Here are capsule reviews for films, listed in chronological order, that critics were able to view in advance for the 35th Chicago International Film Festival. Next Friday’s section will add more capsule reviews for films showing Oct. 8-10, and the Tempo section will review films showing Oct. 11-14 (a complete schedule is on the Internet at http://metromix.com/go/filmfest). Unless otherwise noted, films will screen at Meridian Water Tower Theatres, 845 N. Michigan Ave. (312-440-1554), and The Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave. (773-871-6604).
For tickets and information, call the festival’s 24-hour hotline: 312-332-FILM.
– “Mansfield Park” (star) (star) (star) 1/2 (Patricia Rozema; United Kingdom/United States). The U.S. premiere of a brilliant version of Jane Austen’s late novel, with an utterly charming lead performance by Australia’s Frances O’Connor (the delinquent lover on the run in “Kiss or Kill”) as heroine Fanny Price, a girl of sense and sensibility torn between pride and prejudice: an irresponsible, handsome swain and her true soul mate cleric. Rozema, interestingly, weaves Austen’s own life, through her journals and letters, into the tale. With Embeth Davidtz and playwright-actor Harold Pinter. (Opening Night Gala, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Chicago Theater, 175 N. State St.; pre-screening reception, The Chicago Cultural Center, Sidney R. Yates Gallery, 77 E. Randolph St.; 312-332-FILM) — Michael Wilmington
– “La Maladie de Sachs” (star) (star) 1/2 (Michel Deville; France). Deville adapts a French novel about a rural doctor whose illness and suffering become a metaphor for his failure to properly treat the patients of his village. The themes are nearly identical to those of Robert Bresson’s “Diary of a Country Priest,” and the comparison overwhelms this well-made but emotionally inert work. (4 and 8:45 p.m. Thursday, 9:15 p.m. Oct. 8 WT) — Patrick Z. McGavin
– “That’s the Way I Like It” (star) (star) (star) (Glen Goei; Singapore). “Shall We Dance?” meets “Play It Again, Sam” as John Travolta’s character from “Saturday Night Fever” steps off the big screen to help a kung-fu-obsessed grocery clerk in 1977 Singapore become a disco dance king. The funny stuff, and there’s plenty of it, works better than the half-hearted attempts at pathos. (6:15 p.m. Thursday, 4:15 p.m. Oct. 10 WT) — John Petrakis
– “New Dawn” (star) (star) (star) 1/2 (Emilie Deleuze; France). A well-made French feature about a 30-year-old disaffected video game designer who inexplicably quits his job and leaves his young daughter and wife for a four-month training program operating heavy machinery in rural France. There he is drawn into a strange friendship with a colleague who is hopelessly inept at operating the equipment. Deleuze is a talent, with a sure feel for mood and place, off-center characterizations, male regret and sexual panic. (6:30 p.m. Thursday WT; 4:45 p.m. Oct. 9 MB; 4 p.m. Oct. 11 WT) — P.Z.M.
– “Treasure Island” (star) (star) 1/2 (Scott King; U.S.). A curiosity: Intelligent but obscure noir drama about secret plots during World War II — revolving around a corpse with faked identity papers planted by the U.S. Navy. Writer-director King admires fellow absurdist Raul Ruiz but lacks his pizzazz. (9:15 p.m. Thursday, 5:15 p.m. Oct. 9 WT) — M.W.
– “Harmonium in My Memory” (star) (star) (star) (Lee Young-jae; South Korea). Fine, dense tale, laden with sentiment, humor and nostalgia, of a young girl’s first crush: on the idealistic young teacher at her country school. The teacher, amusingly is a big fan of Connie Francis, Harry Belafonte, The Everly Brothers and “Teen Angel”; the girl is a well-drawn romantic obsessive. A good, heart-tugging show. (6 p.m. Oct. 8, 1:45 p.m. Oct. 10 WT) — M.W.
– “Raise the Heart!” (star) (star) (star) (Solveig Anspach; France). A confident, attractive woman, elated at learning she is pregnant, is devastated to find out that she has early stages of breast cancer and that her survival depends on aggressive treatment that could have devastating effects on her unborn child. The dilemma is played out responsibly but predictably, yielding a work that is closer to television than cinema. (6:30 p.m. Oct. 8, 2:15 p.m. Oct. 9, 6 p.m. Oct. 10 WT) — P.Z.M.
