March Advisory Meeting Candidates

Ajami - foreign - Scandar Copti
Rotten Tomatoes: 97 Metacritic: 82
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vn5-xawA49Y
Palestinian Scandar Copti and Israeli Yaron Shani collaborated on this independent drama, which examines how the troubled relationship between their countries colors everyday life in the Middle East. Nasri (Fouad Habash) is a teenager whose family is in crisis: his uncle got into an altercation with a local crime boss, and in reprisal, his cousin has been murdered. The shooters, it seems, originally intended to kill Nasri's younger brother, Omar (Shahir Kabaha) in lieu of the cousin. Abu Elias (Youssef Sahwani), a restaurateur and respected member of the community, steps in to negotiate. Omar agrees to make a cash payment to the gangsters to prevent further violence, but since he doesn't have the money, he raises it by dealing drugs. Abu has a daughter, Hadir (Ranin Karim), who works at his restaurant; she's fallen in love with Omar, but since she's Christian and he's Muslim, they can't acknowledge their feelings in public. Also working at the restaurant is Malek (Ibrahim Frege), a 16-year-old illegal immigrant who is looking for any kind of job to help pay for his mother's medical treatments. And elsewhere, Dando (Eran Naim) is a policeman drawn into the chaotic life of Binj (Scandar Copti), a suspected drug dealer who has been arrested for attacking a Jewish neighbor; Dando is also preoccupied with the fate of his brother, who has suddenly gone missing. Ajami won a special distinction award at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.

Blood Done Sign My Name - drama - Jeb Stuart
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.

Chloe - drama/thriller - Atom Egoyan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhYiQNmI1VI
An untrusting wife attempts to prove that her husband is cheating by hiring an escort to seduce him, inadvertently endangering her entire family in the process. Catherine (Julianne Moore) is a respected doctor, and her husband David (Liam Neeson) is a dedicated music professor. They've been married for years and have a teenage son together, but lately the passion has faded from their romance. The morning after David misses his flight home - and the elaborate surprise birthday party Catherine had planned to celebrate his return - Catherine finds a text message on his phone that leads her to believe her husband is sleeping with a female student. Her suspicions growing over the following weeks, Catherine has a run in with an escort named Chloe (Amanda Seyfried) and hires the ravishing blonde to test her husband's fidelity. After each encounter with David, Chloe reports back to Catherine with all the sordid details. But the further the experiment goes, the less clear Chloe's motivations for taking part in it become, and the more the untrusting wife begins to fear that the situation has spiraled out of control. Erin Cressida Wilson pens an erotic thriller based on Anne Fontaine's Nathalie, and directed by Atom Egoyan (The Sweet Hereafter, Ararat).

Creation - drama/biography - John Amiel
Rotten Tomatoes: 44 Metacritic: 50
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BREvUKpZTeU
Actor Paul Bettany and his real-life wife, Jennifer Connelly, star as controversial English scientist Charles Darwin and his wife, Emily, in this biopic adapted from Randal Keynes' book Annie's Box, which tells the story of Darwin's struggle to reconcile his religious views following the death of his beloved daughter, Annie. John Collee adapts Keynes' revelatory tome (Keynes is Darwin's great-great grandson) for director Jon Amiel.

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.

The Eclipse - drama/horror - Conor McPherson
Rotten Tomatoes: 40
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqTO48onuC8
Michael Farr (Ciar√°n Hinds of Munich) is a depressed widower who teaches shop in the small seaside town of Cobh, in County Cork, Ireland, where he lives with his two children. While he continues to adjust to life without his beloved wife, who died two years earlier, he begins to experience strange, possibly supernatural occurrences connected to his elderly father-in-law, who is close to death in a local nursing home. When Michael volunteers at the town's annual literary festival, he's assigned to look after Lena Morelle (Iben Hjejle of High Fidelity). Lena is known for her ghost stories, and Michael, impressed with the realistic nature of her writing, shares his recent experiences with her. While Michael and Lena grow closer, another famous author, Nicholas Holden (Aidan Quinn), a married man with a scandalous reputation, arrives in town for the festival, hoping to rekindle a brief affair he had with Lena a year before. As Michael and Nicholas clash over Lena's affections, Michael's supernatural visions grow more vivid and disturbing. The Eclipse was directed by Irish playwright Conor McPherson (The Actors), from a script by McPherson and author/playwright Billy Roche, loosely based on the story "Table Manners" from Roche's collection Tales from Rainwater Pond. The film had its world premiere at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival, where Hinds won the award for Best Actor in a Narrative Feature.

The Exploding Girl - drama - Bradley Rust Gray
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.

