* 11'09•01 *
France, 2002 (135 min.)
Dir. Ken Loach, Claude Lelouch, Danis Tanovic, Sean Penn, Amos Gitai, Shohei Imamura, Samira Makmalbaf, Youssef Chahine, Idrissa Ouedraogo, Mira Nair, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Eleven filmmakers in this cinematic response to the events of 9/11. Some are embarrassingly sincere and preachy, others profoundly affecting. The best include Loach's doc on a survivor of Chile's 1973 Caravan of Death, Imamura's surreal tale of a WWII soldier who imagines himself a snake, and Inarritu's montage of news images. (Shannon gee)
Egyptian Sun June 8 11:30 am
23
Germany, 1998 (99 min.)
Dir. Hans-Christian Schmid
Karl is a student obsessed with the number 23, the Illuminati, and computer hacking. It's only a matter of time before he's selling government secrets to the KGB. Based on a true story from the '80s.
Pacific Place Sat June 7 4:00 pm
* The 36th Chamber * of Shaolin
Hong Kong/China, 1978 (115 min.)
Dir. Lau Kar-Leung
Classic kung fu. Everybody knows that the Shaolin temple trains the best kung fu masters, and this movie shows just how they got that way. Harvard Exit Mon June 9 7:00 pm
* 800 Bullets *
Spain, 2002 (124 min.)
Dir. Alex de la Iglesia
From the director of the rollicking SIFF treat Day of the Beast comes this tribute to Spaghetti Westerns. When a company decides to tear down a Wild West show, the stuntmen trade their blanks for bullets.
Cinerama Fri June 13 1:45 pm
Cinerama Sat June 14 9:30 pm
A
Abouna (Our Father)
Chad/France, 2002 (81 min.)
Dir. Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
Everything you always wanted to know about the Central African country of Chad, but never thought to ask. All done in allegory. Two Muslim students search for their father, and when they get home, their mother imprisons them in a school where they suffer harsh discipline and dream of freedom.
Egyptian Wed June 4 9:30 pm
Brdwy Perf Hall Tues June 10 4:45 pm
* American * Splendor
USA, 2002 (100 min.)
Dir. Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Cast Paul Giamatti, Hope Davis
This Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner is an ingeniously structured biopic on the sublimely ordinary life of underground comic book writer Harvey Pekar. As an examination of the self-loathing artist, it's better than Adaptation, thanks to the auto-on-autobiographical nature of the material and on-the-nose performances by Giamatti and Davis, combined with disarmingly deadpan voice-overs and interviews with Pekar himself. (Shannon Gee)
Egyptian Wed June 4 7:00 pm
Pacific Place Mon June 9 9:30 pm
* And Now... Ladies * ad Getleme
France/UK, 2002 (133 min.)
Dir. Claude Lelouch
Cast Jeremy Irons, Yvan Attal
A concoction so airy and insubstantial that it's hard to resist. A master jewel thief and master of disguise takes his sailboat around the world, but his chronic blackouts lead him to Morocco, where he runs into a beautiful lounge singer suffering from the same affliction. The plot's silly, and it gets sillier (there's a witch doctor, too), but don't hold it against this utterly charming movie. (Adam Hart)
Cinerama Thurs June 12 9:30 pm
Harvard Exit Sat June 14 4:00 pm
Angela
Italy, 2002 (95 min.)
Dir. Roberta Torre
A rather boring exercise in criminal tomfoolery. Sexy Angela, owner of a shoe store and wife of a drug dealer, craves more excitement. Said excitement leads to tepid touching with a thug in her husband's gang, a not-so-surprising turn of events. (BRADLEY STEINBACHER)
Pacific Place Sat May 24 9:30 pm
Pacific Place Sun May 25 11:30 am
The Animatrix
USA/Japan, 2003 (95 min.)
Dir. Peter Chung, Andy Jones, Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Takeshi Koike, Mahiro Maeda, Kouji Morimoto, Shinichirô Watanabe
Freshman philosophy, peppered with cutting-edge special effects, helped create a Matrix empire. These nine short films further explore its pseudo-smart world.
