Ray Pride

* = recommended

Fri 10

*Bright Future

(Japan) Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Twentysomethings fall in love with a jellyfish. LC, 7.

*Distant

Directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan. Slow build of emotion in atmospheric gem. LC, 7.

Fuse

(Bosnia-Herzegovina) Directed by Gori Vatra. Small town on border of Bosnia does a makeover on eve of a post-war vision by President Clinton. MB, 9:30.

*Hush

(Russia) Directed by Victor Kossakovsky. Momentous and lyrical doc which consists of images shot over the course of a year from a ten-foot area of street that could be seen from his St. Petersburg apartment. LC, 5:30.

*My Life Without Me

(Spain-Canada) Directed by Isabel Coixet. A quiet, lovingly detailed production, with a story of cruel denial, as 23-year-old mom of two Sarah Polley (in another compelling performance) hides her impending death from cancer, leaving her family in the dark as she fades. LC, 9:15.

Never Get Outta the Boat

(USA) Directed by Paul Quinn. The perils of drink. LC, 9:30.

*16 Years of Alcohol

(Scotland-England) Directed by Richard Jobson. "16 Years of Alcohol" is emotionally torrential, daring to overload the eyes and ears, and its hyperreal visual style (partially owing to a new video-to-film transfer that shines) and hyperliterary narration seemed to alienate many viewers at Toronto. While there are comparisons to be made to the ironically ambered nostalgia of Terrence Davies and the sudden bursts of whimsy and violence of "Trainspotting," Jobson, who fronted The Skids, has a relationship with music and language that soars much more often than it oppresses. LC, 9:15.

A Talking Picture

(Portugal) Directed by Manoel de Oliveira. The latest from the oldest living director (95 in December) is filled with storytelling during an ocean cruise. With Irene Papas, John Malkovich, Stefania Sandrelli, Catherine Deneuve. MB, 7.

Sat 11

The Agronomist

(USA) Directed by Jonathan Demme. MB, 5.

At Five in the Afternoon

(France-Iran) Directed by Samira Makhmalbaf. A young woman's struggles in contemporary Afghanistan. LC, 7,

Chokher Bali: A Passion Play

(India) Directed by Rituparno Ghosh. 167m. MB, 6.

*Goodbye Dragon Inn

(Taiwan) Directed by Tsai Ming-Liang. Tsai compiles an ode to moviegoing in a maximally minimal eighty minutes, taking in the activities of the handful of spectators on the closing night of a Taipei movie palace. There are only nine lines of dialogue, but the comic complications are often worthy of silent comedy. LC, 5.

*Hush

LC, 1.

Little Men

(Kazakhstan-France) Directed by Nariman Turebayev. "A comical and lyrical Kazakh buddy movie." LC, 5:30.

Maria

(Romania-Germany-France) Directed by Peter Calin Netzer. Post-Ceaucescu black fairytale. LC, 12:30.

*My Life Without Me

MB, 3:30.

A Talking Picture

MB, 1:30.

Sun 12

The Agronomist

LC, 12:15.

Chokher Bali: A Passion Play

MB, 1:30.

*Goodbye Dragon Inn

LC, 6:45.

*Hush

LC, 5:30.

Little Men

LC, Noon.

Maria

LC, 9.

*Pieces of April

(USA) Directed by Peter Hedges. Heartfelt dark comedy. Katie Holmes' black sheep, out to make one great Thanksgiving dinner of her family, is the most charming fuckup in any movie this year. Patricia Clarkson soars as her pained mother. Music by Stephen Merritt. MB, 7.

*The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

(Ireland-Venezuela) Directed by Kim Bartley, Donnacha O'Briain. The filmmakers find themselves in Venezuela during the middle of a coup against President Chavez, witnessing events while trapped in the Presidential Palace LC, 7:30.

*Sex is Comedy

(France) Directed by Catherine Breillat. Amusing self-critique of the shooting of Breillat's controversial "Fat Girl." MB, 9:15.

*16 Years of Alcohol

LC, 4.

*Wild River

(1960, USA) Directed by Elia Kazan. A rare chicane to see a mad Kazan pic on the big screen. Michael Wilmington will explain. $15. LC, 4:15.

Mon 13

The Barbarian Invasions

(Quebec) Directed by Denys Arcand. Highlight of distasteful, curdled, smarmy satire of the Canadian health care system is a near-pornographic use of footage from September 11. $15. MB, 6:45.

*Goodbye Dragon Inn

LC, 9.

Little Men

LC, 7:15.

*Pieces of April

LC, 6:30.

Reconstruction

(Denmark) Christoffer Boe's deconstruction of the disorienting effects of love is one of the most-praised Danish films since "Celebration," and I've regretted not having been able to catch it until now. LC, 6:45.

*Wilbur Wants To Kill Himself

(Denmark-England) Directed by Lone Scherfig. The director of "Italian for Beginners" takes on loneliness in the modern city to comic effect. $15. LC, 8:30.

Tue 14

Maria

LC, 7:15.

*16 Years of Alcohol

LC, 9.

The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 1: The Moab Story

(England-Netherlands) Directed by Peter Greenaway. More digital-video madness from the icy project-maker, taking on the history of the twentieth century in a self-professedly "megalomaniacal" project. 127m. $15. MB, 9:30.

*Wilbur Wants To Kill Himself

$15. LC, 6:30.

Wed 15

At Five in the Afternoon

(France-Iran) Directed by Samira Makhmalbaf. A young woman's struggles in contemporary Afghanistan. MB, 7.

The Barbarian Invasions

$15. MB, 7.

The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 1: The Moab Story

LC, 9:30.

Thu 16

*Shattered Glass

(USA) Directed by Billy Ray. Hayden Christensen's portrayal of journalist-fabulist Stephen Glass shines. $15. MB, 9.

(2003-10-08)

Also by Ray Pride

Short Runs
This week's limited screenings
(2003-10-02)

Chicago International Film Festival
Newcity's guide to the annual cinema fest
(2003-10-02)

Back in Black
"I've never done a movie someone wrote for me before," Black says...
(2003-10-02)

World and enough time
What does the Chicago International Film Festival, now in its thirty-ninth edition offer?
(2003-10-02)

Moaning Lisa
(2003-10-02)

Tip of the Week
(2003-10-01)

Tip of the Week
(2003-09-25)

Short Runs
(2003-09-25)

Throw Mama from the brownstone
(2003-09-25)

Gloom service
(2003-09-25)

Short Runs
(2003-09-17)

This is the modern world
(2003-09-17)

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