October Advisory Meeting Candidates

Barry Munday – comedy - CHRIS D’ARIENZO
Rotten Tomatoes: 38 Metacritic: 28
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BuoFEodQ3w
Patrick Wilson, Chloë Sevigny, Judy Greer, and Cybill Shepherd headline first-time writer/director Chris D'Arienzo's dark comedy concerning a die-hard womanizer who finds himself named as the defendant in a paternity suit after losing his testicles in a violent street attack. Adapted from author Frank Turner Hollan's novel of the same name, Barry Munday stars Wilson as the titular character -- a man known for having a special way with the ladies. One day, after waking up in a hospital room to discover that the family jewels have suddenly gone missing, Munday is shocked to find himself slapped with a paternity suit by a woman (Greer) he can't even remember sleeping with.

Buried - mystery/thriller - Rodrigo Cortes
Rotten Tomatoes: 86 Metacritic: 63
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8KBYAvYpO4
A man is caught in a desperate race against time in this claustrophobic thriller from director Rodrigo Cortés. Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds) is an American truck driver who has been contracted to work in Iraq, and while delivering a load of kitchen equipment as part of a humanitarian aid program, he's captured by insurgent guerrillas who intend to hold him hostage. Paul is struck unconscious, put into a coffin-like box, and buried, and when he comes to, all he has to help him get out is a lighter, a cell phone, a pen, and a jackknife. Trapped underground with a limited supply of air, Paul frantically calls his family, his employer, and American military and political representatives, trying to remain calm as his chances of survival slip farther away with each passing minute. Featuring the voice talent of Robert Paterson, Stephen Tobolowsky, Samantha Mathis, and Erik Palladino, with all the action taking place within the underground box, Buried received its world premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

Carlos - bio/crime - Olivier Assayas
http://www.sundancechannel.com/carlos/
Arthouse favorite Olivier Assayas followed up his critical darling L'Heure d'Été (2008) with this wildly different chronicle - a biopic of the ultra-leftwing, Venezuelan terrorist-cum-mercenary Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, popularly known as "Carlos the Jackal." As co-written by Assayas and scenarist Dan Franck, the account spans the years 1973-1994 - or the period that witnessed Sanchez at his most violent and relentless. Narrative touchstones include the 1974 bomb attack at the Publicis Drugstore on Paris's Left Bank and the 1975 abduction of 11 OPEC officials from Vienna, as well as a torrent of assassinations that Carlos and his cronies planned but didn't carry out. As produced by Daniel Lecomte, this telling of Sanchez's life stars Edgar Ramirez as the terrorist, as well as Alexander Scheer, Aljoscha Stadelmann and Julia Hummer; it was predominantly shot in Germany, France and Lebanon.

Catfish – documentary - Ariel Shulman and Henry Joost
Rotten Tomatoes: 76 Metacritic: 65
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFKe75Q6eVw&feature=fvst
Love and identity become twisted across the lines of the Internet in this documentary from filmmakers Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman. Nev Schulman is a photographer who one day received a surprising e-mail message -- Abby, an eight-year-old girl in Michigan, had seen his picture in a newspaper and wanted permission to paint a portrait from it. Nev gave his OK, and when he was given a copy of the painting, he was struck by how good it was, assuming that the girl was either a genius or a fraud. Nev tried to contact Abby's family, and somehow ended up in contact with Megan, Abby's sexy 19-year-old sister. As Nev fell into an increasingly complicated on-line relationship with Megan, he decided it was time to meet her in person, but when he traveled to Michigan and tracked her down, Nev learned that Abby and Megan's family were not at all what he expected them to be. Ariel Schulman, Nev's brother, began filming his brother's adventures from his first contact with Abby, and in Catfish he and Henry Joost tell this strange story from beginning to end. Catfish received its world premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Elliot Spitzer – documentary - Alex Gibney
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WldZazpFy7I&feature=fvst
This documentary feature takes an in-depth look at the rapid rise and dramatic fall of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer. Nicknamed "The Sheriff of Wall Street," when he was NY's Attorney General, Eliot Spitzer prosecuted crimes by America’s largest financial institutions and some of the most powerful executives in the country. After his election as Governor, with the largest margin in the state's history, many believed Spitzer was on his way to becoming the nation's first Jewish President. Then, shockingly, Spitzer’s meteoric rise turned into a precipitous fall when the New York Times revealed that Spitzer - the paragon of rectitude - had been caught seeing prostitutes. As his powerful enemies gloated, his supporters questioned the timing of it all: as the Sheriff fell, so did the financial markets, in a cataclysm that threatened to unravel the global economy. With unique access to the escort world as well as friends, colleagues and enemies of the ex-Governor (many of whom have come forward for the first time) the film explores the hidden contours of this tale of hubris, sex, and power.

The Concert - comedy/drama - Radu Mihaileanu
Rotten Tomatoes: 58 Metacritic:59
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aait4aOxP0
Twenty-five years after losing his position as the conductor of the Bolshoi Orchestra for his refusal to fire the Jewish musicians, a once-famous musical director attempts to stage a late-career comeback. Andreï Semoinovitch Filipov (Aleksei Guskov) was at the top of his game when the Soviet regime ended his career. More than two decades later, he's working as a janitor in the same theater where he once conducted. In his spare time, Andreï and his wife stage mock communist demonstrations to entertain the locals. When Andreï happens across an invitation to Paris' famed Théâtre du Châtelet, he contacts his old orchestra friends in hopes of staging a performance that will bring the crowd to their feet for a standing ovation.

Dancing Across Borders – documentary - Anne Bass
Rotten Tomatoes: 60 Metacritic: 47
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtVWON4fqCI
Filmmaker Anne H. Bass was visiting Cambodia when she saw a young man dancing in the street and was immediately struck by his skill, his passion, and his charisma. Bass introduced herself to the dancer, Sokvannara Sar, and she was impressed enough with him that she offered to help him come to the United States to study classical dance. It was the beginning of a remarkable journey for Sar, as he went from performing folk dances on the street to the rigors of professional-level ballet study in America, where he was a highly promising but unlikely new figure on the dance scene. Bass and her camera were on hand for much of Sar's transition to his new life, and the documentary Dancing Across Borders tells his remarkable story, from busking in the streets to a special performance accompanied by composer Philip Glass. Dancing Across Borders received its world premiere as an official selection at the 2009 Seattle International Film Festival.

Dogtooth – foreign - Giorgos Lanthimos
Rotten Tomatoes: 90 Metacritic: 73
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alqV65PnfOE
Three young people exist in a strange world of their parents' devising in this bizarre drama from writer and director Yorgos Lanthimos. A father and mother (Christos Stergioglou and Michele Valley) live in a large house on the outskirts of town with their three children, whose ages range from mid-teens to early twenties. The children have never been allowed to leave the house (which is surrounded by a tall fence), and their knowledge of the outside world has been strictly controlled by their parents, who have chosen to teach them only what they believe is important and have deliberately confused or misled them in many other areas. The parents quite literally treat their children like animals, and the only contact the youngsters have with people outside their family is Christina (Anna Kalaitzidou), a woman who works with the father's business and comes by periodically to have sex with the eldest son (Christos Passalis). Christina makes the mistake of bringing a present for the two younger daughters (Aggeliki Papoulia and Mary Tsoni), and explains the custom is that they should give her something in return. This simple act sets off a chain reaction of events that has terrible consequences for everyone involved. Kynodontas (aka Dogtooth) was an official selection at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.

Down Terrace – comedy - Ben Wheatley
Rotten Tomatoes: 87
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxlChdVMv1A
A family on the wrong side of the law has some serious business to attend to in this black comedy from British filmmaker Ben Wheatley. Karl (Robin Hill) followed his father, Bill (Robert Hill), into the family business, which in this case happens to be organized crime, and their occupational hazards become obvious when the two return to the family home after a few days in jail. Bill is convinced that one of their associates has been talking to the police, and whoever it is needs to be silenced as soon as possible, but first they have to figure out who is the snitch. As Karl and Bill ponder the likely suspects as their allies stop by the house to check in on them -- including well-connected Uncle Eric (David Schaal), shady nightclub manager Garvey (Tony Way), crooked politician Councilor Berman (Mark Kempner), and enforcer Pringle (Michael Smiley) -- Karl gets some unexpected news from his girlfriend, Valda (Kerry Peacock), who announces that she's pregnant with his child. Karl isn't certain he's ready for the responsibilities of parenthood, and Bill and his wife, Maggie (Julia Deakin), aren't very excited about being grandparents, but the upcoming addition to the family becomes a secondary concern after Bill decides he's figured out who's the rat in the organization. Down Terrace screened at the 2010 Slamdance Film Festival.

Enter the Void – drama - Gasper Noe
Rotten Tomatoes: 74 Metacritic:68
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRNpSKsBKw8
Death takes one man on a journey that is by turns beautiful and terrifying in this feature from writer and director Gaspar Noe, who describes it as "a psychedelic melodrama." Oscar (Nathaniel Brown) is a small time drug dealer who sells his wares at a club in Tokyo called "The Void." In the midst of a deal that goes sour, Oscar is shot dead, and finds himself crossing from one plane of existence to the next. When he was younger, Oscar made a pledge to his younger sister Linda (Paz de la Huerta) to always look after her, and as his soul leaves his body, the spirit is led on a journey through Tokyo, past traditional consciousness and into the moment of human creation as he struggles to be reunited with Linda, who now works as an exotic dancer. Soudain Le Vide (aka Enter The Void) received its world premiere at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.

A Film Unfinished – documentary - Yael Hersonski
Rotten Tomatoes: 94 Metacritic: 87
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Khut0kKn-c8
In 1942, more than two years after Nazi troops herded Poland's Jews into a ghetto in Warsaw, where they were to be held until they were sent to extermination camps, a handful of cameramen were sent into the ghetto to shoot material that was intended for a German propaganda film. The images they captured ran the gamut from blasé scenes of day-to-day life to horrific moments of death and despair. The film was never completed, but after the war, the unedited footage, running roughly an hour, was discovered in a German archive. Yael Hersonski's documentary Shtikat Haarchion (aka A Film Unfinished) presents the surviving footage of the Warsaw ghetto in full for the first time; along with the archival images, Hersonski includes interviews with five survivors of the ghetto, who talk about what was captured on film and their lives under the Nazis, as well as a member of the camera crew who offers a perspective on the original intended slant of the film (which was, at least in part, meant to reveal the class differences between Jews of different economic status). A Film Unfinished received its world premiere at the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival.

The Freebie – drama - Katie Aselton
Rotten Tomatoes: 59 Metacritic: 51
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlLhA7JdyDQ
A couple hatches a highly dubious scheme to put the spark back in their marriage in this independent comedy drama. Annie (Katie Aselton) and Darren (Dax Shepard) have been married for seven years, and they love each other as much as the day they were wed; they're affectionate, have fun together, and enjoy games such as crossword puzzle races. They would seem to have a perfect relationship, except for one thing -- they haven't had sex in ages, and seem to have lost all interest in making love with one another, no matter how they try to put each other in the mood. Hoping to put some adventure back into their lives, Annie and Darren come up with an unusual idea -- they each get one night in which they're free to find someone and have sex with them, scot-free. But is this going to help their relationship, or is it just going to turn a small problem into a big problem? The Freebie was the first directorial assignment for actress Katie Aselton, who also plays Annie (and is married to another actor and filmmaker, Mark Duplass); the film was an official selection at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - foreign drama - Daniel Alfredson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auMUTwFBomU
Author Stieg Larsson's "Millennium Trilogy" winds to a close with The Girl Who Played with Fire, director Daniel Alfredson's adaptation of the best-selling novel following punky protagonist Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) as she fights to prove that she's innocent of committing multiple murders. As Lisbeth lies in intensive care, the corrupt officials in high office attempt to take advantage of her incapacitated state by accusing her of murder. But fiercely independent Lisbeth isn't about to play the scapegoat, and the more her accusers work to ruin her life, the harder she and her loyal friend Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) must push back to prove them wrong.

In Search of memory – documentary - Petra Seeger
Rotten Tomatoes: 100 Metacritic: 77
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Yh1odPMgXI
Two years after Eric Kandel's autobiography, In Search of Memory: The Emergence of a New Science of the Mind, brought his theory about the biological basis of memory to the masses, filmmaker Petra Seeger explores the Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist's story to the screen in this documentary. A Viennese Jew by birth, Kandel was forced to emigrate to the United States at the age of nine. After studying literature and Austrian history in New York, he became a psychoanalyst and, eventually, a neuroscientist. Ever since Kandel's traumatic childhood in Nazi-occupied Vienna, he became obsessed with the search for memory. In this film, we follow Kandel on a personal journey into his own memory, and follow him as he conducts research from his institute at Columbia University in New York.

Inside Job – documentary - Charles Ferguson
Rotten Tomatoes: 94 Metacritic: 90
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyW3M-UTIWM
Producer/director Charles Ferguson (No End in Sight) speaks at length with journalists, politicians, and financial insiders in order to offer a clearer picture of the economic meltdown that hit America starting in 2008. Academy Award winner Matt Damon narrates this unflinching look at the deep-rooted corruption that has left millions of middle-class Americans jobless and homeless as the major corporations get bailed out while paying millions in bonuses.

It's Kind of a Funny Story - comedy/drama - Anna Boden and ryan Fleck
Rotten Tomatoes:60 Metacritic:58
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_pq7HKc9z8
Adapted from Ned Vizzini's 2006 novel, It's Kind of a Funny Story tells the story of burnt-out teenager Craig (Keir Gilchrist), who checks himself into a mental health clinic citing exhaustion, and finds himself placed in the adult ward due to the fact that the youth ward has been shut down. Taken under the wing of fellow patient Bobby (Zach Galifianakis), the stressed-out 16-year-old attempts to endure his mandatory five days' stay without completely losing his mind. His predicament is made somewhat more tolerable by the presence of Noelle (Emma Roberts), another teenage patient who's struggling to sort out her thoughts. Academy Award nominee Viola Davis, Lauren Graham, and Jim Gaffigan co-star.

Jack Goes Boating – drama - Philip Seymour Hoffman
Rotten Tomatoes: 66 Metacritic:64
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1BwBhk9nqM
Adapted from Bob Glaudini's play of the same name, Philip Seymour Hoffman's directorial debut Jack Goes Boating tells the simple tale of Jack (Hoffman), a shy, fortyish limo-driver with a fondness for pot and reggae music - he likes it because it sounds happy -- who meets Connie (Amy Ryan) for a blind date set-up by Connie's co-worker Lucy (Daphne Rubin-Vega) who is married to Jack's best-friend and fellow limo-driver Clyde (John Ortiz). As the young couple tentatively come together, breaking through layers and layers of awkwardness and low self-esteem, Clyde and Lucy's marriage begins to dissolve because of Clyde's inability to get over an incident from their past. All the while Clyde gives Jack swim lessons so that he can take Connie on her dream date - a boating trip on the lake.