Egyptian Sat May 31 9:30 pm
The Archangel's Feather
Venezuela, 2002 (92 min.)
Dir. Luis Manzo
Your basic South American magic realism, with a bit of Christian allegory. Outside news arrives in a Venezuelan mountain town by way of telegraph, and most of it consists of orders from a fickle Supreme Leader. When the new telegraph operator arrives, he transforms the town while delivering pithy lectures on the power of words. Could have been good, but emphasizes its own cleverness much too much. (Emily Hall)
Brdwy Perf Hall Sun May 25 4:00 pm
Brdwy Perf Hall Mon May 26 9:30 pm
Arirang: The Korean-American Journey
USA, 2003 (108 min.)
Dir. Tom Coffman
Has it already been 100 years since Koreans started immigrating to the United States?
Brdwy Perf Hall Fri May 30 4:00 pm
Autumn Spring
Czech Republic, 2002 (97 min.)
Dir. Vladimir Michàlek
"You're almost 80 years old. You need to start taking life seriously." So says Fanda's wife. Fanda prefers posing as an opera singer, mountaineer, or philanthropist while his wife is busy saving for their funerals. When one of his impersonations goes awry, he needs to raise a chunk of money before his wife finds out.
Harvard Exit Fri May 23 6:30 pm
Harvard Exit Sat May 24 11:30 am
b
* Bad Guy *
South Korea, 2001 (102 min.)
Dir. Kim Ki-duk
Cast Cho Jae-hyeon, Seo Won
Juxtaposing beauty with brutality, this story follows a girl who while out with her boyfriend is forcibly kissed by a gang leader. At first she hates him; then she falls for him, even after he starts pimping her out.Egyptian Tues May 27 9:30 pm
Pacific Place Fri May 30 4:00 pm
* Belonging *
Cambodia/UK, 2002 (87 min.)
Dir. Tamara Gordon
This English version of the great documentary Daughter from Danang shows an adopted Cambodian girl leaving her middle-class home to search for her mother.
Brdwy Perf Hall Sat May 31 6:30 pm Brdwy Perf Hall Sun June 15 11:30 am
The Best of Times
Taiwan/Japan, 2002 (109 min.)
Dir. Chang Tso-Chi
A young, Bruce Lee-obsessed doorman at a hostess bar has a friend who's a screw-up and a sister who's dying of leukemia. Things take a turn for the worse when he and his buddy get mixed up with the criminal element, in this sad but sincere picture of directionless youth.
Harvard Exit Fri June 6 9:30 pm
Harvard Exit Fri June 13 11:30 am
Big Girls Don't Cry
Germany, 2003 (91 min.)
Dir. Maria Von Heland
Your standard girls-coming-of-age movie, but because it's German it probably has more explicit sexual situations. The friendship of these two teens is put to the test when one finds out her father is having an affair. Just how big are these girls, and will they or won't they cry?
Harvard Exit Sat May 31 4:00 pm
Pacific Place Tues June 10 7:00 pm
Bird-Man Tale
Indonesia, 2002 (90 min.)
Dir. Garin Nugroho
A dance instructor/political activist skirts government thugs as his 15-year-old son becomes obsessed with a woman who will lead him into puberty. Culture and religion clash. No, this is not an Italian film. It's from Indonesia.
Brdwy Perf Hall Thurs June 12 9:30 pm
Brdwy Perf Hall Sun June 15 4:00 pm
Black Ice
Russia, 2003 (70 min.)
Dir. Mikhail Brashinsky
This film-critic-turned-director tries to cram as many edits as he can (over 1,000) into his 70-minute film. A young attorney discovers a tape that proves the guilt of a prominent client she is defending; things spin out of control from there. (ANDY SPLETZER)
Harvard Exit Sat June 14 9:30 pm
Cinerama Sun June 15 1:45 pm
The Blessing Bell
JAPAN, 2002 (87 min.)