Four Seasons Lodge - documentary - Andrew Jacobs
Rotten Tomatoes: 87
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2vUpE9sWyw
Fascinated by the group of aging Holocaust survivors who spend their summers together at the Four Seasons Lodge in the Catskill Mountains, filmmaker Andrew Jacobs documents their collective memories, close friendships, and rich traditions at a time when their favorite retreat hovers in an uncertain state of flux. Every year since 1979, this small group of German and Polish Jews has gathered at the Four Seasons to reminisce about their childhoods and find comfort in one another's company. Like old friends, they often bicker and argue, but it generally isn't anything that lodge president Carl can't resolve with some friendly advice. This year, the regular vacationers at the Four Seasons hopelessly split between those who want to see the resort sold, and those who hope to see it stay intact. But this particular group has been through so much together that whatever may come of the Four Seasons, their familial bonds will remain as strong as they ever were.

The Ghost Writer - drama - Roman Polanski
Rotten Tomatoes: 81 Metacritic:78
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_AerBW0EcI
A ghostwriter stumbles onto a secret that places his life in danger as he takes down the life story of a former U.K. prime minister in this Roman Polanski-helmed adaptation of the Robert Harris novel. Convinced by his agent that he's been granted a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, talented British screenwriter "The Ghost" (Ewan McGregor) agrees to aid British prime minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan) in completing his memoirs after the leader's former aid dies under mysterious circumstances. Almost immediately after The Ghost arrives at a remote mansion in the U.S. to begin working with the prime minister, Lang is accused of committing a war crime by a former British cabinet minister. Amidst a deluge of protestors and reporters, The Ghost delves into the unfinished manuscript and comes to the terrifying conclusion that his predecessor died because he discovered a link between Prime Minister Lang and the CIA. The more information The Ghost uncovers, the more convinced he becomes that his life could be in danger as well.

The Girl on the Train - drama - André Téchiné
Rotten Tomatoes: 73
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbE35DB-f5w
In 2004, a grotesque and unseemly incident took the European press by storm: a young French woman came forward and claimed to have been attacked by black and Arab thugs who mistook her for a Jew. But after her story broke, no witnesses came forward to support her, and security cameras at the train station revealed no such attack; the woman later admitted that she had ripped her own clothes, drawn swastikas on her own stomach, and fabricated the entire story. With the drama Fille du RER, acclaimed French writer-director André Téchiné presents a thinly veiled fictionalization of the same events. Émilie Dequenne stars as Jeanne, an unemployed girl who lives with her mother (Catherine Deneuve) in a Parisian suburb and spends the majority of her free time rollerblading. She has little knowledge of -- or interest in -- history or politics, and remains withdrawn, insular, and sullen, keeping the majority of her thoughts and observations to herself. Circumstances change just a bit when Jeanne enters a live-in relationship with a beefy, thuggish wrestler boyfriend, Franck (Nicolas Duvauchelle), living in a dingy warehouse, but violence soon erupts between the two. Jeanne also becomes acquainted with an attorney-cum-ex-boyfriend of her mother's (Michel Blanc), whose involvement in Judaic causes and his politically committed family prompt even greater feelings of alienation and isolation in Jeanne. When Franck's involvement in criminal activities comes to light and the police intervene, Jeanne perversely reasons that she can only become tied to history by inventing a role for herself, and decides to fabricate said story about the train -- little realizing the calamitous consequences that it will engender.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - crime/mystery - Niels Arden Oplev
Rotten Tomatoes:100
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlF-hk3IJQE
A discredited journalist and a mysterious computer hacker discover that even the wealthiest families have skeletons in their closets while working to solve the mystery of a 40 year old murder. Inspired by late author Stieg Larsson's successful trilogy of books, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo gets underway as Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander are briefed in the disappearance of Harriet Vanger, whose uncle suspects she may have been killed by a member of their own family. The deeper Mikael and Harriet dig for the truth, however, the greater the risk of being buried alive by members of the family who will go to great lengths to keep their secrets tightly sealed.

The Good, The Bad, The Weird - Action - Ji-woon Kim
Rotten Tomatoes: 88
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.

Greenberg - comedy/drama - Noah Baumbach
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsN0UewDBTI
A fortysomething New Yorker in the throes of a midlife crisis falls for his brother's assistant while house-sitting for his sibling in Los Angeles. Roger Greenberg (Ben Stiller) is single and jobless. He's at a crucial crossroads in life when his successful family-man brother summons him to Los Angeles to housesit for six weeks. Recognizing the opportunity to turn over a new leaf in a new city, Greenberg reaches out to his former bandmate Ivan (Rhys Ifans) and discovers that some old wounds aren't so quick to heal. When Greenberg meets his brother's pretty assistant, Florence (Greta Gerwig), a kindred spirit who longs to become a singer, he vows not to become too attached. But the more time Greenberg spends with Florence the more he begins to wonder whether he might have finally made a connection worth keeping. Jennifer Jason Leigh and Brie Larson co-star in a climacteric comedy drama from Oscar-nominated writer/director Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale, Margot at the Wedding).