Kings of Pastry – documentary - Chris Hegedus, D.A. Pennebaker
Rotten Tomatoes: 82 Metacritic: 64
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ANUMYH07-Q
Witness 16 of the world's most talented pastry chefs in action as filmmakers D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus showcase the intense preparations for the three-day competition known as the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France. Staged just once every four years, the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France represents the pinnacle of a pâtissier's career. Those who win the competition are awarded the prestigious "Collar," a distinctive red, white, and blue collar that singles them out as true masters of the culinary arts. As the harried chefs race to perfect their elaborate, delectable creations, judges study their every move with intense scrutiny.

Last Train Home – documentary - Lixin Fan
Rotten Tomatoes: 100 Metacritic: 85
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P313uy9hni4
Changhua Zhang and Suqin Chen are a couple from a rural village in China's Sichuan province. Frustrated with their lack of employment opportunities, they traveled to the industrial city of Guangdong and took jobs with a large textile firm, making clothing for export. However, Changhua and Suqin were not able to bring their two children with them, and since then the kids have been raised by their grandparents, with their mother and father staying in touch though occasional telephone calls. The only time they have a chance to see their now-teenage children is during China's annual New Year's celebration; they are among the 130 million Chinese whose work keeps them away from their families and make the trip home during the holiday, resulting in an overcrowded rail system as the trains struggle to keep up with the rush. Filmmaker Lixin Fan follows Changhua and Suqin over the course of several years in the documentary Last Train Home, as the couple makes the long journey home (over a thousand miles) only to find that their family is slowly falling apart -- 16-year-old Qin and her younger brother, Yang, are all but strangers now to their parents, and the youngsters have come to resent their parents, while Qin considers leaving school to move to the city on her own and get a job. Last Train Home received its world premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

Leaving - foreign/drama - Catherine Corsini
Rotten Tomatoes: 78 Metacritic: 53
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giTrVyWKIwQ
A woman who has grown tired of her marriage falls into a relationship that leads her to a dangerous place in this drama from director Catherine Corsini. Suzanne (Kristin Scott Thomas) is in her mid-forties and married to Samuel (Yvan Attal), a successful doctor who is the father of their two teenage children (Alexandre Vidal and Daisy Broom). The love between Suzanne and Samuel is dead and their marriage is largely a matter of formalities, so to ease her boredom Suzanne has decided to resume her former career as a therapist. Samuel has agreed to foot the bill for building an office for Suzanne in their home, and he hires Ivan (Sergi López) to help with the work. Ivan is a ruggedly handsome illegal immigrant, and Suzanne is immediately attracted to him; she promptly jumps head-first into an affair with him, and while their hunger for one another is clearly just physical, she decides to leave her family behind to live with Ivan. Even though Samuel doesn't much care for Suzanne, he's furious at the notion of her leaving him for another man, leading to an ugly conflict between the husband, the wife, and the lover. Partir (aka Leaving) was an official selection at the 2009 BFI London Film Festival.

Lebanon – drama - Samuel Moaz
Rotten Tomatoes: 87 Metacritic: 87
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHWWH2bdowM
A handful of soldiers take a claustrophobic journey into the heart of war in this drama from Israeli writer and director Samuel Maoz. It's June 1982, and Israel is launching an invasion of Lebanon. Four men assigned to take part in the first strike are put on the same tank detail -- Assi (Itay Tiran) is the commanding officer, Shmulik (Yoav Donat) is a gunner new to the outfit, Hertzel (Oshri Cohen) keeps the weapons loaded, and Yigal (Michael Moshonov) drives the machine. After being given their orders by Jamil (Zohar Strauss), the men set out toward the Lebanese border, recognizing little of what goes on outside beyond what can be seen through Yigal's tiny window; they occasionally stop to help fellow Israelis hurt in battle, but for the most part, they roll relentlessly onward, occasionally arguing amongst themselves, until they arrive at their destination, a town already bombed into rubble by the Israeli Air Force. Few of their allies remain in the city, putting the soldiers in a perilous situation when a band of Syrian resistance fighters lays siege to the tank. Levanone (aka Lebanon) was an official selection at the 2009 Venice International Film Festival.

Life During Wartime - comedy drama - Todd Solondz
Rotten Tomatoes: 69 Metacritic: 69
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdKkqU73CoU
"Part sequel, part variation on his acclaimed and controversial HAPPINESS, the newest film from celebrated director Todd Solondz (WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE, PALINDROMES) assembles an amazing ensemble cast including Allison Janney, Shirley Henderson, Paul Reubens, Michael Kenneth Williams, Ally Sheedy, Charlotte Rampling, and Ciáran Hinds in an utterly hilarious
exploration of the boundaries of forgiveness, family, and love. Ten years have passed since shocking revelations shattered the world of the Jordan family, and now sisters Joy (Henderson), Trish (Janney), and Helen (Sheedy), each embroiled in their own unique dilemmas, struggle to find their place in an unpredictable and volatile world. The past now haunts their family both literally and otherwise, and jeopardizes the future. Alternately hilarious and tragic, outrageous and poignant, LIFE DURING WARTIME is an audacious comedy with unexpected resonance."

Mao's Last Dancer – drama - Bruce Beresford
Rotten Tomatoes: 58 Metacritic: 55
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ufBNOkTvdQ
The true story of Li Cunxin and his journey from rural China to the bright lights of ballet stardom is brought to the screen in this biographical drama from director Bruce Beresford. In 1972, 11-year-old Li Cunxin (Huang Wenbin) is living with his parents, Niang (Joan Chen) and Dia (Wang Shuangbao), and six siblings while attending a tumbledown school in Shandog province. Li's life changes when representatives of Madame Mao's Beijing Dance Academy visit his school, and he is one of several students believed to have promise as a dancer. While life at the school is difficult for Li and many of the instructors are harsh and unforgiving, Chan (Zhang Su) takes the boy under his wing and grooms him into one of the school's star pupils. In 1981, Li (now played by Chi Cao) is chosen to travel to the United States as part of a student exchange with the Houston Ballet Company. Under the tutelage of Ben Stevenson (Bruce Greenwood), the company's director, Li impresses his peers and is given a key role in a televised production of Die Fledermaus; despite an attack of stage fright, Li's performance is a triumph. As Li came to love life in the United States, he also falls for an attractive young dancer, Elizabeth (Amanda Schull), and when his time in America draws to a close, he makes the decision to leave his old life behind and pursue a life of personal and creative freedom in America. Also starring Kyle MacLachlan and Camilla Vergotis, Mao's Last Dancer received its world premiere at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival.

Marwencol – documentary - Jeff Malmberg
Rotten Tomatoes: 92
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRsGGNiZ8OU
After a night of drinking at a bar in his hometown of Kingston, NY, Mark Hogancamp got in a fistfight and was beaten so badly he went into a coma. When Hogancamp regained consciousness, he was diagnosed with brain damage and struggled to return to a normal life. As he tried to put his life back together, Hogancamp came up with an unusual hobby -- using G.I. Joe action figures and Barbie dolls, Hogancamp created an elaborate scale model community in his backyard that he calls Marwencol (named for three characters he's dubbed Mark, Wendy, and Colleen). Marwencol is supposed to be a village in Belgium during World War II, and the scene is full of intrigue and military violence; several of the characters also represent his friends and relatives, and one is based on a married neighbor with whom he's infatuated. Marwencol provides Hogancamp with a fantasy world he can retreat into as he deals with the realities of his life following the beating, but the parallels into his real life are troubling to some people he knows, and when a gallery in New York City offers to present Hogancamp's project as an art installation, he has to decide if he's really willing to share Marwencol with the world at large. Filmmaker Jeff Malmberg profiles Mark Hogancamp and the world he created from toys and his imagination in the documentary Marwencol, which received its world premiere at the 2010 South by Southwest Film Festival.

Monsters - sci-fi/horror - Gareth Edwards
Rotten Tomatoes: 71
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njeofv4dr9Q
Two people who barely know one another are thrown into otherworldly danger in this independent thriller. Andrew Kaulder (Scoot McNairy) is an American photojournalist on assignment in Mexico at a time when working there has become unusually dangerous -- after a NASA space probe crash-landed not far from the American border, alien creatures that made their way into the satellite were released, and have since thrived in Northern Mexico. Now the area is regarded as an "infected zone," where the aliens (who resemble giant squids) have been contained but move about freely, sometimes attacking humans who cross their paths. While working on a project, Kaulder's publisher contacts him to ask a big favor; his daughter Samantha (Whitney Able) has been traveling outside the United States, and would appreciate an escort from Southern Mexico to California. Not wanting to anger his boss, Kaulder agrees and books passage on a ferry that travels through a safe zone. But bad timing, bad luck, and some foolish choices by Kaulder prevent him and Samantha from catching the ship, and now they have to travel through alien territory with the help of some armed guards, hoping to avoid contact with the bloodthirsty creatures. Monsters was the first feature film from special effects artist-turned-director Gareth Edwards.

Mugabe and the White African documentary Lucy Bailey & Andrew Thompson 7/23/2010 N/A First Run Features 97 77 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uxz03dyZj40 Robert Mugabe's rule as president of Zimbabwe has been wildly controversial, with his economic plans generally held responsible for the nation's hyperinflation and massive unemployment, while Mugabe has also been accused of widespread human rights violations. One of Mugabe's most notorious programs has been his policy of seizing farms owned by white Africans and turning them over to individuals affiliated with the Mugabe government; many of these nationalized farms have been put in the hands of people with little practical background in raising crops, with the nation's agricultural base thrown into chaos. Many white land owners in Zimbabwe have fled the country, but 75-year-old Michael Campbell is a veteran family farmer who has chosen to stay and fight; rather than turn over his property, Campbell has taken his case to an international court, accusing the government of Zimbabwe of racial discrimination and violation of his human rights by claiming ownership of his rightful property. Filmmakers Lucy Bailey and Andrew Thompson profile Campbell and present an indictment of the abuses of the Mugabe administration in the documentary Mugabe and the White African, which was an official selection at the 2009 Hot Docs International Film Festival.

Nowhere Boy – biopic - Sam Taylor-Wood
Rotten Tomatoes: 81 Metacritic: 62
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6Km9L1Sqd0
The true story of John Lennon's troubled childhood and difficult relationship with his family is brought to the screen in this period drama. Young John (Alex Ambrose) is a bright but sharp-tongued boy living in the coastal town of Liverpool during the 1950s with his aunt Mimi (Kristin Scott Thomas) and uncle George (David Threlfall). John's father walked out on the family when he was four years old, and the boy was given to Mimi to raise, even though his mother, Julia (Anne-Marie Duff), was still alive. While Mimi's straight-laced nature runs counter to John's more reckless personality, they clearly love one another and the household is thrown into chaos when George dies suddenly. At the funeral, teenage John (now played by Aaron Johnson) sees Julia, and learns to his surprise that she lives only a few blocks away from Mimi. John pays her a visit, and Julia gratefully welcomes him back into her life. Julia's personality is a much closer fit to John than Mimi, and she encourages his love for writing and music, teaching him to play the banjo. However, John's renewed relationship with Julia brings up a number of unanswered questions, and causes new tensions between Mimi and John. And as rock & roll becomes the hot new sound of the day, John falls in love with the bold new music and makes a friend who is interested in forming a band, Paul (Thomas Brodie Sangster). The first feature film from artist-turned-director Sam Taylor-Wood, Nowhere Boy was the closing night attraction at the 2009 BFI London Film Festival.

Stone - drama/thriller - John Curran
Rotten Tomatoes: 38 Metacritic: 55
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYho06z-_t8
A convicted arsonist schemes to get out of prison by convincing his debauched wife to seduce his retirement ready parole officer in director John J. Curran's adaptation of a play by Angus MacLachlan (who also authored the screenplay). His career as a parole officer winding down after years of service, Jack Mabry (Robert DeNiro) reluctantly accepts an assignment to reassess inmate Gerald "Stone" Creeson's (Edward Norton) case for an upcoming parole hearing. Convicted of setting a fire to make the murder of his grandparents look like an accidental death, Stone will do anything to get out from behind bars, and his wife Lucetta (MIlla Jovovich) is willing to do whatever it takes to help secure her husband's freedom - including seducing Jack. Meanwhile, Jack's devoted wife Madylyn (Frances Conroy) has suffered with the emotional weight of her husband's demanding job for far too long.

Stonewall Uprising – documentary - Kate Davis, David Heilbroner
Rotten Tomatoes: 82 Metacritic: 74
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZUZKtko4R0
Filmmakers Kate Davis and David Heilbroner team up to explore the Stonewall riots, an event that served as a sharp turning point for gay rights in the United States. The setting was a Greenwich Village gay bar called the Stonewall Inn; the date was June 28, 1969. It was a time when homosexuality was still seen as a dangerous mental illness, and raids on gay gathering spots were commonplace. When New York City police raided the Mafia-run establishment, they figured the patrons could be herded into paddy wagons without a fight -- they were wrong. Over the course of the next three days, gay protestors clashed with police in an uprising that made headlines across the world. In this film, participants from both sides of the conflict offer firsthand testimony about the social climate of the era and the riots that sparked a revolution.

Tamara Drewe – comedy - Stephen Frears
Rotten Tomatoes: 75 Metacritic: 66
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56hwLwCTngc
Stephen Frears directed this comedy drama about an ugly duckling who's followed by a handful of suitors after maturing into a sexy swan. Tamara Drewe (Gemma Arterton) was born and raised in Ewedown, a quiet community on the outskirts of London dominated by a writer's colony run by Nicholas Hardiment (Roger Allam), a best-selling novelist who specializes in crime fiction, and his wife Beth (Tamsin Greig). When Tamara left Ewedown, she was a plain and awkward teenager, but when she returns home for the first time in years, the locals are surprised to discover that time (and a nose job) have turned her into an attractive and alluring woman, and she's gained a share of money and fame thanks to a successful newspaper column. Tamara has returned to Ewedown after the death of her mother in order to refurbish the family home and put it on the market. Before long, Tamara finds herself pursued by three men from her past -- Andy Cobb (Luke Evans), her former boyfriend who has been hired to help fix up the house; Ben Sergeant (Dominic Cooper), the swaggering drummer with a local indie rock band flirting with larger success; and Nicholas (Roger Allam), who is chronically unfaithful to his wife and sees an opportunity with the neighborhood girl who was infatuated with him in her teens. Tamara Drewe was adapted from the graphic novel of the same name by Posy Simmonds, which was in turn inspired by Thomas Hardy's novel Far From the Madding Crowd.