Dir. Hiroyuki "Sabu" Tanaka
Sabu's latest "road movie" of the quirky-existential variety features a laid-off factory worker who stumbles--during one long day--from one chance encounter/adventure to another, maintaining a wordless deadpan in the face of multiple examples of human tragicomedy. Pleasant enough tripping, with distant echoes of Keaton and Kiarostami, but in the end this bell isn't blessed with the kind of big-time resonance it keeps advertising.
(Kathleen Murphy)
Egyptian Sun June 1 1:45 pm
Pacific Place Tues June 3 9:30 pm
Blind Shaft
China/Hong Kong/Germany, 2003 (92 min.)
Dir. Li Yang
You can only run violent scams in the coal mines of rural China for so long before it puts a strain on your friendship.
Pacific Place Wed June 4 9:30 pm
Egyptian Sat June 7 4:00 pm
Blood Brothers
Hong Kong/China, 1973 (118 min.)
Dir. Zhang Che
John Woo served as assistant director on this epic tale of the twilight of the 19th-century Qing dynasty.
Harvard Exit Sat June 7 11:30 am
Blue Moon
Austria, 2002
Dir. Andrea Maria Dusl
And you thought road movies about bizarre love triangles set in motion by small-time heists gone awry were peculiar to American independent films of the 1990s. Change the names to Johnny and Ignaz, and shift the setting from the highways of the USA to the ruined roads of the former Soviet empire, and you get the picture.
Pacific Place Wed June 11 7:00 pm
Pacific Place Fri June 13 4:00 pm
* The Blues *
USA, 2003 (100 min.)
Dir. Charles Burnett, Mike Figgis, Marc Levin, Richard Pearce, Wim Wenders
Paul Allen's Vulcan Productions dreamed up this omnibus that examines the evolution of the most important artistic innovation of the 20th century. (SEAN NELSON)
Egyptian Fri May 23 9:30 pm
Brdwy Perf Hall Mon May 26 4:00 pm
Bollywood/ Hollywood
Canada, 2002 (103 min.)
Dir. Deepa Mehta
A guiltless dip into romantic musical comedy, as crossbred by the biggest dream factories in the world: A young, well-to-do Indian playboy, under familial pressure to wed, picks up a shady lady to pose as his intended. Sumptuous song-and-dance erupts at every turn, as star-crossed lovers, a wonderfully grumpy matriarch, a closeted cross-dresser, and other colorful members of the Toronto Indian community whirl through this good-humored concatenation of movie conventions. (Kathleen Murphy)
Pacific Place Thurs May 29 4:45 pm
Pacific Place Sun June 1 6:30 pm
The Bookshop
Tunisia/France, 2002 (103 min.)
Dir. Nawfel Saheb-Ettaba
Jamil just can't get a break. A Parisian fling goes sour, and next thing he knows, he's back home in Tunis, getting all kinds of lovey-dovey eyes from his best friend's wife and mother!
Harvard Exit Sun May 25 4:00 pm
Harvard Exit Wed May 28 7:00 pm
* Brats *
Czech Republic, 2002 (93 min.)
Dir. Zdenek Tyc
A young couple with three kids relocate from Prague to a small Czech village in hopes of securing a respiratory respite for their asthmatic youngest. The bigotry they encounter will have you reaching for your albuterol.
Harvard Exit Tues June 3 7:00 pm
Brdwy Perf Hall Wed June 4 2:00 pm
* Broadway: * The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There
USA, 2003 (113 min.)
Dir. Rick McKay
Cast Alan Cumming, Carol Burnett
Home movies, vintage photographs, and a trillion interviews with all the leading lights of the Great White Way try to convey the excitement of an undeniably transient art form. Anything featuring Tommy Tune promises a surplus of sass, and Bea Arthur shows up, too.
Brdwy Perf Hall Fri May 30 6:30 pm
Brdwy Perf Hall Sun June 1 4:00 pm
Brothers... On Holy Ground
USA, 2002 (54 min.)
Dir. Mike Lennon
After two weeks digging for survivors in the hellish debris that was once the World Trade Center, retired firefighter Mike Lennon journeyed into a fresh hell--that of the devastated families of the victims.