Happy Tears - comedy - Mitchell Lichtenstein
Rotten Tomatoes: 37 Metacritic:35
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqIF3auCmQ4
Teeth director Michael Lichtenstein takes a sharp turn from teen-oriented satire to mature family drama with this semi-autobiographical story concerning a pair of grown-up sisters who return to their family home in order to care for their ailing father. Jayne (Parker Posey) and Laura (Demi Moore) have long since moved out of their family home when they discover that their father's (Rip Torn) health has taken a turn for the worse. Returning to Pittsburgh in order to care for their slowly degenerating dad, the sisters quickly realize that their father is in total denial about his condition. Jayne has been shielded from the harsher side of life since she was just a little girl, and now as Laura begins pushing her sister to accept their bleak reality, their father takes a seedy lover (Ellen Barkin), who immediately rubs the girls the wrong way. But dealing with the father becomes the least of Jayne's and Laura's worries when the drama in their personal lives drags the demons of their past up to the surface and out into the open.

Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus - adventure/fantasy - Terry Gilliam
Rotten Tomatoes: 65 Metacritic: 68
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jU3AimFaz0
Set in the present day, director Terry Gilliam's fantastical morality tale follows the traveling show of the mysterious Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) -- a man who once won a bet with the Devil himself, and possesses the unique ability to guide the imagination of others. Many centuries ago, Dr. Parnassus won immortality in a bet that found the malevolent Mr. Nick (Tom Waits) coming up short. While few would be foolish enough to try their luck against the powers of darkness a second time, Dr. Parnassus did precisely that -- this time trading his mortality for youth on the understanding that his firstborn would become the property of Mr. Nick when the child reaches his or her 16th birthday. Flash-forward to the present day, and Dr. Parnassus' daughter, Valentina (Lily Cole), is about to celebrate her sweet sixteen. Dr. Parnassus is desperate to save his little girl from her fiery fate, and when Mr. Nick arrives to collect, the good doctor presents the Prince of Darkness with a wager too enticing to refuse: Dr. Parnassus and Mr. Nick will each compete to seduce five souls, with possession of Valentina going to whomever manages to complete the task first. As the competition begins to heat up, Dr. Parnassus promises his daughter's hand in marriage to any man who can help him successfully navigate the surreal obstacle course that lies ahead and finally help him undue the many mistakes of his past. While the sudden death of prominent Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus player Heath Ledger in January of 2008 left Gilliam and company scrambling to find a means of salvaging the film -- which was already well into principal photography at the time -- the cavalry soon arrived in the form of Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell, who each serve as alternate-dimension versions of the character originally set to be played by Ledger when the character crosses through a paranormal mirror.

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.

Mid-August Lunch - comedy/drama - Gianni Di Gregorio
Rotten Tomatoes: 91
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.

Misconceptions - comedy - Ron Satlof
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFIkYwDUeGU
This lighthearted comedy pokes fun at the culture wars, and the debate over same-sex parenting. Southern gal Miranda is an Evangelical Christian with all the social and political beliefs dictated by her church, but when she gets what she's sure is a message from God, she does a 180 and decides to become a surrogate mother for a married gay couple from Boston. It's a weird enough situation as it is, but things get even crazier for Miranda when one of her baby-daddies-to-be decides to come down South for a visit -- and won't leave!

The Most Dangerous Man in America - documentary - Judith Ehrlich
Rotten Tomatoes: 100
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXlmQeSpqI4
In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg, a top military strategist working for the RAND Corporation, leaked a 7,000 page document known as the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times. Disenchanted with the nation's conduct in Vietnam, Ellsberg believed the release of the top secret paper -- which outlined the "secret history" of the war -- was crucial to educating the public about the government's lies and misdeeds. This documentary chronicles the media and political frenzy that Ellsberg unleashed, and traces the effect of the leak on public perception of both the war and the White House.