The Tillman Story – documentary - Amir Bar-Lev
Rotten Tomatoes: 91 Metacritic: 86
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-NbZqt8WJk
In 2002, as America was poised to go to war in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Pat Tillman, a defensive back with the Arizona Cardinals, joined the United States Army, believing he had a duty to serve in a time of need even though he had signed a lucrative deal to play professional football. Tillman served a tour of duty in Iraq and was on patrol in Afghanistan when, on April 22, 2004, he was killed during a reconnaissance mission near the border of Pakistan. When word spread about Tillman's death, the Army issued a press release declaring he'd been shot down while trying to heroically block the fire of a band of Taliban insurgents. While the Army's story painted a glowing picture of the fallen soldier and athlete, some of the details sounded suspect to Tillman's family, and in time they began asking questions. As it happens, Tillman's parents were outspoken in their opposition to the war in Iraq, and after he had seen what was happening firsthand, so was Tillman, who had been a sharp student with an interest in politics during his college years. In time, Tillman's parents demanded an investigation into their son's death, and the testimony of several witnesses revealed that Tillman wasn't felled during an act of heroism -- his death was the result of "friendly fire" by men from his own company, shooting indiscriminately at an unknown target. Filmmaker Amir Bar-Lev examines Pat Tillman's unusual life and times, the facts about his death, how and why the military created a cover story to hide the truth, and his family's battle to bring the real story into the open in the documentary The Tillman Story, which received its world premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

Vision: From the life of Hildegard von Bingen – drama - Margarethe von Trotta
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEI1QrZINeg
Margarethe von Trotta, one of the most celebrated female directors in the German cinema, pays homage to another remarkable woman in this screen biography of 12th century Renaissance woman Hildegard von Bingen. Hildegard (Barbara Sukowa) came to live at the Disibodenberg abbey when she was a youngster, and grew up under the watchful but compassionate eye of Jutta the Holy (Mareile Blendl). In her teens, Hildegard became a nun and was known among her peers for her generous nature and desire to help others; she developed a talent for formulating herbal medicine as well as gift for composing music, and after three decades she was selected to become a magistra at the abbey. Hildegard was born during a time when women were expected to serve and not to preach, but she fearlessly began speaking to others about her religious visions, which she used as a vehicle to share lessons in faith in a manner that circumvented the rules. Hildegard also fearlessly denounced the violent self-abasement that was common among holy men and women of her day, believing that a faith born of kindness and devotion was more valuable than that which came from fear and pain. While Hildegard won may friends through her work, she also gained more than a few enemies, and while some denounced her for not restricting herself to the traditional role of a woman in the church, others contended that her holy visions were not the work of the Lord, but of the Devil. Vision was an official selection at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival.

Waiting for Superman – documentary - Davis Guggenheim
Rotten Tomatoes: 93 Metacritic: 82
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKTfaro96dg
Documentary filmmaker Davis Guggenheim explores the tragic ways in which the American public education system is failing our nation's children, and explores the roles that charter schools and education reformers could play in offering hope for the future. We see the statistics every day -- students dropping out, science and math scores falling, and schools closing due to lack of funding. What we don't see are the names and faces of the children whose entire futures are at stake due to our own inability to enact change. There was a time when the American public education system was a model admired by the entire world. Today other countries are surpassing us in every respect, and the slogan "No Child Left Behind" has become a cynical punch line. Bianca, Emily, Anthony, Daisy, and Francisco are five students who deserve better. By investigating how the current system is actually obstructing their education instead of bolstering it, Guggenheim opens the door to considering possible options for transformation and improvement.

Winnebago Man – documentary - Ben Steinbauer
Rotten Tomatoes: 93 Metacritic: 71
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dRQtD-DL9k
In 1988, a man named Jack Rebney spent time with a camera crew making a promotional video to be used as a sales tool for recreational vehicles. To say Rebney was having a frustrating time would be something of an understatement; unable to remember much of the sales pitch he'd written and showing little patience as he dealt with bugs, hot weather, and uncooperative equipment, Rebney spoiled take after take, swearing a blue streak as one thing or another went wrong. The editors of the video created a gag reel in which Rebney's colorful bursts of anger were strung together for comic effect, and the footage circulated on dubbed videotapes until 2005. That year, someone posted Rebney's tirade online, and before long "Winnebago Man" became an Internet sensation, with the video racking up countless views and inspiring a number of parodies and on-line tributes. But who was Jack Rebney, why was he in such a lousy mood, and is he aware of his underground fame today? Filmmaker Ben Steinbauer decided to find out, and his search to locate Rebney and uncover the true story behind his moment of Internet infamy is chronicled in the documentary Winnebago Man. The film received its world premiere at the 2009 South by Southwest Film Festival.

A Woman, a Gun, and a Noodle Shop - foreign, drama - Yimou Zhang
Rotten Tomatoes: 27 Metacritic: 57
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMGBQDpfLnc&ob=av3e
Love, betrayal and murder take root in the deserts of China in this comedy-drama from filmmaker Zhang Yimou. Wang (Ni Dahong) is an ill-tempered tyrant who runs a noodle shop not far from the Great Wall. Wang treats his employees like dirt and isn't much friendlier to his long-suffering wife (Ni Yan), who soothes her nerves by having an affair with Li (Xiao Shen-Yang), one of Wang's cooks. The wife would like to take Wang out of the picture, and one day she gives Li a gun, suggesting that he kill Wang so they can live in peace. A crooked cop named Zhang learns about the plot and tells Wang about the lovers, offering to kill them for a price. The next day, Zhang returns with evidence that Wang's wife and his cook have been shot, but shoots Wang before he can pay him. Zhang is about to empty out Wang's safe when he discovers he wasn't the only one with a plan to double-cross the despised noodle baron. Inspired by Joel & Ethan Coen's Blood Simple, San Qiang Pai An Jing Qi (aka A Woman, A Gun and a Noodle Shop was an official selection at the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival.

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger - comedy/romance - Woody Allen
Rotten Tomatoes: 50 Metacritic: 54
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khCJuVtiavs
Two couples find their lives turned upside down by their unfulfilled longings in this ensemble comedy from director Woody Allen. Alfie (Anthony Hopkins) and Helena (Gemma Jones) have been married for years. They have a grown-up daughter named Sally (Naomi Watts), who is married to a successful novelist named Roy (Josh Brolin), but finds the future of her marriage in jeopardy after falling for Greg (Antonio Banderas), the dapper owner of a prominent art gallery. Meanwhile, as Roy develops a fixation on Dia (Freida Pinto), an exotic beauty he encounters on the street, Alfie ditches Helena for Charmaine (Lucy Punch), an impressionable young call girl. Now it seems that the harder everyone tries runs away from their problems, the faster their lives seem to fall apart.

July Advisory Meeting Candidates

Animal Kingdom – Crime - David Michod
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5BsYRmMfus
A youngster is given an inside look at a criminal empire that also happens to be his family in this independent drama. Teenage Joshua Cody (James Frecheville) is suddenly on his own after his mother's drug habit catches up with her, and he's taken in by his grandmother Smurf (Jacki Weaver), usually regarded as the black sheep of the family. Joshua quickly learns Smurf's reputation is well deserved; she and her four sons are members of a mid-level crime syndicate that operates out of her home in Melbourne. Baz (Joel Edgerton) looks after the money and is urging Smurf to move into something legit, Pope (Ben Mendelsohn) is a criminal jack-of-all-trades who never lets go of a grudge, Darren (Luke Ford) is an enforcer with an unfortunate weak streak, and Craig (Sullivan Stapleton) is a drug dealer who has become addicted to his own product. When Baz is murdered, the family's voice of reason is gone, and the unstable Pope takes the lead in the family's hierarchy; as a war breaks out between rival families, Joshua is moved out of the house to keep him safe. But Nathan Leckie (Guy Pearce) is a police detective who has found out who Joshua is and what he knows, and he tries to convince the teenager to help him put the Cody family behind bars, though Joshua isn't certain about his loyalties to these outlaws who are also his blood. The first feature film from director David Michod, Animal Kingdom was an official selection at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, where it received the World Cinema Jury Prize for Best Dramatic Feature.

Behind the Burly Q – documentary - Leslie Zemeckis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=189Zme-Ioh8
"In the days before hardcore pornography attained mainstream accessibility in America, a more docile and suggestive form of adult entertainment proliferated in and around big cities, especially Manhattan: the classic burlesque show. Populated by musicians, comedians, and strippers, and cloaked in an overarching gaudiness, ""burly"" shows typically cost a dime for a single admission. Especially during difficult eras such as the Great Depression, the shows enabled male attendees to temporarily cast their troubles aside. As helmed by Leslie Zemeckis (documentarist wife of Robert Zemeckis), this chronicle examines the burly tradition by interviewing authors, historians, and burlesque participants including former strippers, comedians, and novelty acts. Taken together, the personal reminiscences not only reflect a broad spectrum of emotions, from triumph to tragedy, but add up to a historical chronicle of a unusual, now-extinct subculture that will remain forever tied to the early to mid-20th century.

Boogie Woogie – comedy - Duncan Ward
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SzNnR6OElw
A star-studded cast including Amanda Seyfried, Gillian Anderson, Alan Cumming, Heather Graham, Stellan Skarsgård and Christopher Lee brings the eccentricities of the London art scene to life in this character-driven comedy. The film is based on Danny Moynihan's book, which takes its title from Piet Mondrian's iconic painting, and the plot centers on the painting: who has it -- and who wants to get it.

Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky – drama - Jan Kounen
RT: 52 MC: 57
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1K0G9_SmT0
"The brief love affair between two 20th century icons is dramatized in this period drama from director Jan Kounen. Igor Stravinsky (Mads Mikkelsen) was one of Europe's most promising new composers when in 1913 he premiered his ballet Le Sacre du Printemps (aka The Rite of Spring); the piece proved to be wildly controversial, and the audience at the Paris debut was vocal in their disgust, ruining Stravinsky's reputation for years. One patron who did like the performance was Coco Chanel (Anna Mouglalis), who was already among Europe's most celebrated fashion designers. Seven years later, Chanel encounters Stravinsky at a party, and learns that the composer is penniless and without a place to live. Chanel befriends him, and allows him to move into her summer home in the country along with his wife, Catherine (Elena Morozova), and their four children. Chanel is nursing a broken heart after the recent death of her boyfriend, and what began as an act of compassion for a fellow artist turns into an affair of the heart as Chanel and Stravinsky become lovers, much to the chagrin of the sickly Catherine. Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky was the second film about the fashion icon released in 2009, following Anne Fontaine's Coco Before Chanel.
"
The Concert - comedy/drama - Radu Mihaileanu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aait4aOxP0
Twenty-five years after losing his position as the conductor of the Bolshoi Orchestra for his refusal to fire the Jewish musicians, a once-famous musical director attempts to stage a late-career comeback. Andreï Semoinovitch Filipov (Aleksei Guskov) was at the top of his game when the Soviet regime ended his career. More than two decades later, he's working as a janitor in the same theater where he once conducted. In his spare time, Andreï and his wife stage mock communist demonstrations to entertain the locals. When Andreï happens across an invitation to Paris' famed Théâtre du Châtelet, he contacts his old orchestra friends in hopes of staging a performance that will bring the crowd to their feet for a standing ovation.

Cyrus - comedy/drama - Jay and Mark Duplass
Rotten Tomatoes: 79 Metacritic: 73
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G0bYpMQ-fI
Directed by mumblecore stalwarts Jay and Mark Duplass, Cyrus stars John C. Reilly as John, a middle-aged lonely divorced guy who, as the film opens, gets dragged to a party by his remarried ex-wife (Catherine Keener) -- who remains his best friend. After a few clumsy, drunken passes at a variety of women, John encounters Molly (Marisa Tomei), an attractive single-mom who finds John's social awkwardness appealing. They hit it off, and quickly begin a tender new relationship. Problems soon arise in the form of Cyrus (Jonah Hill), Molly's twentysomething son, who has an off-puttingly close relationship to his mom. Soon the jealous Cyrus sets about trying to break them up, and John must figure out how to deal with this unhinged and unexpected rival.

Dancing Across Borders – documentary - Anne Bass
Rotten Tomatoes: 63 Metacritic: 47
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtVWON4fqCI
Filmmaker Anne H. Bass was visiting Cambodia when she saw a young man dancing in the street and was immediately struck by his skill, his passion, and his charisma. Bass introduced herself to the dancer, Sokvannara Sar, and she was impressed enough with him that she offered to help him come to the United States to study classical dance. It was the beginning of a remarkable journey for Sar, as he went from performing folk dances on the street to the rigors of professional-level ballet study in America, where he was a highly promising but unlikely new figure on the dance scene. Bass and her camera were on hand for much of Sar's transition to his new life, and the documentary Dancing Across Borders tells his remarkable story, from busking in the streets to a special performance accompanied by composer Philip Glass. Dancing Across Borders received its world premiere as an official selection at the 2009 Seattle International Film Festival.

Dogtooth – foreign - Giorgos Lanthimos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alqV65PnfOE
Three young people exist in a strange world of their parents' devising in this bizarre drama from writer and director Yorgos Lanthimos. A father and mother (Christos Stergioglou and Michele Valley) live in a large house on the outskirts of town with their three children, whose ages range from mid-teens to early twenties. The children have never been allowed to leave the house (which is surrounded by a tall fence), and their knowledge of the outside world has been strictly controlled by their parents, who have chosen to teach them only what they believe is important and have deliberately confused or misled them in many other areas. The parents quite literally treat their children like animals, and the only contact the youngsters have with people outside their family is Christina (Anna Kalaitzidou), a woman who works with the father's business and comes by periodically to have sex with the eldest son (Christos Passalis). Christina makes the mistake of bringing a present for the two younger daughters (Aggeliki Papoulia and Mary Tsoni), and explains the custom is that they should give her something in return. This simple act sets off a chain reaction of events that has terrible consequences for everyone involved. Kynodontas (aka Dogtooth) was an official selection at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.

Everyone Else - drama/romance - Maren Ade
Rotten Tomatoes: 100 Metacritic: 74
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OqI9gxz7tY
In this edgy comedy drama from director Maren Ade, Chris (Lars Eidinger) and Gitti (Birgit Minichmayr) are a couple whose relationship has more than its share of ups and downs; she works as a publicist for a rock group whose career is going nowhere in particular, while he's an architect who hasn't been able to persuade anyone to build one of his designs just yet. While Gitti's career isn't much, it's enough to give her head-of-the-household status, to Chris' chagrin. Chris and Gitti are spending some time at his well-to-do family's summer home in Sardinia, and they seem to be getting along relatively well until they meet another couple vacationing nearby, Hans (Hans-Jochen Wagner) and Sana (Nicole Marischka). Hans is an architect like Chris, but unlike Chris his career is in high gear, while Sana is a well-respected artist. Hans isn't afraid to display his alpha-male status in their relationship, and Chris' attempts to emulate him add to the tension between him and Gitti, while she isn't sure what to make of a couple who seem so outwardly happy. Alle Anderen (aka Everyone Else) was an official selection at the 2009 Berlin International Film Festival.