Brdwy Perf Hall Tues May 27 7:00 pm
* Bubba Ho-Tep *
USA, 2002 (92 min.)
Dir. Don Coscarelli
Cast Bruce Campbell, Ossie Davis
So campy-good that I was drawn away from a perfectly nice French-Haitian film playing next door to watch Elvis (Campbell) battle killer scarabs and a soul-sucking mummy in an East Texas old-folks' home. It could be a complex metaphor about aging, or simply a freakin' hilarious midnight movie. It's the King vs. the King of the Dead. (SHANNON GEE)
Egyptian Sat May 24 midnight
* Buffalo Soldiers *
USA, 2001( 100 min.)
Dir. Gregor Jordan
Cast Joaquin Phoenix, Scott Glenn, Anna Paquin
This comical story of military corruption is just what we need to rehumanize the troops. With a razor-sharp script about the black-market dealings on an American military base in Germany, everything is eventually pushed way over the top. Enjoy. (ANDY SPLETZER)
Egyptian Sat June 7 9:30 pm
Egyptian Sun June 8 4:00 pm
* Bukowski: Born * Into This
USA, 2002 (130 min.)
Dir. John Dullaghan
Cast Sean Penn, Bono, Harry Dean Stanton
Charles Bukowski was the drunkest, most girlfriend-beating scumbag of a writer you never met, and he was an ugly fella, too. This documentary delivers both the lout and the fine writer who influenced a whole generation of writers to get drunk and write like they mean it. Hell, I'm drunk now. And I mean it. (MATTHEW SOUTHWORTH)
Brdwy Perf Hall Wed May 28 9:30 pm
Egyptian Fri June 6 4:00 pm
* Burning in the Wind *
Italy/Switzerland, 2001 (118 min.)
Dir. Silvio Soldini
A factory worker on emotional autopilot falls into an improbable reunion and a brand-new life with his boyhood sweetheart--who might be his sister! What really drives this weirdly funny, poetic movie is star Ivan Franek, an almost unbearably intense actor with the burning gaze of a despairing Modigliani. (Kathleen Murphy)
Harvard Exit Fri May 23 9:30 pm
Harvard Exit Sat May 24 1:45 pm
The Butterfly
France, 2002 (95 min.)
Dir. Philippe Muyl
As a peevish Frenchman sets off in search of a rare butterfly, a young female neighbor tags along. Old grouchy guy plus sweet young thing equals trouble when the folks back home notice she's missing. (SEAN NELSON)
Pacific Place Sat June 7 11:30 am
c
Cabin Fever
USA, 2002 (94 min.)
Dir. Eli Roth
A bunch of teenagers (presumably horny) gather in a secluded cabin in the woods. It's a horror movie, so you can bet they're all marked for death. The twist: The killer is no machete-wielding crazy. It's a flesh-eating virus!
Egyptian Sat May 31 midnight
Harvard Exit Tues June 10 9:30 pm
Caesar
USA/Germany/Italy/Netherlands, 2002
(180 min.)
Dir. Uli Edel
Cast Christopher Walken, Richard Harris
Richard Harris made this and then died, and that's not a value judgment. It's a fact.
Egyptian Thurs June 12 6:30 pm
Camp
USA, 2003 (115 min.)
Dir. Todd Graff
With its deeply promising setting--a summer camp for theatrically inclined misfits--Graff's debut will entice an eager audience on plot synopsis alone. Unfortunately, the sloppy, good-hearted film fails to capitalize on the majority of its potential, spending two hours veering woozily from broad, goofy shtick to Dawson's Creek-style learning-and-growing. The film's a cheap, dumb, manipulative mess, but for those harboring a soft spot for the soul-expanding powers of musical theater (or nubile young straight boys in their underwear), it offers its share of pleasures. (DAVID SCHMADER)
Egyptian Fri May 23 6:30 pm
Egyptian Sat May 24 4:00 pm
* Capturing the * Friedmans
USA, 2002 (107 min.)