Mother - crime/drama - Joon-ho Bong
Rotten Tomatoes: 93
http://www.youtube.com/v/9rDeNM-M8p8&hl=en_US&fs=1&
A woman devoted to her son struggles to keep him from spending his life in prison in this drama from director Bong Joon-ho. Do-jun (Weon Bin) is a man in his mid-twenties who isn't especially bright and is easily led. Do-jun lives with his elderly mother (Kim Hye-ja), who loves him fiercely even though she has no illusions about his abilities or his bad habits. Do-jun spends much of his spare time with Jin-tae (Jin Gu), a borderline criminal who takes advantage of Do-jun's credulous nature, much to his mother's annoyance. When Do-jun is arrested by police and accused of the murder of a young woman, his mother is certain he couldn't have done it and sets out to prove her son's innocence to police detectives, who seem more interested in closing the case than researching other possible leads. At first, mother feels certain that Jin-tae has framed her son to avoid being punished himself, but as she digs deeper she suspects the truth is more complicated. Madeo (aka Mother) was an official selection at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.

My Name is Khan - drama/romance - Karan Johar
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
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh8T8mUPeWM
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.

North Face - adventure - Philipp Stolzl
Rotten Tomatoes: 85 Metacritic 67
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t_3U5_wKO8
A handful of men set aside their differences to conquer one of Europe's tallest mountains in this period drama inspired by a true story. In 1936, Nazi Germany is looking to shore up its reputation in the eyes of the world, and after a pair of German climbers dies in an effort to climb the North face of the Eiger in the Swiss Alps, the state is looking to find another group who can succeed where the earlier team failed. Henry Arau (Ulrich Tukur), the publisher of one of Berlin's biggest newspapers, is a loyal son of the Third Reich, and when his editorial secretary, Luise Fellner (Johanna Wokalek), tells him she knows some climbers who would be willing to take on the Eiger, Tukur gives her a free hand to assemble a team and make this dream a reality. Close friends Toni Kurz (Benno Fürmann) and Andi Hinterstoisser (Florian Lukas) are serving in the German army when Fellner (who once dated Kurz) tries to persuade them to climb the Eiger. While Hinterstoisser is willing to take the risk in the name of patriotism, Kurz is cynical about the Third Reich and says he'll put his life on the line only for his own reasons and not to please Germany's leaders. Kurz and Hinterstoisser finally begin the climb in mid-summer, only to discover that a pair of Austrians, Willy Angerer (Simon Schwarz) and Edi Rainer (Georg Friedrich), are now challenging them in a race to the top. Nordwand (aka North Face) was an official selection at the 2008 Locarno Film Festival.

Off and Running - documentary - Nicole Opper
Rotten Tomatoes: 90
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.

The Paranoids - comedy - Gabriel Medina
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.

Police, Adjective - comedy/crime - Corneliu Porumboiu
Rotten Tomatoes: 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.

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.

A Prophet - foreign - Jacques Audiard
Rotten Tomatoes: 95 Metacritic: 89
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1ELQLDzZwo
Jacques AudiardAn impressionable and vulnerable Arabic man gets thrust into a hellish prison, and ironically discovers greater opportunities for success than he ever possessed outside of the bars, in this violent melodrama from French succès d'estime Jacques Audiard (The Beat That My Heart Skipped). Tahar Rahim stars as Malik El Djebena, a petty criminal incarcerated for six years. Once inside and subjected to all of the standard brutalities that most prisoners endure, he is quickly educated in the "ways" of the prison, an institution torn violently between gangs of Corsicans and Arabs. The head Corsican thug, César Luciani (Niels Arestrup), offers Malik an ultimatum: either he rubs out an Arab inmate named Reyeb (Hichem Yacoubi), or he himself dies. Not only does Malik succeed with the hit, he earns the begrudging respect of the other prisoners, and -- after securing several days' release for good behavior -- uses off-time to forge a deeper and more multi-layered network of criminal ties than he ever dreamed possible. But as his own power and confidence grow, they threaten to outstrip César's own insistence on submission and obedience at all costs.

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 ¬Ω 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.

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.

Terribly Happy - drama - Henrik Ruben Genz
Rotten Tomatoes: 91 Metacritic: 75
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsslA308XV8
Temporarily reassigned to the provincial Danish town of South Jutland after being accused of professional misconduct in Copenhagen, a by-the-books policeman begins to sense that the flowery facade of this picturesque hamlet masks something truly sinister in this dark drama based on author Erling Jepsen's novel of the same name. Constable Robert isn't used to life in the country, so when he's first confronted by the small-town customs of South Jutland he begins to feel as if he's drifted into some kind of all-too-quaint alternate reality. But perhaps his suspicion that everything here is just a little too perfect isn't just the result of simple culture shock, because the more Constable Robert gets to know about his new surroundings the more convinced he becomes that the community of South Jutland harbors a disturbing secret.

