21. Unless otherwise noted, tickets are $7.50, series passes are available, call 622-6315 for more information. King Cat Theater, Meany Hall

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL--Like any good comedian, Roberto Benigni (and his co-writer Vincenzo Cerami) knows how to plant the seed for a gag early on, let it sit, then return to it much later for the payoff. The opening, which seems so frivolous, is all groundwork for what Benigni knows will be the toughest sell of his life: comedy in the Nazi camps. Employing the understatement and flamesair for timing that comedy requires, Benigni captures detail after detail in a far more devastating way than more earnest films on the subject could manage. (Bruce Reid) Harvard Exit, Redmond Town Center

LITTLE VOICE--The only reason to see this film is to hear Jane Horrocks sing a bunch of cover songs. Is that any reason to go see a movie? (Andy Spletzer) Varsity

LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS--This year's hot U.K. movie. Tom Cruise says, "This movie rocks!" Reviewed this issue. Neptune

THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE--Besides Jimmy Stewart, this 1962 John Ford western also stars such tough-skinned luminaries as John Wayne, Lee Marvin, and Vera Miles. Thurs March 11 at 7:30. Seattle Art Museum

MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE--Theresa Osborne (Robin Wright Penn) finds a bottle on the beach. Inside is a note--a cheesy love poem written to a woman named "Catherine." Obsessed, Theresa sets out to find the note's author. The man she tracks down is a sad widower named Garret Blake (Kevin Costner). Can Theresa get Garrett to get over his dead wife? The answer is, who cares? Message In a Bottle is dull, dull, dull--a romance that goes nowhere, and all the sweeping music in the world can't save it.. Only Paul Newman rises above this sap. (Bradley Steinbacher) Lewis & Clark, Meridian 16, Redmond Town Center

*A MOMENT OF INNOCENCE--Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf stabbed a police officer as a youth, then recreates the incident 20 years later with input from the very same policeman. Thurs March 11 at 5, 7, 9. Grand Illusion

MY FAVORITE MARTIAN--The Disney live-action well continues to run dry, here with another big screen TV remake, this one starring Christopher Loyd. Lewis & Clark, Pacific Place 11

OCTOBER SKY--Based on an unmemorable memoir by NASA engineer Homer H. Hickam Jr., and set at the time Sputnik orbited the sky, this movie is about four working class Virginia boys who, against all odds, win a big national science contest with their rocket theories. Yes, it's a standard American fable. There is a great down-to-earth performance by Chris Cooper (of John Sayles fame), but after that you can forget this piece of sentimental, pro-NASA propaganda. (Charles Mudede) Factoria, Grand Alderwood, Meridian 16, Metro, Oak Tree

OFFICE SPACE--Looking for a comedy in which you're constantly reminded how desolate and bleak your own life is? Then you'll LOVE Office Space! Written and directed by Mike Judge (Beavis and Butthead, King of the Hill), this little snoozer tells the story of an ordinary schmo (Ron Livingston) who desperately hates his rotten job at a high tech corporation. Looking for relief, he visits a hypnotist (don't ask), and becomes so relaxed that he refuses to do any work, which--in the KA-RAZY, mixed-up world of corporate bureaucracy--actually gets him promoted! Other things happen, but since you actually LIVE the shit that happens in this movie, you won't think it's very funny either. Let's move on, shall we? (Wm. Steven Humprey) Oak Tree, Pacific Place 11

THE OTHER SISTER--It is a dictum in Hollywood that the protagonist of a film should mirror the audience. The romantic comedy The Other Sister stars Juliette Lewis and Giovanni Ribisi as a retarded couple, but hardly anyone in the American audience will recognize that they are being labeled "retarded." Most will enjoy the film for its effortless one-dimensionality and breezy lack of anything at all. The manipulation inherent in the characterizations--where cynical and filthy-rich non-'tards oppress the doe-eyed, downwardly mobile 'tards--will be eagerly soaked up by a spongy audience, who will love the film for its simple, life-affirming goodness and costly costuming. They will laugh with, not at, the wonderful 'tards, who are not so different from us after all, what with their brain-damaged struggles for financial and social freedom, their childlike joy at cute things like marching bands, and their fumbling, retarded sexual hijinx. (Jamie Hook) Meridian 16, Metro, Redmond Town Center

PANEL DISCUSSION-- "Producers & Clients: How to Make It a Beautiful Relationship" is a panel discussion sponsored by Women in Film/Seattle. Wed March 17, breakfast at 7:30am, program at 8am, $20, call 447-1537 for reservations. The Hotel Edgewater