Dir. Andrew Jarecki
At first, the home movies that constitute most of this shattering documentary show a Woody Allen-ish family of surpassing squareness--a nest of sweet nebbishes who obsessively camcord their every peak moment. Then the worms within this American Dream-life start to crawl out: Dad and youngest son are improbably accused of molesting a passel of schoolkids, and old secrets and shames surface. The family shoots itself coming apart in voyeuristic CU. (Kathleen Murphy)
Brdwy Perf Hall Sat May 24 9:30 pm
Egyptian Tues May 27 4:45 pm
The Cement Ball of Earth, Heaven and Hell
USA/Cambodia, 2002 (54 min.)
Dir. Trent Harris
This film is the potent story of Aki Ra, who as a child joined the Khmer Rouge and laid mines. Twenty years later, he returns to the killing fields and helps to clear the remaining mines and find his own forgiveness.
Brdwy Perf Hall Mon June 9 7:00 pm
Brdwy Perf Hall Wed June 11 9:30 pm
* Chaos *
France, 2002 (112 min.)
Dir. Coline Serreau
When a bloodied Algerian whore pursued by thugs slams up against their car, begging for sanctuary, a yuppie couple quickly lock up and drive on. But primal chaos has infected their clockwork existence: the conscience-stricken wife gets radicalized, turning fierce ally of the smart and sexy but horribly abused outsider. Racism and sexism are targeted in this intelligent satire, as nasty revenge is loosed on a movieful of male creeps and predators. (Kathleen Murphy)
Cinerama Tues June 10 1:00 pm
Harvard Exit Sun June 15 6:30 pm
Chicago (Sing-along)
USA, 2002 (113 min.)
Dir. Rob Marshall
Cast Renee Zellweger, Richard Gere
Last year's foxy jailbait Oscar behemoth resurfaces, newly subtitled for maximum audience lyric-mangling. Participation is mandatory. Homosexuality a plus.
Egyptian Sat May 24 1:45 pm
* A Chinese Odyssey 2002 *
Hong Kong, 2002 (105 min.)
Dir. Jeff Lau
Cast Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Faye Wong
The stars of Chungking Express are reunited for a lighthearted venture into Crouching Tiger territory. Romance, laughs, and multiple kicks to the head and groin occur when a headstrong young emperor sneaks his sister out of the palace for some extracurricular action. (ANDY WRIGHT)
Egyptian Mon June 9 7:00 pm
Cinerama Fri June 13 11:30 am
* Chow Yun-Fat Boy * Meets Brownie Girl
South Korea, 2002 (93 min.)
Dir. Nam Ki-Woong
The director of last year's infamous Teenage Hooker Became Killing Machine... returns to violate SIFF's seedy underbelly with another saga of full-tilt excess. Can young love survive in the midst of gangsters, politicians, and the ruthless Machine-Gun Granny? Jam-packed with voyeurs, guns, and money, it's the only movie in SIFF based on a folktale involving pond snails. (ANDY WRIGHT)
Harvard Exit Fri June 13 4:00pm
Egyptian Sat June 14 midnight
Cinerama Adventure
USA, 2002 (101 min.)
Dir. David Strohmaier
Essential for nostalgia buffs and size junkies, this documentary collects clips and behind-the-scenes snippets from the scant seven features made in the legendary three-projector process.
Egyptian Thurs May 29 7:00 pm
Come Drink With Me
Hong Kong/China, 1966 (94 min.)
Dir. King Hu
The gorgeous, gravity-defying Golden Swallow calls down the whupass thunder on Jade-Faced Tiger and his savage gang of seemingly double-jointed thugs. Quintessential chop-socky, from the undisputed pioneer in the field.
Harvard Exit Sat May 24 9:30 pm
Harvard Exit Mon May 26 11:30 am
* Crude *
Turkey, 2003 (90 min.)
Dir. Paxton Winters
Cast Paul Schneider, David Connelly
A pair of American yahoos require the help of a native savior once their dunderheaded plan to interview a Turkish terrorist goes dangerously awry. Increasingly timely material, shot on location throughout the entire Middle East.