That Evening Sun - drama - Scott Teems
Rotten Tomatoes: 78
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-lcFrjUqCo
An aging farmer fights to keep the home that is rightfully his after fleeing from a nursing home and discovering that his son has leased the family farm to his old nemesis. Placed in a nursing home by his son and promptly forgotten, Abner Meecham (Hal Holbrook) realized that waiting to die was no way to live. Determined to enjoy his last days, Abner packed his bags and set his sights on the family farm. At least there he could die on his own land, in familiar surroundings. But Abner is in for a rude awakening, because upon returning home he discovers that his son has leased the farm to Lonzo Choat. Abner never cared much for Lonzo, and when Lonzo refuses to leave, Abner takes up residence in an old tenant shack on the property. Before long, their dispute becomes volatile, each man believing himself to be in the right, and refusing to back down from his position. Betrayed by his son and haunted by dreams of his beloved deceased wife, Abner draws a line in the sand in an attempt to reclaim his life. As threats are made and tension begins to brew, it's only a matter of time before the situation turns savage.

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.

(Untitled) - drama - Jonathan Parker
Rotten Tomatoes: 69 Metacritic: 58
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9myaiQs3GI
The uncomfortable merger of art and commerce leads to an unstable romantic triangle in this satiric comedy from director Jonathan Parker. Madeleine (Marley Shelton) is a beautiful young woman who runs an upscale art gallery in New York City. While Madeleine prides herself on exhibiting the most daring and cutting-edge work on the East Coast, her dirty little secret is that she's able to keep the place open by selling the bland but accessible work of her boyfriend (Eion Bailey), whose paintings are quite popular with corporate clients. However, Madeleine is drawn to moody creative types, and her boyfriend makes the mistake of introducing her to his bother (Adam Goldberg), an avant-garde composer whose music is built around breaking glass and the clatter of metal objects. Before long, Madeleine has fallen for the pretentious composer and has to choose between him and the man who can keep her gallery in the black.

Vincere - biography/drama - Marco Bellocchio
Rotten Tomatoes: 100
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.

The Warlords - action - Peter Chan
Rotten Tomatoes: 57
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOr8Dj1PxJg
Love, politics, and loyalty threaten to tear apart three soldiers in this lavish historical epic from Hong Kong. In 1870, the power of the corrupt Qing Dynasty has been threatened by the rise of a revolutionary army, led by religious fanatics, and civil war is tearing the nation apart. Pang Qingyun (Jet Li), a good man who finds himself fighting for the Qing leadership, is one of the only survivors of a bloody battle in between revolutionaries and Qing troops, and is looking for someplace to go when he's offered shelter by a beautiful peasant woman, Lian (Xu Jinglei). Pang and Lian spend the night in each others arms, and he finds himself falling in love with her. Pang sets out to make his way home when he's befriended by Zhao Erhu (Andy Lau) and Jiang Wuyang (Takeshi Kaneshiro), a pair of bandits. When Jiang is attacked in an ambush, Pang helps save his life, and the three men become blood brothers in a gory ritual. Pang convinces Jiang and Zhao to join him in the fight against the revolutionaries, and with their help Pang is able to achieve some impressive victories. However, when Pang allows his own ego and dreams of glory to override his common sense and loyalty, Zhao and Jiang come to distrust their ally, and matters become worse when it is revealed that Lian is Zhao's wife. Tou Ming Zhuang (aka The Warlords) was a major box-office success in China and Eastern Asia before making its way to theaters in Europe and the United States.

The White Ribbon - foreign - Michael Haneke
Rotten Tomatoes: 88 Metacritic: 79
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE_ByB2ocVk
In a village in Protestant northern Germany, on the eve of World War I, the children of a church and school run by the village schoolteacher and their families experience a series of bizarre incidents that inexplicably assume the characteristics of a punishment ritual. Who could be responsible for such bizarre transgressions? Leonie Benesch, Josef Bierbichler, and Rainer Bock star in director Michael Haneke's Palm d'Or-winning period drama.

Yasukuni - documentary - Ying Li
Rotten Tomatoes: 86
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YVLCaitzPg
For ages, the Yasukuni shrine of Tokyo, Japan has courted a tremendous amount of controversy for a ceremonial sword that it holds. Shinto Buddhists believe that the said weapon harbors some 2.4 million souls; as a result, the Japanese ascribe tremendous power to the blade and Japanese officers used it to lay waste to untold numbers of victims in 1930s Asia. The building and the weapon harbor tremendous personal significance for Chinese director Li Ying, given the torture inflicted by the Japanese soldiers on Chinese communists including his own father. With Ying's documentary Yasukuni, he visits the shrine and explores the violent history that belies the existence of the building and the sword, as Japanese Buddhists continue to gather at the site and honor their dead.

The 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.