PAYBACK--Porter (Mel Gibson) is double-crossed by his partner and his wife during a robbery, and is left for dead. He's not--at least, not physically. He becomes obsessed with retrieving his cut of the robbery: $70,000. Unfortunately, his ex-partner used the money to buy his way into "The Outfit" and can't easily get it back. Nobody can; there's too much bureaucracy. Initially, I was afraid this would be just another Mel Gibson action-comedy. It's violent, but not really a comedy. Once again, Mel Gibson is a guy with nothing to lose and little to gain, betrayed by life and barely surviving in a hostile world. The script is solid, with performances perfectly suited to the material. Using the same source material as John Boorman's Lee Marvin vehicle Point Blank, Payback holds its own, and should attract the same crowd that made Seven a success. Directed and co-written by L.A. Confidential's Brian Helgeland. (Andy Spletzer) Lewis & Clark, Meridian 16

*ROBERT BRESSON FILM SERIES--There is beauty in restraint, in patience, in quiet observation. Robert Bresson is famous for his short, slow-paced movies (his longest film is 100 minutes). Instead of capturing static meditation, though, his stories move even when his cameras and the actors do not. For Bresson, plot is as much in the characters' thoughts as it is in their actions. It's easy to get caught up in his beautiful framing of scenes, but don't overlook his editing--that is where his hidden genius resides. If the pacing was faster, the jump cuts would be more obvious; because it isn't, every scene which pops up as a non-sequitur sticks around long enough to become integral to the plot. Mouchette kicks off the series. It's the sad story of an anti-social girl from an oppressively strict household, whose petty rebellions have greater and greater consequences until her final bid for escape. Known as the most Catholic of filmmakers, the Grand Illusion will be showing ALL of Bresson's movies for their Sunday matinee series, appropriately enough. Full series tickets are $50/$35 for members, call 329-2629 for more information. (Andy Spletzer) Grand Illusion

RUSHMORE--You can't swing a dead cat without hitting a gushing review about Rushmore, but if you expect this new bitter-sweet comedy to be GREAT, then you're bound to be disappointed--but, thankfully, not too disappointed. Wes Anderson (of Bottle Rocket fame) directs, and the result is a bouncy, yet strangely unemotional confection. Max (Jason Schwartzman), a teen prep school dreamer, befriends a much older steel tycoon (Bill Murray). Max's scholastic life hits the fan when his plans to impress a teacher he's fallen for (Olivia Williams) gets him expelled. To make matters worse, Murray falls in love with the very same woman. In the end you're left with solid performances all the way around, a few good laughs, and not a lot to write home about. Walk, don't run. (Wm. Steven Humprey) Meridian 16, Redmond Town Center, Varsity

SAVING PRIVATE RYAN--Stephen Spielberg glamorizes WWII with this big, fake story of the search for a missing soldier. City Centre, Metro

SCREENINGS BY KOREAN AMERICAN FILMMAKERS--Co-sponsored by the Wing Luke Asian Museum in conjunction with its current exhibit, Golden Roots: Korean Americans in Washington State, this series features a variety of short films by Korean American filmmakers in the Pacific Northwest. Sat March 13 from 2 to 4, $5, call 623-5124 ext. 110 for more information. Theater Off Jackson

SCRIPT READING: DIG--Dig is the story of a high-school volleyball player who enjoys athletic success while trying to cope with the racism and harassment she faces. Mon March 15 at 7:30, $5. Alibi Room

SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE--Shakespeare in Love, the fictionalized story of the writing of Romeo and Juliet and the playwright's affair with a remarkable woman who longs to act despite Elizabethan laws against females on stage, is the season's surprise hit. Certainly the idea is appealing: one of history's immortals, shown in his still-struggling youth, with eye-catching period details and a cast uniformly professional enough to carry it off with whimsy. But the film strains too much to flatter and please the audience, setting up predictable conflicts and getting out of them through the easiest ways possible. It's clever in a very simple way, content to show its hero as a great-man-in-waiting and its heroine as so improbably perfect she could only be a muse. (Bruce Reid) Factoria, Guild 45th, Redmond Town Center, Uptown

SHE'S ALL THAT--Hunky Zach (Freddie Prinze, Jr.)--senior class prez, sports star, and honor student (clearly a Type A personality here)--has been dumped by his airhead girlie, Taylor. Zach bets his friends he can take any other girl and, within weeks, turn her into a prom queen über-babe, though the gal chosen for the makeover (Rachael Leigh Cook) looks suspiciously babe-like from the beginning. A largely inoffensive way to kill an hour and a half. (Gillian G. Gaar) Pacific Place 11