Harvard Exit Fri June 13 9:30 pm
Egyptian Sun June 15 4:00 pm
Cry Woman
China/South Korea/Canada, 2002 (91 min.)
Dir. Liu Bingjian
An embarrassingly unfunny comedy about a woman who becomes a "professional mourner" to put food on the table. If you think over-the-top fake crying is funny, then this movie is for you. (Adam Hart)
Pacific Place Wed May 28 7:00 pm
Pacific Place Sat May 31 1:45 pm
The Cuckoo
Russia, 2002 (99 min.)
Dir. Alexander Rogozhkin
In a reverse Three's Company set in the Finnish Lapland during WWII, a peacenik Finnish soldier, a testy Russian soldier, and a Lapland widow all find themselves living under the same thatched roof--and none of the three speak the same language. The dry humor of miscommunication and misdirected lust unfolds in this unusual, dark comedy.
(JENNIFER MAERZ)
Egyptian Sun June 8 9:30 pm
Cinerama Thurs June 12 1:00 pm
d
The Dance Of Men
Uzbekistan, 2002 (77 min.)
Dir. Yusup Razykov
Carpets, Islam, labyrinths, mature boys, wise women, love lost and love found--this, sir, is the stuff of Uzbekistan cinema. And you can keep it. (CHARLES MUDEDE)
Brdwy Perf Hall Wed June 11 4:45 pm
Brdwy Perf Hall Sun June 15 9:30 pm
* The Day I Will Never * Forget
Great Britain, 2002 (90 min.)
Dir. Kim Longinotto
This documentary turns a cold, objective eye on the subject that embarrasses all Africans from the southern part of the continent: clitoridectomy, which is practiced in East African countries like Somalia. A clitoridectomy is in no way similar to a circumcision, and no one should even attempt to be objective about such a stupid practice. (CHARLES MUDEDE)
Brdwy Perf Hall Sat May 31 1:45 pm
* The Day My God Died *
USA/Nepal/India, 2002 (70 min.)
Dir. Andrew Levine
Cast Tim Robbins, Winona Ryder
This is not a feature film but a documentary, narrated by Ryder and Robbins, about brothels in India's big cities. Yes, nothing but the gods should prevent you from watching this excellent film. (CHARLES MUDEDE)
Brdwy Perf Hall Mon May 26 6:30 pm
Brdwy Perf Hall Fri May 30 9:30 pm
* The Day A Pig Fell * Into The Well
South Korea, 1996 (115 min.)
Dir. Hong Sang-soo
Ignore the film's title and only worry about its plot, which is about a man who is having an affair with a woman who, by seeing him, is also having an affair. There is no love without affairs, no truth without cheating, and the hero of this particular drama, which revisits these timeless truths, happens to be a novelist. (CHARLES MUDEDE)
Egyptian Sat May 31 4:00 pm
A Decade Under the Influence
USA, 2003 (108 min.)
Dir. Richard LaGravenese, Ted Demme
Malick emerges every 20 years, Polanski's exiled, and Peckinpah's dead, but Scorsese, Coppola, Altman, Bogdanovich, Schrader, et al. line up to explain why so many good movies got made during the '70s, the golden age of American cinema--before spoilsport Spielberg stopped the music with Jaws, the first of the blockbuster merchandising machines. Oddly, sex and drugs never come up in this high-minded riposte to Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, Peter Biskind's raunchy exposé of this revolutionary decade. (Kathleen Murphy)
Brdwy Perf Hall Mon June 2 7:00 pm
Cinerama Mon June 9 1:00 pm
Demonlover
France, 2002 (130 min.)
Dir. Olivier Assayas
Cast Connie Nielsen, Chloë Sevigny
A Videodrome-inspired study of big money and computer porn. Postmodern with a vengeance, the movie is hit-and-miss (with some big hits and big misses), but I'd like to go on record and say that the soundtrack, by Sonic Youth, is the greatest movie soundtrack ever recorded. (adam hart)Cinerama Tues June 10 7:00 pm
Devdas
India, 2002 (181 min.)