The Extra Man – comedy - Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Rotten Tomatoes: 50
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etxKmplTT9Q
A lonely writer quits his job at a Princeton prep school and sets his sights on New York, where he forges an unlikely bond with an eccentric playwright who now earns his living as an escort for wealthy Manhattan widows. Upon arriving in New York City, Louis Ives (Paul Dano) quickly lands a job at an environmental magazine and leases a room from Henry Harrison (Kevin Kline), a celebrated playwright without a penny to his name. Later, as Louis attempts to strike up a relationship with his environmentally conscious co-worker Mary (Katie Holmes), his urban education gets a sizable jump-start thanks to Henry, who spends his evenings with high-society widows hanging off both arms. As the bond between Henry and Louis strengthens, the young protégé realizes he isn't the only one gaining something from their unusual friendship.

Get Low – comedy - Aaron Schneider
Rotten Tomatoes: 100
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y17Me8uL6mA
Inspired by the true story of Tennessee recluse Felix "Bush" Breazeale, who planned his funeral while he was still alive, director Aaron Schneider's dramatic period thriller stars Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, Sissy Spacek, and Lewis Black. Few folks have spoken with Felix Bush (Duvall) since he disappeared into the Tennessee woods 40 years ago, and the ones who have don't necessarily have the kindest things to say about him. Gruff, confrontational, and ill-tempered, Felix has been the source of many malicious rumors over the years. Some say he's a cold-hearted killer and his penchant for walking into town with a shotgun, a wild beard, and threadbare clothes doesn't exactly give the impression of a man who seeks to make friends. When Bush walks into Frank Quinn's (Murray) funeral parlor and announces his intentions to throw himself a massive party before he passes away, word quickly spreads through town and anticipation starts to run high. Before long the big day has finally arrived, and Frank surprises everyone by revealing exactly why he shunned society to lead a life of solitude in the deep woods.

Handsome Harry – crime - Bette Gordon
Rotten Tomatoes: 79 Metacritic: 57
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRvBcejsv7s
A man seeking to escape the past realizes that he'll first have to confront the present after receiving a desperate call from a friend on his deathbed. Harry Sweeny (Jamey Sheridan) is an aged but handsome divorcée with a grown son and a small business. He lives a comfortable life in a small town, where his main source of entertainment is stopping by the local diner to flirt with pretty waitress Muriel (Karen Young). But Harry's life hasn't always been this easy, and after getting a call from Tom Kelly (Steve Buscemi) he starts to remember why. Tom isn't long for this earth, and before he goes he seeks forgiveness from David Kagan, a fellow crewman that he and Harry knew from their Navy days. Unable to say no to an old friend, Harry sets out on a reluctant search for David, visiting old friends and drudging up painful memories in the process. Why does Tom feel like he needs David's forgiveness to pass on, and whose redemption is Harry searching for anyway?

I Am Love – drama - Luca Guadagnino
Rotten Tomatoes: 81 Metacritic: 79
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUXEAhJb_O0
This lavish, sprawling drama from filmmaker Luca Guadagnino has drawn numerous comparisons to the films of Luchino Visconti for the grace with which it plumbs the inner workings of the Italian upper crust. Edoardo Recchi Sr. (Gabriele Ferzetti) is the aging patriarch of a Milanese clan that has amassed a significant fortune over the years through shrewd investments in the textile business. Edoardo Sr. has a beautiful wife, Allegra (Marisa Berenson), and the two have a reliable and dependable son, Tancredi (Pippo Delbono). Years ago, Tancredi met, fell in love with, and then married a woman named Emma (Tilda Swinton) amid a trip to Russia, and brought her back home to Milan; their children include sons Edoardo Jr. (Flavio Parenti) and Gianluca (Mattia Zaccaro), and artist daughter Elisabetta (Alba Rohrwacher). The family gathers for a reunion at Edoardo Sr. and Allegra's villa in Milan, but the happy gathering takes a somber turn when Edoardo suddenly dies not long after having lunch with his family. But the death is far from the only pivotal event that occurs that day: Edoardo Jr. also introduces his mother to a chef, Antonio (Edoardo Gabbriellini), with whom he plans to open a restaurant, and Emma finds herself drawn to the culinary artist. Meanwhile, Emma learns that Elisabetta is a lesbian, and though initially startled by this news, she takes the liberation of her daughter as inspiration for her own liberation from confining nuptials. On impulse, Emma travels to San Remo, catches sight of Antonio, and finds herself helplessly drawn to him. Meanwhile, as Emma and Elisabetta undertake their life-changing journeys, all of the men in the Recchi clan outside of Edoardo Jr. feel bound to profit-driven motives -- the commercialism of a class that has long ago shucked responsibility for its workers. This critically acclaimed film constituted Swinton's second collaboration with Guadagnino; they first worked together on the 1999 feature The Protagonists.

In My Sleep - drama/thriller - Allen Wolf
Rotten Tomatoes: 10 Metacritic: 33
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2x_O2XAc-g
"A young man fears that he may be the architect of his own destruction in this mind-bending thriller from director Allen Wolf. Marcus' (Philip Winchester) terror begins when he inexplicably wakes up half-naked in a cemetery late one night, with no recollection of the events that led up to his arrival there. He learns that he actually suffers from a rare disorder known as parasomnia, which causes him to engage in bizarre behavior during his sleep that he cannot remember the next day. His life takes a rather grisly turn when he wakes up one morning covered in blood, with a knife at his side -- and then learns that his best friend's wife was just stabbed to death. Uncertain if he might have done this himself to cover up a long-buried secret between himself and the victim, or if someone is setting him up as the fall guy in a murder plot, Marcus vows to track his own after-dark activities. Life grows even more bizarre when several strange phone calls roll in, and suggest to Marcus that someone may be watching or following him.
"
In Search of memory – documentary - Petra Seeger
Rotten Tomatoes: 100
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Yh1odPMgXI
Two years after Eric Kandel's autobiography, In Search of Memory: The Emergence of a New Science of the Mind, brought his theory about the biological basis of memory to the masses, filmmaker Petra Seeger explores the Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist's story to the screen in this documentary. A Viennese Jew by birth, Kandel was forced to emigrate to the United States at the age of nine. After studying literature and Austrian history in New York, he became a psychoanalyst and, eventually, a neuroscientist. Ever since Kandel's traumatic childhood in Nazi-occupied Vienna, he became obsessed with the search for memory. In this film, we follow Kandel on a personal journey into his own memory, and follow him as he conducts research from his institute at Columbia University in New York.

The Kids are All Right – drama - Lisa Cholodenko
Rotten Tomatoes: 93 Metacritic: 85
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgwjTy_cohg
The son of a same-sex couple seeks out the sperm donor who made his birth possible in this comedy from writer/director Lisa Cholodenko. The committed parents of two teenage children, Nic (Annette Bening) and Jules (Julianne Moore), are about to send their daughter, Joni (Mia Wasikowska), off to college when her younger brother, Laser (Josh Hutcherson), asks for her help in tracking down his biological father. Reluctantly inquiring with the sperm bank, Joni leaves her number so the office can pass it along to Laser's father. Enthusiastic at the thought of meeting his long lost offspring, Paul (Mark Ruffalo) musters the courage to reach out, and the family tree grows a new branch.

Lebanon – drama - Samuel Moaz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHWWH2bdowM
A handful of soldiers take a claustrophobic journey into the heart of war in this drama from Israeli writer and director Samuel Maoz. It's June 1982, and Israel is launching an invasion of Lebanon. Four men assigned to take part in the first strike are put on the same tank detail -- Assi (Itay Tiran) is the commanding officer, Shmulik (Yoav Donat) is a gunner new to the outfit, Hertzel (Oshri Cohen) keeps the weapons loaded, and Yigal (Michael Moshonov) drives the machine. After being given their orders by Jamil (Zohar Strauss), the men set out toward the Lebanese border, recognizing little of what goes on outside beyond what can be seen through Yigal's tiny window; they occasionally stop to help fellow Israelis hurt in battle, but for the most part, they roll relentlessly onward, occasionally arguing amongst themselves, until they arrive at their destination, a town already bombed into rubble by the Israeli Air Force. Few of their allies remain in the city, putting the soldiers in a perilous situation when a band of Syrian resistance fighters lays siege to the tank. Levanone (aka Lebanon) was an official selection at the 2009 Venice International Film Festival.

Life During Wartime – comedy/drama - Todd Solondz
Rotten Tomatoes: 78
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdKkqU73CoU
"Part sequel, part variation on his acclaimed and controversial HAPPINESS, the newest film from celebrated director Todd Solondz (WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE, PALINDROMES) assembles an amazing ensemble cast including Allison Janney, Shirley Henderson, Paul Reubens, Michael Kenneth Williams, Ally Sheedy, Charlotte Rampling, and Ciáran Hinds in an utterly hilarious exploration of the boundaries of forgiveness, family, and love. Ten years have passed since shocking revelations shattered the world of the Jordan family, and now sisters Joy (Henderson), Trish (Janney), and Helen (Sheedy), each embroiled in their own unique dilemmas, struggle to find their place in an unpredictable and volatile world. The past now haunts their family both literally and otherwise, and jeopardizes the future. Alternately hilarious and tragic, outrageous and poignant, LIFE DURING WARTIME is an audacious comedy with unexpected resonance."

La Mission – drama - Peter Bratt
Rotten Tomatoes: 43 Metacritic: 46
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTkVM3nCnAs
A reformed ex-convict and lowrider car aficionado kicks his beloved son out of the house after discovering that the boy has been living a secret life in Sundance Film Festival veteran Peter Bratt's heartfelt family drama. Che (Benjamin Bratt) is out of prison and on the straight and narrow. Still, every day is a struggle as he battles alcoholism and drives a bus in order to support his family. When the workday is done, Che and his friends, the "Mission Boyz," pass the time by restoring junked cars to mint condition. Feared by his peers yet deeply respected as the toughest Chicano on the block, Che is the kind of guy whose entire existence is defined by his macho reputation. There's no one in the world that Che loves more than his adolescent son, Jesse (Jeremy Ray Valdez), but both father and son are about to discover that love isn't exactly unconditional. Upon discovering that Jesse has been living a secret life, Che flies into a violent rage, assaulting the boy and kicking him out onto the street. Meanwhile, Che's attractive and headstrong neighbor Lena (Erika Alexander) challenges the ultra-macho gearhead to step back for a minute and take stock of the life he thought he had.

Mao's Last Dancer – drama - Bruce Beresford
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ufBNOkTvdQ
The true story of Li Cunxin and his journey from rural China to the bright lights of ballet stardom is brought to the screen in this biographical drama from director Bruce Beresford. In 1972, 11-year-old Li Cunxin (Huang Wenbin) is living with his parents, Niang (Joan Chen) and Dia (Wang Shuangbao), and six siblings while attending a tumbledown school in Shandog province. Li's life changes when representatives of Madame Mao's Beijing Dance Academy visit his school, and he is one of several students believed to have promise as a dancer. While life at the school is difficult for Li and many of the instructors are harsh and unforgiving, Chan (Zhang Su) takes the boy under his wing and grooms him into one of the school's star pupils. In 1981, Li (now played by Chi Cao) is chosen to travel to the United States as part of a student exchange with the Houston Ballet Company. Under the tutelage of Ben Stevenson (Bruce Greenwood), the company's director, Li impresses his peers and is given a key role in a televised production of Die Fledermaus; despite an attack of stage fright, Li's performance is a triumph. As Li came to love life in the United States, he also falls for an attractive young dancer, Elizabeth (Amanda Schull), and when his time in America draws to a close, he makes the decision to leave his old life behind and pursue a life of personal and creative freedom in America. Also starring Kyle MacLachlan and Camilla Vergotis, Mao's Last Dancer received its world premiere at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival.

Micmacs – comedy - Jean Pierre Jeunet
Rotten Tomatoes: 79 Metacritic: 61
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buarPFzHmBw
An underground lair serves as the point of inspiration for this deeply whimsical fantasy comedy (with echoes of Jodorowsky's Rainbow Thief) from French cause célèbre Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amélie, The City of Lost Children). The locale is post-9/11 Europe. As arms dealers go head to head with one another in a series of violent skirmishes -- suggesting that an apocalyptic cataclysm may be lingering on the horizon -- the unfortunate Bazil (Dany Boon) still reels from the long-ago death of his father from a roadside bomb, an event that left him orphaned as a boy. Now employed in a low-paying job as a video-store clerk, and still trying to determine how he fits into the scheme of things, he gets hit by a stray bullet from a drive-by shooting and promptly lands in the hospital. Upon release, he finds himself broke and unemployed. Hope soon crops up, however, in the form of Placard (Jean-Pierre Marielle), an ex-convict living in a scrap dump with a motley group of social outcasts -- all of whom welcome Bazil with warmth, compassion, and hospitality. Sure of his place for the first time in his life, Bazil joins forces with them to turn the dump into a lovely underground home, filled to the rafters with extraordinary inventions and sculptures. Soon after, the possibility of revenge against the munitions manufacturers responsible for Bazil's dad's death presents itself.

Mid-August Lunch - comedy/drama - Gianni Di Gregorio
Rotten Tomatoes: 91 Metacritic: 76
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEmkappTLEM
A man unexpectedly finds himself talking care of four women, three of whom he barely knows, in this sunny comedy from Italy. Gianni (Gianni di Gregorio) is a man in his mid-sixties who still lives with his mother; given that Valeria (Valeria De Franciscis) is well into her nineties, these days he looks after her rather than the other way around, though she remains quite spry given her age. Gianni and Valeria share an apartment in a building owned by Luigi (Alfonso Santagata); Gianni owes money on the rent, and Luigi, who wants to take off for the midsummer festivities of Ferragosto, makes him a deal -- Luigi will forgive the debt if his elderly mother, Marina (Marina Cacciotti), can stay with Gianni and Valeria for a few days. Gianni grudgingly agrees, but is upset when he discovers Luigi has also brought his aging aunt Maria (Maria Calì). Word apparently circulates that Gianni is running an informal home for the elderly, as his friend Marcello (Marcello Ottolenghi) stops by and drops off his mother, Grazia (Grazia Cesarini Sforza), for a day or two. While Gianni scrambles to look after the various needs of four elderly women, it soon becomes clear the ladies have strongly differing views on a number of subjects, making his job all the more difficult. Pranzo di Ferragosto (aka Mid-August Lunch) was written and directed by Gianni di Gregorio, who also played the harried son; it was the first directorial project for the veteran screenwriter.

The Misfortunates – drama - Felix Van Groeningen
Rotten Tomatoes: 82 Metacritic: 53
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrYi4kYc-fA
A boy growing up with a family of Flemish slobs learns more than his elders imagined they were capable of teaching in this purposefully rude comedy-drama. Gunther Strobbe (Kenneth Vanbaeden) is thirteen years old and living with his father Marcel (Koen De Graeve), his three uncles (Bert Haelvoet, Johan Heldenbergh and Wouter Hendrickx) and his grandmother (Gilda De Bal). You would think that Gunther has more than enough adult role models in his life, but the Strobbes are not an ordinary family; Marcel works part-time as a letter carrier, though the fact there are several bars on his route makes getting the work done a challenge, while his brothers are booze-addled layabouts who sponge off their mother, who is too sweet to deny them her meager pension. Gunther loves his family, but they often seem more like seedy playmates than authority figures, as the men in the house spend their days gulping down beer and sausage, breaking things, playing rude pranks on others and chasing women, often with hilarious but embarrassing consequences. Years later, Gunther has launched a career as a writer, is married and is expecting a son; suddenly frightened by the new responsibilities that await him, Gunther seeks out Marcel and his brothers for some advice on fatherhood, a subject one might not imagine is one of their strong suits. Directed by Felix van Groeningen, De Helaasheid der Dingen (aka The Misfortunates) was adapted from the novel by Dimitri Verhulst.