*A SIMPLE PLAN--Hank (Bill Paxton), his brother Jacob (Billy Bob Thornton), and Jacob's drunk friend Lou (you wouldn't recognize the actor's name) find a bag of money in a crashed airplane and decide to keep it. Then their lives go to hell. Paxton is perfectly self-absorbed as the guy who thinks he's smarter than the rest, while Billy Bob Thornton is the heart of the film, giving a performance that makes the whole thing worthwhile. Directed by Sam Raimi. (Andy Spletzer) Meridian 16

SLAM NATION--Paul Devlin's 1997 feature-length documentary on the trials and tribulations of New York City's Slam Team as they duke it out at the National Poetry Slam in Portland, Oregon. Thurs March 11 at 7, 9, $6. 911 Media Arts

SPACE COWBOY CABARET--Ginger Vytus hosts this evening of abductions, brandings, and movies in the lovely jewelbox theater of the alcoholically potent Rendezvous. Come see Super 8 and 16mm films about cowboys and aliens, entertainment from the Emphezyma Cowboy, plenty of sexy alien girls, plus music by All Hat and No Steer. Thurs March 11 at 8:30, $5. Rendezvous

STEAM: THE TURKISH BATH--The preview, showing two mostly undressed men going at it in a Turkish steambath while a female voyeur watches, would have you believe this movie is a steamy, same-sex bathhouse romance. The amount of time the movie devotes to depicting actual man to man getting-it-on is almost exactly the length of the preview. The rest of the movie is an oddly slow-paced, intermittently engaging story about an Italian man who inherits a decrepit bathhouse in Istanbul and decides to reopen it, despite opposition from rapacious property developers. It's a genre story fitted out with interesting settings and a gay twist, but a genre story nonetheless. (Eric Fredericksen) Broadway Market

TANGO--The tango cannot very accurately be described as a lyrical dance. Instead, it stops and starts, hesitates, attenuates its self-consciousness, accentuates its sexuality. And so does the Argentinean film Tango. Conceived as a tribute to the dance, the film opens with a narration by Miguel Angel Solà (Mario Suàrez, one of Argentina's best-known actors) describing the opening scenes of a film--the very scenes we are watching. We are introduced to his ex-wife, a dancer in the show he is producing. Later, at a club, Solà meets the mistress of a powerful man, Elena (Mia Maestro), who shows dancing talent. She auditions for his show, is accepted, and she and Solà begin a love affair. Like the tango, the film strikes beautiful poses and pantomimes human drama. Sadly, unlike the tango, it never quite loses itself in movement. (Traci Vogel) Harvard Exit

THE RAGE: CARRIE 2--Carrie's half-sister (they share the same father) lays waste to yet another high school. Reviewed this issue. Factoria, Lewis & Clark, Oak Tree, Pacific Place 11, Redmond Town Center

*THE THIN RED LINE--I don't think it's a great film, but as I talked about it with friends for hours afterwards, the movie rattled and shifted, refusing to settle down. A World War II movie with very little fighting and a gorgeous pantheistic salute to what must be every last species of flamesora and fauna found on the South Sea islands, The Thin Red Line is a portrait of humanity so intimate we're privy to the innermost thoughts of many of the characters, yet so distanced that most of them blur together into one mud-caked soldier. Is this all complex design or just confusion? Come to think of it, that's one of the questions the film asks, as it stares impassively at the beauty and the terror. (Bruce Reid) Meridian 16, Varsity

TRUE STORIES VIDEO RELEASE--Reception for the release of this new "free rental" video that highlights the personal successes and challenges faced by local gay and bisexual men dealing with HIV issues. The evening will include hors d'oeuvers, raffle prizes, local personalities, and a DJ. Fri March 12 at 8:30, FREE. ARO.space

TURNER MOVIE CLASSICS--A weekend of classic films sponsored by that foulmouthed media mogul Ted Turner, and his cable channel full of classic movies. An American in Paris, The Philadelphia Story, Casablanca, Citizen Kane, and Bonnie and Clyde play Fri-Sun March 12-14. Pacific Place Cinema

WAKING NED DEVINE--This small Irish film tells the story of a town brought together by the death of a denizen who held a winning lottery ticket (Ned Devine, played with convincing rigor mortis by Jimmy Keogh). When a member of the town decides to impersonate Ned so that they can all claim the money, narrow misses and hilarity ensue. (Traci Vogel) Uptown

WHALES--An up close and personal look at the largest mammals on earth. Omnidome

WINDHORSE--The first-ever Tibetan language dramatic film, filmed clandestinely on location inside Chinese-occupied Tibet and Nepal. Thurs March 11 at 4:45, 7, 9:15. Egyptian

WING COMMANDER--Based on the popular video game. Oh, and the new Star Wars preview is supposedly showing before the film. Grand Alderwood, Lewis & Clark, Meridian 16, Oak Tree