Dir. Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Juliet and Romeo go Bollywood in this insanely sumptuous visual feast. The most expensive film in Indian history.
Cinerama Wed June 11 1:00 pm
* Direct Order *
USA, 2002 (58 min.)
Dir. Scott Miller
Gulf War syndrome goes under the microscope in this stone-serious documentary, which focuses on the officially denied yet persuasive correlation between lingering mystery illness and mandatory anthrax vaccinations.
Egyptian Mon June 2 7:00 pm
Dirt
USA, 2002 (90 min.)
Dir. Nancy Savoca
Champion of the underdog Savoca (Dogfight, Household Saints) returns with a tragicomic look at the continuing plight of the green-card-deficient. An El Salvadorian cleaning woman toils in the luxury apartments of the Big Apple while struggling to keep her illegal status under wraps. Presumably, lessons are learned.
Harvard Exit Fri May 30 6:30 pm
Egyptian Tues June 3 4:45 pm
Dirty Pretty Things
UK, 2002 (107 min.)
Dir. Stephen Frears
Cast Audrey Tautou, Chiwetal Ejiofor, Sergi Lopez
An African illegal immigrant works as a cab driver by day and a hotel desk clerk by night, despite his training as a doctor. When he does sleep, it's on the couch of a Turkish illegal immigrant (Tautou from Amélie). He soon discovers an illicit kidney-selling scheme that is preying on fellow immigrants. Frears' London is engaging, but unfortunately the plot resolves itself mechanically. Tautou remains feisty and adorable throughout. (Andy Spletzer)
Egyptian Mon June 9 9:30 pm
Egyptian Fri June 13 11:30 am
Distant Lights
Germany, 2003 (105 min.)
Dir. Hans-Christian Schmid
On the border between Poland and Germany, Ukrainians barter their wares (from cigarettes to factories to sex) to gain entry into the "golden West." Despite the desperation and hostility, the human spirit triumphs. Yay!
Pacific Place Sat June 7 6:30 pm
Pacific Place Sun June 8 11:30 am
Doing Time
Japan, 2002 (93 min.)
Dir. Sai Yoichi
Cast Tsutomo Yamazaki
Yamazaki, the cowboy-cum-noodle-chef in Tampopo, provides the voice-over to this tale of five cellmates who would rather stay in their comfortable prison--where daily life includes fancy meals, lots of fresh air, and gads of candy--than finish their small-time sentences. (SHANNON GEE)
Egyptian Mon May 26 6:30 pm
Harvard Exit Tues May 27 4:45 pm
Dominoes
USA, 2002 (93 min.)
Dir. Cole Drumb
What's better than being a Seattleite maneuvering your way around the obstacles of sex, love, and relationships? Watching a movie about it!
Egyptian Sun May 25 9:30 pm
Brdwy Perf Hall Fri June 13 1:45 pm
* Double Vision *
Taiwan/Hong Kong/USA, 2002 (110 min.)
Dir. Chen Kuo-Fu
Cast Huang Wei-Hen, Tony Leung, David Morse
"You mean in all your years in the FBI you've never encountered a demon?" This stylish horror thriller pits a burnt-out FBI agent (Morse) against a nasty brain-attacking fungus.
Egyptian Sat June 7 midnight
Cinerama Tues June 10 9:30 pm
Dream Cuisine
China/Japan, 2003 (134 min.)
Dir. Li Ying
Cast Sato Hatsue, Liu Gwangwei
A master of Shandong cuisine (Hatsue) struggles against her stubborn husband and the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution to keep the traditional cooking style alive.
Brdwy Perf Hall Sun June 1 6:30 pm
Brdwy Perf Hall Sun June 8 4:00 pm
* Dummy *
USA, 2002 (90 min.)
Dir. Greg Pritikin
Cast Adrien Brody, Milla Jovovich, Jared Harris
Brody has been good in films by everyone from Spike Lee to Roman Polanski, so he should be terrific as a young ventriloquist who expresses his feelings through his dummy.