Mother and Child – drama - Rodrigo Garcia
Rotten Tomatoes: 83 Metacritic: 64
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H87uMXAQzjc
Writer/director Rodrigo García (Nine Lives) teams with executive producer Alejandro González Iñárritu to craft this drama highlighting the powerful bond between a mother and her son. It's been years since Karen (Annette Bening) gave her daughter, Elizabeth, up for adoption, and the decision to abandon her child has always haunted her. Upon meeting laid-back Paco (Jimmy Smits), Karen permits her anxiety and mistrust to get the best of her. On the surface it appears that Elizabeth (Naomi Watts) is none the worse for never knowing her biological mother; she's a fast-talking lawyer who's just landed a high-profile job at a firm fronted by Paul (Samuel L. Jackson), though her unsavory penchant for exploiting others is about to blow up in her face. Meanwhile, maternal-minded baker Lucy (Kerry Washington) longs to experience the joys of motherhood, eventually deciding that adoption is the best bet to start a family with her husband, Joseph (David Ramsey).

Mugabe and the White African – documentary - Lucy Bailey & Andrew Thompson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uxz03dyZj40
Robert Mugabe's rule as president of Zimbabwe has been wildly controversial, with his economic plans generally held responsible for the nation's hyperinflation and massive unemployment, while Mugabe has also been accused of widespread human rights violations. One of Mugabe's most notorious programs has been his policy of seizing farms owned by white Africans and turning them over to individuals affiliated with the Mugabe government; many of these nationalized farms have been put in the hands of people with little practical background in raising crops, with the nation's agricultural base thrown into chaos. Many white land owners in Zimbabwe have fled the country, but 75-year-old Michael Campbell is a veteran family farmer who has chosen to stay and fight; rather than turn over his property, Campbell has taken his case to an international court, accusing the government of Zimbabwe of racial discrimination and violation of his human rights by claiming ownership of his rightful property. Filmmakers Lucy Bailey and Andrew Thompson profile Campbell and present an indictment of the abuses of the Mugabe administration in the documentary Mugabe and the White African, which was an official selection at the 2009 Hot Docs International Film Festival.

The Oath – documentary - Laura Poitras
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGHgn2-I3YU
Two men who were part of the al-Qaeda terrorist network look back on their past with strongly mixed feelings in this documentary from director Laura Poitras. Before the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., made Osama bin Laden and his jihad against the West known to nearly every American, Abu Jandal was one of bin Laden's bodyguards, and he helped recruit Salim Hamdan, who served as bin Laden's personal driver. Jandal was able to escape prosecution and fled to Yemen, where he now makes a living driving a taxi. Jandal still regards America as a sworn enemy, but also views his days in al-Qaeda with little nostalgia, and he anticipates no hopeful future before him. Jandal also feels deep regret over the fate of Hamdan, who ended up in the United States military prison at Guantanamo Bay and was tried as a terrorist, despite his insistence he was bin Laden's chauffeur and nothing more. Hamdan's family and legal team struggle on his behalf without any illusions about his likely fate, and when Jandal speaks out to the press in his old friend's defense, Hamdan sends him a sharply worded letter asking him to stop. The Oath was an official selection at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

Off and Running – documentary - Nicole Opper
Rotten Tomatoes: 90 Metacritic: 68
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hga5PvXTMAs
An intimate and earnest examination of race , gender identity and the definition of "family," this sociological documentary chronicle filters said themes through the eyes of Avery Klein-Cloud, an intelligent and generally well-adjusted teenager from Brooklyn with decidedly unusual circumstances. Though African American herself, Avery grew up with two Jewish lesbian foster mothers, who also adopted two boys, one Korean and the other of mixed ethnicity. Encouraged by both mothers to get in touch with her biological mom for the first time, Avery writes a letter to the woman, but this decision sparks a profound identity crisis in Avery and contributes to increasingly disturbing behavior. As she questions who she is, she also begins spending lengthy periods of time away from home, drops out of school, and suffers from feelings of isolation and abandonment - and her plan to attend university on a track and field scholarship seems increasingly unlikely. What therefore commences as a meaningful journey of self-enlightenment regresses into a far more dangerous personal crisis for the young woman.

Paper Man - comedy/drama - Kieran Mulroney
Rotten Tomatoes: 33 Metacritic: 39
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5LPfNfSBmo
Jeff Daniels, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, and Lisa Kudrow headline co-writer/directors Michele and Kieran Mulroney's affectionate comedy drama detailing the unlikely friendship between a failed writer (Daniels) and the Long Island high school girl (Stone) who teaches him what it really means to take responsibility in life. Meanwhile, the author's long-suffering wife casts a disapproving gaze, and an imaginary superhero weighs in with his own take on the unusual bond.

Please Give - comedy - Nicole Holofcener
Rotten Tomatoes: 86 Metacritic: 73
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi9WlsYCr-k
A family looking for some extra space gets drawn into a difficult relationship with the folks next door in this comedy drama from writer and director Nicole Holofcener. Kate (Catherine Keener) and Alex (Oliver Platt) are a couple living in New York City who run a successful store specializing in vintage furniture. Kate and Alex have a teenage daughter, Abby (Sarah Steele) and their apartment is starting to feel a bit small for the three of them; Kate and Alex own the unit next door to them, and once the flat becomes vacant, they plan to knock out a wall and take over the space. However, Andra (Ann Morgan Guilbert), their tenant, is an elderly woman with a poor disposition who doesn't seem eager to go anywhere soon, and it's occurred to Kate and Alex that they're probably going to have wait for her to die, since evicting her would be very awkward. Hoping to make the best of the situation, Kate tries to strike up a friendship with Andra and her fiercely protective granddaughter Rebecca (Rebecca Hall), but Andra isn't especially interested in making new friends, and Rebecca's sister, Mary (Amanda Peet), isn't much easier to deal with. Kate and Alex are also struggling to communicate with Abby, who has her own issues regarding self-image. Please Give received its world premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

PRINCESS KAIULANI – drama - Marc Forby
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnG1cQja_JA
This gorgeous, sweeping historical epic tells the story of the final days of Hawaiian independence and how one young princess stood up to the impending takeover of her nation.

Prodigal Sons – documentary - Kimberly Reed
Rotten Tomatoes: 80 Metacritic: 68
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oz2BHFH4fc
Debut filmmaker Kimberly Reed addresses issues of identity, sexual orientation, childhood trauma, and family love as she returns to her small Montana hometown for her high school reunion, and attempts a long overdue reconciliation with her estranged adopted brother. As intense sibling rivalries come into focus and startling revelations emerge (including a blood relationship with Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth), intimate family discussions lead the filmmaker on a journey from Montana to Croatia in order to understand her family's ongoing struggle to come to terms with the past, and accept the present.

Restrepo - documentary - Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger
Rotten Tomatoes: 98 Metacritic: 84
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DjqR6OucBc
Filmmakers Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington pay a visit to Afghanistan's Korengal Valley to spend a year with the Second Platoon, a besieged squadron who dubbed their stronghold Outpost Restrepo in honor of their fallen comrade PFC Juan Restrepo. An al-Qaeda and Taliban stronghold, Korengal Valley sees some of the fiercest fighting in the War on Terror. At Outpost Restrepo, every shot fired is personal, and every target hit a gift to a fallen friend.

Stonewall Uprising – documentary - Kate Davis, David Heilbroner
Rotten Tomatoes: 83 Metacritic: 76
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZUZKtko4R0
Filmmakers Kate Davis and David Heilbroner team up to explore the Stonewall riots, an event that served as a sharp turning point for gay rights in the United States. The setting was a Greenwich Village gay bar called the Stonewall Inn; the date was June 28, 1969. It was a time when homosexuality was still seen as a dangerous mental illness, and raids on gay gathering spots were commonplace. When New York City police raided the Mafia-run establishment, they figured the patrons could be herded into paddy wagons without a fight -- they were wrong. Over the course of the next three days, gay protestors clashed with police in an uprising that made headlines across the world. In this film, participants from both sides of the conflict offer firsthand testimony about the social climate of the era and the riots that sparked a revolution.

Sweetgrass – documentary - Ilisa Barbash
Rotten Tomatoes: 95 Metacritic: 70
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdC2OvtzdE8
Filmmakers Ilisa Barbash and Lucien Castaing-Taylor continue their work capturing the stark beauty and danger of the Western landscape with this documentary. With only a soundtrack as narration, Sweetgrass tracks shepherds through Montana as they take their flocks on the long trek to the Beartooth Mountains.

The Tillman Story – documentary - Amir Bar-Lev
Rotten Tomatoes: 91
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-NbZqt8WJk
In 2002, as America was poised to go to war in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Pat Tillman, a defensive back with the Arizona Cardinals, joined the United States Army, believing he had a duty to serve in a time of need even though he had signed a lucrative deal to play professional football. Tillman served a tour of duty in Iraq and was on patrol in Afghanistan when, on April 22, 2004, he was killed during a reconnaissance mission near the border of Pakistan. When word spread about Tillman's death, the Army issued a press release declaring he'd been shot down while trying to heroically block the fire of a band of Taliban insurgents. While the Army's story painted a glowing picture of the fallen soldier and athlete, some of the details sounded suspect to Tillman's family, and in time they began asking questions. As it happens, Tillman's parents were outspoken in their opposition to the war in Iraq, and after he had seen what was happening firsthand, so was Tillman, who had been a sharp student with an interest in politics during his college years. In time, Tillman's parents demanded an investigation into their son's death, and the testimony of several witnesses revealed that Tillman wasn't felled during an act of heroism -- his death was the result of "friendly fire" by men from his own company, shooting indiscriminately at an unknown target. Filmmaker Amir Bar-Lev examines Pat Tillman's unusual life and times, the facts about his death, how and why the military created a cover story to hide the truth, and his family's battle to bring the real story into the open in the documentary The Tillman Story, which received its world premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

Who Do You Love – drama - Jerry Zaks
Rotten Tomatoes: 42 Metacritic: 52
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTWopcUmodo
The story of legendary record producer Leonard Chess (Alessandro Nivola), who helped rocket Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, and Etta James to stardom by founding the record label that revolutionized modern music, is told in Who Do You Love. Leonard and his brother, Phil (Jon Abrahams), were two immigrants living in Chicago in the 1950s, just as the blues sound was evolving into something vital and new. Recognizing the passion of the performers and the possibility for profit, the Chess brothers founded a nightclub that quickly evolved into a full-fledged record label. And while there were sacrifices to be made along the way, the transformative effect their efforts had on both the music industry and the masses still resounds each and every time we turn on the radio today.

Wild Grass – drama - Alain Resnais
Rotten Tomatoes; 66
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3TeAiMb754
Alain Resnais, one of the towering figures of the French New Wave, demonstrates he still has plenty to say in this drama based on a novel by Christian Gailly. Marguerite (Sabine Azéma) is a successful dentist with a busy practice and an offbeat hobby, flying small airplanes. One day, while running errands, Marguerite loses her wallet, and it's found by Georges (André Dussollier), a seemingly happy man with a wife, Suzanne (Anne Consigny), and two children (Vladimir Consigny and Sara Forestier). As Georges looks through the wallet and examines the photos of Marguerite, he finds he's fascinated with her and her life, and soon his curiosity about her becomes an obsession. Georges' attempts to integrate himself into Marguerite's life begin to alarm her, and she hires a private security team (Mathieu Amalric and Michel Vuillermoz) to keep him away, but Georges is determined that his new love for her will not be denied. Les Herbes Folles (aka Wild Grass) received its world premiere at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.

Winnebego Man – documentary - Ben Steinbauer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dRQtD-DL9k
In 1988, a man named Jack Rebney spent time with a camera crew making a promotional video to be used as a sales tool for recreational vehicles. To say Rebney was having a frustrating time would be something of an understatement; unable to remember much of the sales pitch he'd written and showing little patience as he dealt with bugs, hot weather, and uncooperative equipment, Rebney spoiled take after take, swearing a blue streak as one thing or another went wrong. The editors of the video created a gag reel in which Rebney's colorful bursts of anger were strung together for comic effect, and the footage circulated on dubbed videotapes until 2005. That year, someone posted Rebney's tirade online, and before long "Winnebago Man" became an Internet sensation, with the video racking up countless views and inspiring a number of parodies and on-line tributes. But who was Jack Rebney, why was he in such a lousy mood, and is he aware of his underground fame today? Filmmaker Ben Steinbauer decided to find out, and his search to locate Rebney and uncover the true story behind his moment of Internet infamy is chronicled in the documentary Winnebago Man. The film received its world premiere at the 2009 South by Southwest Film Festival.

May Advisory Meeting Candidates

180 Degrees South – documentary - Chris Malloy
Rotten Tomatoes: none Metacritic: none
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=em3mIrbOeFw
Inspired by Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins' 1968 excursion into Patagonia, adventurer Jeff Johnson sets out to retrace the footsteps of his heroes' arduous trek as filmmaker Chris Malloy follows with camera in hand. But despite the thrill of surfing the biggest wave he's ever encountered, Johnson quickly discovers just how treacherous things can get when you decide to challenge Mother Nature's majesty; in addition to enduring some particularly rough waters just off the coast of Easter Island, he quickly discovers that conquering Cerro Corcovado is no simple task. Later, during a face-to-face meeting with Chouinard and Tompkins, Johnson learns how their lifelong quest to explore everything that nature has to offer eventually lead them on a drive to ensure that the places they visited over the years will be preserved for future generations of explorers to discover.

Babies – documentary - Thomas Balmes
Rotten Tomatoes: 80 Metacritic: none
http://www.youtube.com/user/BabiesMovie?v=N009QUWUy7I&feature=pyv&ad=4990760724&kw=babies%20trailer
Filmmaker Thomas Balmes offers an adorable glimpse at the first phase of life in this film following four newborn babies through their first year of life. Ponijao, Bayar, Mari, and Hattie were born in Namibia, Mongolia, Japan, and California, respectively. By capturing their earliest stage of development on camera, Balmes reveals just how much we all have in common, despite being born to different parents and raised in different cultures.

Behind the Burly Q – documentary - Leslie Zemeckis
Rotten Tomatoes: 76 Metacritic: 62
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=189Zme-Ioh8
In the days before hardcore pornography attained mainstream accessibility in America, a more docile and suggestive form of adult entertainment proliferated in and around big cities, especially Manhattan: the classic burlesque show. Populated by musicians, comedians, and strippers, and cloaked in an overarching gaudiness, "burly" shows typically cost a dime for a single admission. Especially during difficult eras such as the Great Depression, the shows enabled male attendees to temporarily cast their troubles aside. As helmed by Leslie Zemeckis (documentarist wife of Robert Zemeckis), this chronicle examines the burly tradition by interviewing authors, historians, and burlesque participants including former strippers, comedians, and novelty acts. Taken together, the personal reminiscences not only reflect a broad spectrum of emotions, from triumph to tragedy, but add up to a historical chronicle of a unusual, now-extinct subculture that will remain forever tied to the early to mid-20th century.

Blood Done Signed My Name - drama - Jeb Stuart
Rotten Tomatoes: 48 Metacritic: 49
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQlrfwWzfak
Author Timothy Tyson's acclaimed novel is adapted for the screen in this sweeping civil rights drama from director Jeb Stuart. Set in Oxford, NC, in the 1970s, Blood Done Sign My Name tells the tale of Civil Rights leader Dr. Ben Chavis (Nate Parker), who played a pivotal role in desegregating North Carolina's public school system, and who would go on to become the youngest-ever executive director and CEO of the NAACP. The film centers on the racial tensions that flared after a white father and son were charged with murdering a black man, and were subsequently acquitted of the crime despite the fact that it took place in full view of the public.

Boogie Woogie – comedy - Duncan Ward
Rotten Tomatoes: 33 Metacritic: 35
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SzNnR6OElw
A star-studded cast including Amanda Seyfried, Gillian Anderson, Alan Cumming, Heather Graham, Stellan Skarsgård and Christopher Lee brings the eccentricities of the London art scene to life in this character-driven comedy. The film is based on Danny Moynihan's book, which takes its title from Piet Mondrian's iconic painting, and the plot centers on the painting: who has it -- and who wants to get it.

Breaking Upwards – romance - Daryl Wein
Rotten Tomatoes: 69 Metacritic: 57
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfnoJTFmedQ&feature=related
Their marriage turning stifling after just four years, a young New York couple attempts to escape their ennui by carefully strategizing their own breakup. Blurring the lines between fiction and reality, real-life couple Daryl Wein and Zoe Lister-Jones star as themselves in order to offer an unguarded exploration of young love, lust, and the hardships of codependency. By exploring alternatives to monogamy, creating arbitrary rules for their relationship, and doing everything in their power to avoid getting emotionally bruised, Daryl and Zoe attempt to discover a means of growing apart, together.

Casino Jack and the United States of Money – documentary - Alex Gibney
Rotten Tomatoes: 100 Metacritic: none
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX6UiFOr8uM
This portrait of Washington super lobbyist Jack Abramoff—from his early years as a gung-ho member of the GOP political machine to his final reckoning as a disgraced, imprisoned pariah—confirms the adage that truth is indeed stranger than fiction. A tale of international intrigue with Indian casinos, Russian spies, Chinese sweatshops, and a mob-style killing in Miami, this is the story of the way money corrupts our political process. Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney once again wields the tools of his trade with the skill of a master. Following the ongoing indictments of federal officials and exposing favor trading in our nation's capital, Gibney illuminates the way our politicians' desperate need to get elected—and the millions of dollars it costs—may be undermining the basic principles of American democracy. Infuriating, yet undeniably fun to watch, CASINO JACK is a saga of greed and corruption with a cynical villain audiences will love to hate.

City Island - comedy/drama - Raymond De Felitta
Rotten Tomatoes: 84 Metacritic: 66
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V8ldV0jSdY
A dysfunctional family living on a picturesque island in the Bronx spares no expense in avoiding the truth about their messed-up lives in writer/director Raymond de Felitta's dark family comedy. The family patriarch, Vince (Andy Garcia) is a prison guard who is secretly plotting a new career as an actor. Meanwhile, as Vince takes acting lessons on the down low, his daughter moonlights as a stripper and his younger namesake harbors a secret fetish that involves the family's 300-pound neighbor. Under normal circumstances Vincent's wife, Joyce (Julianna Margulies), would be the family rock, but lately she's been preoccupied with uncovering the identity of the hired help, a secret that only her husband knows.

City of Your Final Destination – drama - James Ivory
Rotten Tomatoes: 50 Metacritic: 53
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIhFvZ-XUro
James Ivory's adaptation of Peter Cameron's The City of Your Final Destination tells the story of a grad-student (Omar Metwally) hired to write a deceased author's biography. The young man soon discovers that the writer's suicide has left his family, mistress, and partner feuding. how the family of a writer makes sense of their past decades after the author commits suicide. The plot begins when a graduate student approaches the writer's offspring about access to their father's papers so that a biography about the man can be written.

Dancing Across Borders – documentary - Anne Bass
Rotten Tomatoes: 63 Metacritic: 47
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtVWON4fqCI
Filmmaker Anne H. Bass was visiting Cambodia when she saw a young man dancing in the street and was immediately struck by his skill, his passion, and his charisma. Bass introduced herself to the dancer, Sokvannara Sar, and she was impressed enough with him that she offered to help him come to the United States to study classical dance. It was the beginning of a remarkable journey for Sar, as he went from performing folk dances on the street to the rigors of professional-level ballet study in America, where he was a highly promising but unlikely new figure on the dance scene. Bass and her camera were on hand for much of Sar's transition to his new life, and the documentary Dancing Across Borders tells his remarkable story, from busking in the streets to a special performance accompanied by composer Philip Glass. Dancing Across Borders received its world premiere as an official selection at the 2009 Seattle International Film Festival.

Dogtooth – foreign - Giorgos Lanthimos
Rotten Tomatoes: none Metacritic: none
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alqV65PnfOE
Three young people exist in a strange world of their parents' devising in this bizarre drama from writer and director Yorgos Lanthimos. A father and mother (Christos Stergioglou and Michele Valley) live in a large house on the outskirts of town with their three children, whose ages range from mid-teens to early twenties. The children have never been allowed to leave the house (which is surrounded by a tall fence), and their knowledge of the outside world has been strictly controlled by their parents, who have chosen to teach them only what they believe is important and have deliberately confused or misled them in many other areas. The parents quite literally treat their children like animals, and the only contact the youngsters have with people outside their family is Christina (Anna Kalaitzidou), a woman who works with the father's business and comes by periodically to have sex with the eldest son (Christos Passalis). Christina makes the mistake of bringing a present for the two younger daughters (Aggeliki Papoulia and Mary Tsoni), and explains the custom is that they should give her something in return. This simple act sets off a chain reaction of events that has terrible consequences for everyone involved. Kynodontas (aka Dogtooth) was an official selection at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.

Everyone Else - drama/romance - Maren Ade
Rotten Tomatoes: 100 Metacritic: 74
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OqI9gxz7tY
In this edgy comedy drama from director Maren Ade, Chris (Lars Eidinger) and Gitti (Birgit Minichmayr) are a couple whose relationship has more than its share of ups and downs; she works as a publicist for a rock group whose career is going nowhere in particular, while he's an architect who hasn't been able to persuade anyone to build one of his designs just yet. While Gitti's career isn't much, it's enough to give her head-of-the-household status, to Chris' chagrin. Chris and Gitti are spending some time at his well-to-do family's summer home in Sardinia, and they seem to be getting along relatively well until they meet another couple vacationing nearby, Hans (Hans-Jochen Wagner) and Sana (Nicole Marischka). Hans is an architect like Chris, but unlike Chris his career is in high gear, while Sana is a well-respected artist. Hans isn't afraid to display his alpha-male status in their relationship, and Chris' attempts to emulate him add to the tension between him and Gitti, while she isn't sure what to make of a couple who seem so outwardly happy. Alle Anderen (aka Everyone Else) was an official selection at the 2009 Berlin International Film Festival.

Exit Through The Gift Shop – documentary – Banksy
Rotten Tomatoes: 95 Metacritic: 85
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsnX63KK2y0
Exit Through the Gift Shop marks the feature film debut of notorious street artist Banksy. The documentary's focus is French-born L.A. thrift shop owner Thierry Guetta, whose apparent compulsion to videotape every moment of his life led him to document the phenomenon of contemporary street art. Guetta's cousin, a street artist known as Space Invader, allowed the avid cameraman to tape him as he illegally spread his artwork, and Space Invader also introduced him to other street artists, whose work Guetta captured on tape. Eventually, Guetta hooked up with Shepard Fairey, who was best known (before he created an iconic Barack Obama campaign poster) for his widespread stickers featuring an image of the late wrestler Andre the Giant over the word "OBEY." Guetta soon hears about the mysterious street artist/prankster Banksy, and becomes obsessed with finding him and videotaping his exploits. Thanks to Guettta's growing reputation among street artists, the two eventually meet and form a sort of partnership. Guetta even videotapes Banksy's infamous "Gitmo" prank at Disneyland, wherein a handcuffed, hooded figure in an orange jumpsuit is placed beside one of the rides. They get along quite well until Banksy suggests that Guetta stop shooting, take the countless hours of footage he's accumulated, and start assembling them into a documentary. Banksy eventually takes over the documentary project, and inadvertently pushes Guetta's creative energy in a new direction, as Guetta becomes a kind of street artist himself, with shocking results. Exit Through the Gift Shop, narrated by Rhys Ifans, had its World Premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. While it was very well received, there was much speculation as to the documentary's veracity and the provenance of Guetta, his videotape, and his artwork. Given Banksy's reputation, that should not come as a surprise.

The Exploding Girl – drama - Bradley Rust Gra
Rotten Tomatoes: 72 Metacritic:66
http://www.youtube.com/user/oscopelabs#p/a/u/0/Irxf6VGhVRY
Ivy (Zoe Kazan of Revolutionary Road) returns home to Brooklyn for her summer break from college. She misses her boyfriend, and calls him frequently, but they can't quite seem to connect. She spends a lot of time with her longtime friend, Al (Mark Rendall of 30 Days of Night). Al clearly has a longstanding crush on Ivy, about which he's never done anything, probably out of some combination of fear and respect for their friendship. His confusion is exacerbated when, due to family circumstances, he's forced to stay with Ivy and her mother (Maryann Urbano) during his break from school. As the summer goes on, Ivy deals with her epilepsy and the slow, painful dissolution of her relationship, while Al starts to look for love in other directions. Bradley Rust Gray wrote and directed The Exploding Girl, while his wife, So Yong Kim, served as a producer. Fans of the Cure will recognize the title as a play on their song "The Exploding Boy," the flip side of "In Between Days," which was the title of Kim's directorial debut, on which Gray served as co-writer and producer. The Exploding Girl had its North American premiere at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival, where it was shown in the World Narrative Competition.

The Good, The Bad, The Weird – Action - Ji-woon Kim
Rotten Tomatoes: 88 Metacritic: 68
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SukNDHx4Qs8
As the Korean peninsula falls into the hands of Japanese imperialists and countless Koreans seek refuge in the vast wilderness of Manchuria, a determined thief, a cold-blooded hitman, and a mysterious bounty hunter all vie for an elusive map that could lead them to a buried treasure from the Qing Dynasty. Tae-gu is "The Weird," a thief who comes into possession of the sought-after map while boldly robbing a train of Japanese military officers. But at the very same time Tae-gu attacks the train, relentless assassin Chang-yi and his violent gang of bandits beset the locomotive as well. Chang-yi is "The Bad," and he'll kill anyone who tries to come between him and the untold treasures of the Qing Dynasty. Just as the cloud of gunpowder begins to clear, a shadowy stranger suddenly appears and rescues Tae-gu from certain death. That stranger is Do-won, "The Good." Do-won has been chasing Tae-gu in hopes that he can capture him and collect the reward money. Now, as these three resolute strangers converge in a sprawling landscape that none of them can truly call home, they quickly discover that Korean resistance fighters, resilient mountain bandits, and the Japanese army also covet the prized map. The fight on the train is only the beginning, too, because when the stakes are this high the action is bound to get bloody.

Handsome Harry – crime - Bette Gordon
Rotten Tomatoes: 79 Metacritic: 57
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRvBcejsv7s
A man seeking to escape the past realizes that he'll first have to confront the present after receiving a desperate call from a friend on his deathbed. Harry Sweeny (Jamey Sheridan) is an aged but handsome divorcée with a grown son and a small business. He lives a comfortable life in a small town, where his main source of entertainment is stopping by the local diner to flirt with pretty waitress Muriel (Karen Young). But Harry's life hasn't always been this easy, and after getting a call from Tom Kelly (Steve Buscemi) he starts to remember why. Tom isn't long for this earth, and before he goes he seeks forgiveness from David Kagan, a fellow crewman that he and Harry knew from their Navy days. Unable to say no to an old friend, Harry sets out on a reluctant search for David, visiting old friends and drudging up painful memories in the process. Why does Tom feel like he needs David's forgiveness to pass on, and whose redemption is Harry searching for anyway?

Harry Brown – crime - Daniel Barber
Rotten Tomatoes: 71 Metacritic: 53
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2S3SraFmI0
Academy Award nominee Daniel Barber (The Tonto Woman) makes his feature directorial debut with this gritty critique on contemporary British society starring Michael Caine as an elderly shut-in who's spurred to action by a senseless act of violence. Harry Brown (Caine) resides in a desolate public-housing apartment block as his sickly wife lies dying in a local hospital. He spends most of his days in solitude, only getting out to play the occasional game of chess at a nearby pub with his best friend, Leonard (David Bradley). The days of basic human decency seem to be a thing of the past, because in recent years barbarous drug dealers and gangsters have overtaken the dilapidated complex. Killing is a way of life for these young thugs, and as a result overburdened detectives Frampton (Emily Mortimer) and Hicock (Charlie Creed-Miles) are essentially relegated to knocking on doors and notifying parents when their children have been killed in the latest fracas, instead of investigating the crimes and jailing the guilty parties. When Leonard is murdered just feet from his own apartment, former Royal Marine Harry utilizes the skills he learned while fighting the IRA to take on the aggressive chavs who have intimidated the police into inaction.

In My Sleep - drama/thriller - Allen Wolf
Rotten Tomatoes:10 Metacritic: 33
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2x_O2XAc-g
A young man fears that he may be the architect of his own destruction in this mind-bending thriller from director Allen Wolf. Marcus' (Philip Winchester) terror begins when he inexplicably wakes up half-naked in a cemetery late one night, with no recollection of the events that led up to his arrival there. He learns that he actually suffers from a rare disorder known as parasomnia, which causes him to engage in bizarre behavior during his sleep that he cannot remember the next day. His life takes a rather grisly turn when he wakes up one morning covered in blood, with a knife at his side -- and then learns that his best friend's wife was just stabbed to death. Uncertain if he might have done this himself to cover up a long-buried secret between himself and the victim, or if someone is setting him up as the fall guy in a murder plot, Marcus vows to track his own after-dark activities. Life grows even more bizarre when several strange phone calls roll in, and suggest to Marcus that someone may be watching or following him.

In Search of Memory – documentary - Petra Seeger
Rotten Tomatoes100 Metacritic: none
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Yh1odPMgXI
Two years after Eric Kandel's autobiography, In Search of Memory: The Emergence of a New Science of the Mind, brought his theory about the biological basis of memory to the masses, filmmaker Petra Seeger explores the Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist's story to the screen in this documentary. A Viennese Jew by birth, Kandel was forced to emigrate to the United States at the age of nine. After studying literature and Austrian history in New York, he became a psychoanalyst and, eventually, a neuroscientist. Ever since Kandel's traumatic childhood in Nazi-occupied Vienna, he became obsessed with the search for memory. In this film, we follow Kandel on a personal journey into his own memory, and follow him as he conducts research from his institute at Columbia University in New York.

Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work - documentary - Ricki Stern
Rotten Tomatoes: none Metacritic: none
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIJf-W9FNY0
Joan Rivers launched her career as a standup comic in the early '60s, a time when female comedians were few and far between, and after several years of working nightclubs to unresponsive audiences, she was booked on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1965 and soon became one of the most successful comedy acts in the nation. Since then, Rivers has hosted several TV talk shows, written best-selling books, directed a feature film, launched a line of jewelry, and kept up a busy schedule of personal appearances, determined to hold on to her stardom regardless of the fickle winds of show business. Filmmakers Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg followed Rivers through a typically eventful year in her life, and in Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, they offer a look at the woman behind the laughter as she struggles to stay in the spotlight, works on new material, launches a one-woman show in the United Kingdom that doesn't fare as well as she hopes, takes a chance as a participant on a reality TV show, and ponders her career in show business at the age of 75. Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work received its world premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

The Joneses – drama - Derrick Borte
Rotten Tomatoes: 62 Metacritic: 55
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=achUBX71Fj0
A picture-perfect family moves into an upscale community, impressing the locals and integrating themselves into every aspect of the community until a sudden tragedy forces them to reassess their priorities. Steve (David Duchovny) and Kate Jones (Demi Moore) have everything a happily married couple could ever want: their kids, Jenn (Amber Heard) and Mick (Ben Hollingsworth), are intelligent and attractive, they live in an affluent neighborhood, and their sprawling suburban home is jam-packed with all of the coolest gizmos and gadgets that money can buy. It isn't long before the Joneses have struck up a friendship with their next-door neighbors Larry (Gary Cole) and Summer (Glenne Headly), and become integral components of their community. But take a closer look at the situation and you'll start to see something ominous lurking just beneath the surface. It's only when the Joneses are confronted with an unexpected disaster that they finally discover who they really are beneath the glossy veneer of consumerism.

La Mission – drama - Peter Bratt
Rotten Tomatoes: 43 Metacritic: 46
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTkVM3nCnAs
A reformed ex-convict and lowrider car aficionado kicks his beloved son out of the house after discovering that the boy has been living a secret life in Sundance Film Festival veteran Peter Bratt's heartfelt family drama. Che (Benjamin Bratt) is out of prison and on the straight and narrow. Still, every day is a struggle as he battles alcoholism and drives a bus in order to support his family. When the workday is done, Che and his friends, the "Mission Boyz," pass the time by restoring junked cars to mint condition. Feared by his peers yet deeply respected as the toughest Chicano on the block, Che is the kind of guy whose entire existence is defined by his macho reputation. There's no one in the world that Che loves more than his adolescent son, Jesse (Jeremy Ray Valdez), but both father and son are about to discover that love isn't exactly unconditional. Upon discovering that Jesse has been living a secret life, Che flies into a violent rage, assaulting the boy and kicking him out onto the street. Meanwhile, Che's attractive and headstrong neighbor Lena (Erika Alexander) challenges the ultra-macho gearhead to step back for a minute and take stock of the life he thought he had.

Looking for Eric - comedy/drama - Ken Loach
Rotten Tomatoes: 89 Metacritic: none
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j852L4afUJs
A man trying to put his life back on track gets some advice from an unexpected benefactor in this comedy drama from acclaimed British director Ken Loach. Eric Bishop (Steve Evets) is a postman living in Manchester whose life has been slowly going off the rails ever since his wife, Lily (Stephanie Bishop), walked out on him. Eric has just been released from the hospital after an auto accident, and comes home to a house that's a mess and two teenage sons, Ryan (Gerard Kearns) and Jess (Stefan Gumbs), who regard their dad as an annoyance rather than an authority figure. Eric's oldest child, a grown daughter named Sam (Lucy-Jo Hudson), loves him but can't get her mother or brothers to show him any respect. And his friends from work don't know what to do for him, except allow him to talk about football and his favorite team, Manchester United. One night, Eric is home alone, smoking some weed, and to his amazement he's visited by an apparition of Eric Cantona, the French footballer who was a star for Manchester United in the 1990s until he retired and dropped out of sight. Cantona's ghost has come to give Eric a pep talk and offer him some advice on how to win Lily back, and as Eric tries to convince his wife to give him another chance, Cantona periodically appears to coach him in the ways of romance. Looking for Eric was an official selection at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.

Lourdes – drama - Jessica Hausner
Rotten Tomatoes: 80 Metacritic: 67
http://www.tartanfilmsusa.com/Film.asp?ProjectID={55512AE6-A6D3-45EA-8FB7-9CAA00B4AFA4}
A woman searching for a miracle seemingly finds one -- but what comes next? Christine (Sylvie Testud) has spent most of her life confined to a wheelchair, unable to use her arms and legs, and while she has a keen mind and the means to seek treatment, she looks for a solution to her condition in faith as well as medical science. Christine has made a pilgrimage to Lourdes, the village in Southwestern France where a celebrated miracle is said to have occurred, and she checks into an upscale clinic where a young nurse named Maria (Lea Seydoux) is assigned to look after her. Christine imagines that she and Maria are becoming fast friends, but the nurse prefers to spend her time with her co-workers rather than her patients, and she often flirts with Kuno (Bruno Todeschini), a handsome man who also works at the clinic. Christine finds herself having several conversations with Mme. Hartl (Gilette Barbier), who has a powerful belief in the healing powers of the waters of Lourdes, and after several days of treatment, Christine is amazed to find that she's regained the full use of her arms and legs. But once she's experienced the miracle she hoped for, Christine's interest is less in thanking the Lord and more in pursuing Kuno. Lourdes was written and directed by Jessica Hausner, and received its world premiere at the 2009 Venice International Film Festival.

Micmacs – comedy - Jean Pierre Jeunet
Rotten Tomatoes: 79 Metacritics: none
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buarPFzHmBw
An underground lair serves as the point of inspiration for this deeply whimsical fantasy comedy (with echoes of Jodorowsky's Rainbow Thief) from French cause célèbre Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amélie, The City of Lost Children). The locale is post-9/11 Europe. As arms dealers go head to head with one another in a series of violent skirmishes -- suggesting that an apocalyptic cataclysm may be lingering on the horizon -- the unfortunate Bazil (Dany Boon) still reels from the long-ago death of his father from a roadside bomb, an event that left him orphaned as a boy. Now employed in a low-paying job as a video-store clerk, and still trying to determine how he fits into the scheme of things, he gets hit by a stray bullet from a drive-by shooting and promptly lands in the hospital. Upon release, he finds himself broke and unemployed. Hope soon crops up, however, in the form of Placard (Jean-Pierre Marielle), an ex-convict living in a scrap dump with a motley group of social outcasts -- all of whom welcome Bazil with warmth, compassion, and hospitality. Sure of his place for the first time in his life, Bazil joins forces with them to turn the dump into a lovely underground home, filled to the rafters with extraordinary inventions and sculptures. Soon after, the possibility of revenge against the munitions manufacturers responsible for Bazil's dad's death presents itself.

Mid-August Lunch - comedy/drama - Gianni Di Gregorio
Rotten Tomatoes: 91 Metacritic: 76
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEmkappTLEM
A man unexpectedly finds himself talking care of four women, three of whom he barely knows, in this sunny comedy from Italy. Gianni (Gianni di Gregorio) is a man in his mid-sixties who still lives with his mother; given that Valeria (Valeria De Franciscis) is well into her nineties, these days he looks after her rather than the other way around, though she remains quite spry given her age. Gianni and Valeria share an apartment in a building owned by Luigi (Alfonso Santagata); Gianni owes money on the rent, and Luigi, who wants to take off for the midsummer festivities of Ferragosto, makes him a deal -- Luigi will forgive the debt if his elderly mother, Marina (Marina Cacciotti), can stay with Gianni and Valeria for a few days. Gianni grudgingly agrees, but is upset when he discovers Luigi has also brought his aging aunt Maria (Maria Calì). Word apparently circulates that Gianni is running an informal home for the elderly, as his friend Marcello (Marcello Ottolenghi) stops by and drops off his mother, Grazia (Grazia Cesarini Sforza), for a day or two. While Gianni scrambles to look after the various needs of four elderly women, it soon becomes clear the ladies have strongly differing views on a number of subjects, making his job all the more difficult. Pranzo di Ferragosto (aka Mid-August Lunch) was written and directed by Gianni di Gregorio, who also played the harried son; it was the first directorial project for the veteran screenwriter.

The Misfortunates - drama - Felix Van Groeningen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrYi4kYc-fA
Rotten Tomatoes: 82 Metacritic:53
A boy growing up with a family of Flemish slobs learns more than his elders imagined they were capable of teaching in this purposefully rude comedy-drama. Gunther Strobbe (Kenneth Vanbaeden) is thirteen years old and living with his father Marcel (Koen De Graeve), his three uncles (Bert Haelvoet, Johan Heldenbergh and Wouter Hendrickx) and his grandmother (Gilda De Bal). You would think that Gunther has more than enough adult role models in his life, but the Strobbes are not an ordinary family; Marcel works part-time as a letter carrier, though the fact there are several bars on his route makes getting the work done a challenge, while his brothers are booze-addled layabouts who sponge off their mother, who is too sweet to deny them her meager pension. Gunther loves his family, but they often seem more like seedy playmates than authority figures, as the men in the house spend their days gulping down beer and sausage, breaking things, playing rude pranks on others and chasing women, often with hilarious but embarrassing consequences. Years later, Gunther has launched a career as a writer, is married and is expecting a son; suddenly frightened by the new responsibilities that await him, Gunther seeks out Marcel and his brothers for some advice on fatherhood, a subject one might not imagine is one of their strong suits. Directed by Felix van Groeningen, De Helaasheid der Dingen (aka The Misfortunates) was adapted from the novel by Dimitri Verhulst.

Mother and Child – drama - Rodrigo Garcia
Rotten Tomatoes: 83 Metacritic: none
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H87uMXAQzjc
Writer/director Rodrigo García (Nine Lives) teams with executive producer Alejandro González Iñárritu to craft this drama highlighting the powerful bond between a mother and her son. It's been years since Karen (Annette Bening) gave her daughter, Elizabeth, up for adoption, and the decision to abandon her child has always haunted her. Upon meeting laid-back Paco (Jimmy Smits), Karen permits her anxiety and mistrust to get the best of her. On the surface it appears that Elizabeth (Naomi Watts) is none the worse for never knowing her biological mother; she's a fast-talking lawyer who's just landed a high-profile job at a firm fronted by Paul (Samuel L. Jackson), though her unsavory penchant for exploiting others is about to blow up in her face. Meanwhile, maternal-minded baker Lucy (Kerry Washington) longs to experience the joys of motherhood, eventually deciding that adoption is the best bet to start a family with her husband, Joseph (David Ramsey).

My Name is Khan - drama/romance - Karan Johar
Rotten Tomatoes: none Metacritic: 50
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ruf0iEMT6M
A benevolent Asperger's sufferer Rizwan Khan (Shah Rukh Khan) sets out on a journey across America on a mission to win back his one true love. As his travels continue, Khan inspires optimism and joy in the hearts of the people he encounters by spreading messages of goodwill wherever he roams.

No One Knows About Persian Cats – drama - Bahman Ghobadi
Rotten Tomatoes: 97 Metacritic: 70
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gLq3E4pRuU
Iran is a nation where most forms of pop music have been strictly banned by the government, but that doesn't stop plenty of people from playing the music they love in secret, and a pair of underground musicians in Tehran struggle to be heard without going to jail in this independent \comedy-drama from director Bahman Ghobadi. Negar (Negar Shaghaghi) and Ashkan (Ashkan Koshanejad) are two friends who front an \indie rock band, though their inability to play in public has been something of a drawback. Negar and Ashkan have been able to arrange a gig in London, and are searching for like minded musicians to accompany them when they meet Nader (Hamed Behdad), a fast-talking black market businessman who deals in bootlegged music and movies, fake passports and underground practice spaces (both literally and figuratively) for local rock musicians. Nader offers to help Negar and Ashkan find fellow musicians and a place to rehearse, but this process isn't nearly as simple or safe as Nader makes it out to be. Kasi az gorbehayeh irani khabar nadareh (aka No One Knows About Persian Cats) was an official selection at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, where it was screened as part of the "Un Certain Regard" program.

The Oath – documentary - Laura Poitras
Rotten Tomatoes: none Metacritic: none
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGHgn2-I3YU
Two men who were part of the al-Qaeda terrorist network look back on their past with strongly mixed feelings in this documentary from director Laura Poitras. Before the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., made Osama bin Laden and his jihad against the West known to nearly every American, Abu Jandal was one of bin Laden's bodyguards, and he helped recruit Salim Hamdan, who served as bin Laden's personal driver. Jandal was able to escape prosecution and fled to Yemen, where he now makes a living driving a taxi. Jandal still regards America as a sworn enemy, but also views his days in al-Qaeda with little nostalgia, and he anticipates no hopeful future before him. Jandal also feels deep regret over the fate of Hamdan, who ended up in the United States military prison at Guantanamo Bay and was tried as a terrorist, despite his insistence he was bin Laden's chauffeur and nothing more. Hamdan's family and legal team struggle on his behalf without any illusions about his likely fate, and when Jandal speaks out to the press in his old friend's defense, Hamdan sends him a sharply worded letter asking him to stop. The Oath was an official selection at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

Off and Running – documentary - Nicole Opper
Rotten Tomatoes: 90 Metacritic: 68
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hga5PvXTMAs
An intimate and earnest examination of race , gender identity and the definition of "family," this sociological documentary chronicle filters said themes through the eyes of Avery Klein-Cloud, an intelligent and generally well-adjusted teenager from Brooklyn with decidedly unusual circumstances. Though African American herself, Avery grew up with two Jewish lesbian foster mothers, who also adopted two boys, one Korean and the other of mixed ethnicity. Encouraged by both mothers to get in touch with her biological mom for the first time, Avery writes a letter to the woman, but this decision sparks a profound identity crisis in Avery and contributes to increasingly disturbing behavior. As she questions who she is, she also begins spending lengthy periods of time away from home, drops out of school, and suffers from feelings of isolation and abandonment - and her plan to attend university on a track and field scholarship seems increasingly unlikely. What therefore commences as a meaningful journey of self-enlightenment regresses into a far more dangerous personal crisis for the young woman.

Paper Man - comedy/drama - Kieran Mulroney
Rotten Tomatoes: 33 Metacritic: 39
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5LPfNfSBmo
Jeff Daniels, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, and Lisa Kudrow headline co-writer/directors Michele and Kieran Mulroney's affectionate comedy drama detailing the unlikely friendship between a failed writer (Daniels) and the Long Island high school girl (Stone) who teaches him what it really means to take responsibility in life. Meanwhile, the author's long-suffering wife casts a disapproving gaze, and an imaginary superhero weighs in with his own take on the unusual bond.

The Paranoids – comedy - Gabriel Medina
Rotten Tomatoes: 44 Metacritic: 52
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcakNaeemiA
A loser with a successful friend discovers his luck might change as long as he doesn't mind betraying his buddy in this edgy comedy from Argentina. Luciano (Daniel Hendler) is a neurotic and accident-prone children's entertainer who is struggling to launch a career as a screenwriter when he's not fretting about his health. After Luciano accidentally puts his performing partner, Sherman (Martin Feldman), in the hospital, he's unable to do shows for a few weeks and is wondering what to do when his old friend Manuel (Walter Jakob) returns to Buenos Aires for a visit. Manuel is the star of a popular television show in Spain, and he's dating a beautiful woman, Sophia (Jazmin Stuart), who comes along for the ride. Manuel helps Luciano land a writing assignment, but it's uncomfortably obvious he's only helping his pal out of a sense of obligation and doesn't believe in his talent. As Luciano struggles to meet his deadline, Manuel is called away on business for a few days, and Sophia, a stranger in town, spends some time with Luciano while her boyfriend is away. Sophia finds Luciano's eccentricities endearing rather than annoying, and he soon realizes he has the opportunity to steal his friend's lover away. Los Paranoicos (aka The Paranoids) was an official entry at the 2008 Buenos Aires Film Festival.

Please Give - comedy - Nicole Holofcener
Rotten Tomatoes: 86 Metacritic: 73
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi9WlsYCr-k
A family looking for some extra space gets drawn into a difficult relationship with the folks next door in this comedy drama from writer and director Nicole Holofcener. Kate (Catherine Keener) and Alex (Oliver Platt) are a couple living in New York City who run a successful store specializing in vintage furniture. Kate and Alex have a teenage daughter, Abby (Sarah Steele) and their apartment is starting to feel a bit small for the three of them; Kate and Alex own the unit next door to them, and once the flat becomes vacant, they plan to knock out a wall and take over the space. However, Andra (Ann Morgan Guilbert), their tenant, is an elderly woman with a poor disposition who doesn't seem eager to go anywhere soon, and it's occurred to Kate and Alex that they're probably going to have wait for her to die, since evicting her would be very awkward. Hoping to make the best of the situation, Kate tries to strike up a friendship with Andra and her fiercely protective granddaughter Rebecca (Rebecca Hall), but Andra isn't especially interested in making new friends, and Rebecca's sister, Mary (Amanda Peet), isn't much easier to deal with. Kate and Alex are also struggling to communicate with Abby, who has her own issues regarding self-image. Please Give received its world premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

Police, Adjective - comedy/crime - Corneliu Porumboiu
Rotten Tomatoes: none Metacritic: 79
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y92qUjeUBw
A cop finds himself growing uncomfortable with his latest assignment in this study in the nature of power and authority from Romanian director Corneliu Porumboiu. Cristi (Dragos Bucur) is a seasoned police detective who has just gotten married to Anca (Irina Saulescu) and wants to keep his superiors happy. Cristi's boss, Nelu (Ion Stoica), has ordered the detective to keep a close watch on Victor (Radu Costin), a teenager who is suspected of dealing drugs for a local cartel. Cristi has spent several weeks following Victor's actions and is certain that the kid smokes marijuana with his friends, but isn't any kind of drug pusher and should be left alone. Cristi is also aware that Romanian authorities are expected to relax their laws regarding drugs in the near future, making it all but pointless to possibly ruin Victor's life by bringing him in, but while Nelu understands Cristi's thinking, he's not so willing to let the youngster off so easily. Politist, Adj. (aka Police, Adjective) was an official selection at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.

PRINCESS KAIULANI – drama - Marc Forby
Rotten Tomatoes: none Metacritic: none
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnG1cQja_JA
This gorgeous, sweeping historical epic tells the story of the final days of Hawaiian independence and how one young princess stood up to the impending takeover of her nation.

Prodigal Sons – documentary - Kimberly Reed
Rotten Tomatoes: 80 Metacritic: 68
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oz2BHFH4fc
Debut filmmaker Kimberly Reed addresses issues of identity, sexual orientation, childhood trauma, and family love as she returns to her small Montana hometown for her high school reunion, and attempts a long overdue reconciliation with her estranged adopted brother. As intense sibling rivalries come into focus and startling revelations emerge (including a blood relationship with Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth), intimate family discussions lead the filmmaker on a journey from Montana to Croatia in order to understand her family's ongoing struggle to come to terms with the past, and accept the present.

Red Riding Trilogy - crime/drama - Tony Grisoni
Rotten Tomatoes: 77 Metacritic: 75
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx5rqw9tXB8
This most unusual film project from Britain - which clocks in at just over 5 ½ hours - actually consists of three separate features, each by a different director and done in a unique style, recounting the search for the notorious Yorkshire Ripper - a serial killer who terrorized the female population of Yorkshire, England on and off between the mid-1970s and the very early 1980s. Screenwriter Tony Grisoni and directors Julian Jarrold (1974), James Marsh (1980) and Anand Tucker (1983) shape the material into an epic chronicle not simply about the Ripper, but about the depravity that lurks on all levels of society, turning up most potently in the interworkings of law enforcement, big business, clergy and organized crime. The trilogy originally aired on Britain's Channel Four network, but received a theatrical and on-demand release in the United States courtesy of IFC Films.

Ricky - comedy/drama - Fracois Ozon
Rotten Tomatoes: 55 Metacritic: 54
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpDfY4Z-mtw
Gallic director François Ozon's idiosyncratic Ricky represents an attempt to weld together two polar opposite and seemingly incompatible genres: kitchen-sink realistic drama and high-concept Spielbergian fantasy. Loosely inspired by a Rose Tremain short story, the tale opens on a council estate just east of Paris (in the Seine-et-Marne), where single mom Katie (Alexandra Lamy) ekes out a low-key and fairly miserable existence. She earns her keep as a factory worker while glumly attempting to raise her seven-year-old daughter, Lisa (Mélusine Mayance), on the side. Circumstances shift dramatically when Katie falls into an affair with a Spanish colleague, Paco (Sergi López), but no one can guess just how dramatically. Together they conceive a son whom they name Ricky, and when the infant is born, he sports odd markings on his back; this gives Paco uneasy feelings and prompts him to leave the house. In time, the baby sprouts angelic wings, turning him into both a freak and a curiosity. This naturally leads to an endless series of complications, such as Katie's concern about how to dress Ricky and keep him from flying away. More disturbingly, it draws hordes of gawkers and paparazzi, who suffocate the family with intrusive attention and seem permanently unwilling to relent.

The Square - drama/thriller - Nash Edgerton
Rotten Tomatoes: 87 Metacritic: 73
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7DHO_HK_OA
Temptation turns a man's life upside down in this noir-influenced thriller from Australia. Ray Yale (David Roberts) is a construction worker who is married to Martha (Lucy Bell) and is helping to build an upscale resort hotel just outside Sydney. Ray isn't entirely happy in his marriage, and his roving eye has become focused on Carla (Claire van der Boom), a hairdresser who lives next door. Carla is married to a low-level mobster, Greg (Anthony Hayes), but she craves excitement and is soon having a torrid affair with Ray. Carla knows that Greg has a large bundle of cash hidden in their home, and she hatches a scheme she shares with Ray -- they steal they money, set fire to the house, and run off together, with Greg imagining the cash was lost in the blaze. While Ray isn't interested in a life of crime, he can't say no to Carla, but when he develops cold feet at the last minute, his attempts to reach Billy (Joel Edgerton), who was hired to torch the house, are unsuccessful, and things take a turn for the worse when he learns that Greg's aged mother was in the house when it burned to the ground. Ray quickly realizes he's been implicated in a murder, and Billy doesn't hesitate to use this knowledge to his advantage. The Square was the first directorial project for Nash Edgerton, who previously was one of the leading stuntmen in the Aussie film industry.

Sweetgrass – documentary - Ilisa Barbash
Rotten Tomatoes: 95 Metacritic: 70
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdC2OvtzdE8
Filmmakers Ilisa Barbash and Lucien Castaing-Taylor continue their work capturing the stark beauty and danger of the Western landscape with this documentary. With only a soundtrack as narration, Sweetgrass tracks shepherds through Montana as they take their flocks on the long trek to the Beartooth Mountains.

The Thorn in the Heart – documentary - Michel Gondry
Rotten Tomatoes: 45 Metacritic: 49
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2cKMpHumA8
Filmmaker Michel Gondry turns from the playful semi-surrealism of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep to the personal story of a beloved family member in this documentary. Suzette Gondry is Michel's aunt and a retired schoolteacher; she educated children in rural communities in France from 1952 to 1986. While Suzette was committed to the education of all her students, she was a particularly close with one in particular -- her son Jean-Yves, with whom she's had a loving but sometimes combative relationship. Michel accompanies Suzette on a journey in which she visits the many schools where she taught -- or the sites where those schools once stood -- and speaks of her experiences; she also meets some of her former students, and it's clear they recall Suzette as a woman with a kind heart but a strong will, and her determination earned her the enmity of a few of her charges. L'Epine dans le Coeur (aka Thorn in the Heart) was an official selection at the 2009 BFI London Film Festival.

A Town Called Panic – animation - Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar
Rotten Tomatoes: 83 Metacritic: 71
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l-Cp5EAg1E
This unusual feature (a French-Belgian-Luxembourgian co-production) stylistically recalls the work of Art Clokey (Gumby, Davey and Goliath), with its lead cast consisting entirely of stop motion-animated children's toys. The premise concerns two such toys -- Cowboy (Stéphane Aubier) and Indian (Bruce Ellison) -- who plan to buy a birthday gift for their friend Horse (the voice of Vincent Patar) but accidentally destroy his house. A series of wacky, often hallucinatory adventures ensues that finds the trio journeying to the center of the earth, wandering across icy tundra and discovering a strange aquatic world inhabited by oddball beings with pointed heads. Benoît Poelvoorde (Man Bites Dog) provides one of the voices.

Vincere - biography/drama - Marco Bellocchio
Rotten Tomatoes: 100 Metacritic: 85
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeaRJxJcp7E
This unusual and offbeat historical drama rests on a little-known conceit. Though seldom discussed in history books (and reportedly undisclosed for half a century), fascist dictator Benito Mussolini conceived an illegitimate son by a woman named Ida Dalser -- a son Mussolini allowed to be born, acknowledged, and then promptly denied for the duration of his life. The tale begins in early 20th century Milan, with Benito (Fabrizio Costella) working as the socialist editor of a controversial newspaper called Avanti. His dream in life involves triumphantly leading the Italian masses away from monarchy and toward a "socially emancipated future." He met the young and wealthy Ida (Giovanna Mezzogiorno) once before, in Trento -- where they enjoyed a brief exchange; they re-encounter one another during Mussolini's period at Avanti and it becomes clear that Ida has fallen deeply in love with Benito; she believes wholeheartedly in his ideals and his future as the leader of Italy -- to such an extent that she sells everything she has (her apartment, furniture, jewelry, and the beauty salon she owns) to fuel the development of his newspaper, Popolo d'Italia. While the two become romantically entangled, with Ida positively magnetized by Benito's charisma and Benito hooked on a lust for power, Benito quickly switches spiritual and political allegiances overnight, changing from an atheistic socialist to a deeply Catholic fascist -- Catholic, because an allegiance with the Vatican will enable him to wrest and retain control over Italy's government. Benito and Ida marry and parent a son together, Benito Albino Mussolini (circa 1915), but the marriage certificate soon conveniently disappears and Ida learns, to her horror, that Benito has married someone else. She unwisely begins to protest the situation -- so loudly and persistently that she's first forced into house arrest and then shoved permanently into an insane asylum -- raising key questions about the fate and future of her young son. On a stylistic level, director Marco Bellocchio films this historical material with the passion, theatricality, lyricism, and tragedy of a classicist Italian opera.

When You're Strange – documentary - Tom DiCillo
Rotten Tomatoes: 57 Metacritic: 55
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR-qzSYsJ9k
The Doors were very much a band of their time, a group whose music reflected the social and political upheaval of the late '60s and early '70s, and yet their appeal has endured thanks to the hypnotic music of guitarist Robby Krieger, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, and drummer John Densmore as well as the magisterial power of lead vocalist and lyricist Jim Morrison. The group's moment in the spotlight was short -- their debut album was released in early 1967, and Morrison would die in Paris in the summer of 1971 -- but their music and image continues to fascinate music fans, and filmmaker Tom DiCillo explores the Doors and their times in the documentary When You're Strange. Featuring rare footage from the archives of Paul Ferrara, a filmmaker who struck up a friendship with Morrison when they were both attending UCLA, When You're Strange also includes excerpts from HWY: An American Pastoral, a short film Morrison directed in 1969. When You're Strange was an official selection at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.

Who Do You Love - drama - Jerry Zaks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTWopcUmodo
Rotten Tomatoes: 42 Metacritic: 52
The story of legendary record producer Leonard Chess (Alessandro Nivola), who helped rocket Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, and Etta James to stardom by founding the record label that revolutionized modern music, is told in Who Do You Love. Leonard and his brother, Phil (Jon Abrahams), were two immigrants living in Chicago in the 1950s, just as the blues sound was evolving into something vital and new. Recognizing the passion of the performers and the possibility for profit, the Chess brothers founded a nightclub that quickly evolved into a full-fledged record label. And while there were sacrifices to be made along the way, the transformative effect their efforts had on both the music industry and the masses still resounds each and every time we turn on the radio today.

Yellow Handkerchief - drama - Udayan Prasad
Rotten Tomatoes: 72 Metacritic: 64
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcLQepMAnvc
A band of outsiders takes to the highways in this touching independent drama. Brett (William Hurt) is a petty criminal who is eager to turn his life around after spending six years in jail. Brett is looking for a ride home to Louisiana, and happens upon a pair of teenagers up for a road trip -- Martine (Kristen Stewart), a 15-year-old girl whose attempts to catch the eye of a boy she loves have ended in failure, and Gordy (Eddie Redmayne), a geeky outcast wishing he could find somewhere to fit in. Brett persuades Martine and Gordy to give him a ride home, and together the three misfits bond over their shared need for acceptance. Driving toward a New Orleans that's been leveled by Hurricane Katrina, Brett can't help but ponder the biggest question in his life -- if his wife, May (Maria Bello), will take him back now that he's a free man. Based on a short story by Pete Hamill, The Yellow Handkerchief received its world premiere at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.