– “The Dream Catcher” (star) (star) (star) (Ed Radtke; U.S.). Excellent low-budget road movie — almost as good as its prime models from the early `70s — that follows two runaway kids along the highways from Philadelphia and the Midwest to Oklahoma City. The photography gleams like sunlight on chrome. And the kids — taciturn, father-searching Freddy and happy-go-lucky, light-fingered Albert — are beautifully played by Maurice Comte and Paddy Connor. A real sleeper. (6:45 p.m. Oct. 8, 8:15 p.m. Oct. 10 WT) — M.W.
– “The Love of Three Oranges” (star) (star) (Hung Hung; Taiwan). Taipei pizza delivery boy falls in love with the girlfriend of his ex-girlfriend, endures pangs of angst. Mystifyingly minimalist, low-budget Taiwanese relationship film; of minimal interest. Hung Hung is no Hou Hsaio-hsien. (But then, who is?) Shown with Jaak Kilmi’s short Estonian city-to-country tale, “Came to Visit.” (8:30 p.m Oct. 8, 2:45 p.m. Oct. 9, 6 p.m. Oct. 10 MB) — M.W.
– “American Movie” (star) (star) (star) 1/2 (Chris Smith; U.S.). One of the funniest documentaries on filmmaking (or anything else) ever made: Smith’s hilarious and mesmerizing backstage look at the making of “Coven” (pronounced Koa-ven), a low-budget half-hour horror movie shot — with obsessive dedication, few resources, a relative’s scanty cash and lots of over-the-edge frenzy — by the Milwaukee moviemaking team of relentless Mark Borchardt. For anyone interested in American independent film, and the life and culture that lies behind it, this is a must. (9:15 p.m. Oct. 8 MB; 8:45 p.m. Oct. 18 WT) — M.W.
– “Minazuki” (star) (star) (star) 1/2 (Mochizuki Rokuro; Japan). Despite some problems, including a drawn-out ending, this curious but intriguing film captures the feverish tone lacking in the similarly themed “Eyes Wide Shut,” by Stanley Kubrick. A quiet businessman goes searching for the wife who abandoned him and along the way falls in love with a masochistic prostitute. Soon he finds himself slipping deeper into a netherworld of cruel sex and extreme violence. Disturbing but challenging. (2 p.m. Oct. 9, 6 p.m. Oct. 10, 6:15 p.m. Oct. 11 WT) — J.P.
– “Jason and the Argonauts” (star) (star) (star) (Don Chaffey; U.S., 1963). One of the best-loved of all the Ray Harryhausen stop-motion animation special effects extravaganzas, this kitschy version of the mythic tale of Jason’s quest for the golden fleece stars Todd Armstrong as Medea’s eventual betrayer and is graced with a nerve-rending Bernard Herrmann score, plus such classic visual tricks as the dueling skeletons. Shown with Gordon Hessler’s 1974 exotic fantasy-adventure “The Golden Voyage of Sinbad” ( (star) (star) (star)), also with R.H.’s effects. Harryhausen will personally introduce both movies. (7 p.m. Oct. 7 WT) — M.W.
– “Who Else If Not Us” (star) (star) (Valery Priemykhov; Russia). Two boys, neglected by their families, hit the streets of Moscow looking for trouble. When they find it, the older one goes to jail while the other gets sent off to a private school. The best thing about this scattered cautionary tale is the remarkable acting by the two young male leads, evoking memories of the Dead End Kids. (7 p.m. Oct. 9, 4 and 6 p.m. Oct. 11 WT) — J.P.
– “American Hollow” (star) (star) (star) (Rory Kennedy; U.S.). Wonderful documentary: one of the highlights of Sundance, 1999. We see a year in the life of the Bowling family of Saul, Ky., in the impoverished Appalachian area: their times, their troubles, their loves, their world. The central figure, matriarch Iree Bowling, is a great character and the film has been done with much care and compassion. (The director is the youngest daughter of Robert and Ethel Kennedy.) (7:30 p.m. Oct. 9, 1:45 p.m. Oct. 10, 6:15 p.m. Oct. 11 MB) — M.W.
– “Asunder” (star) (Tim Reid; U.S.). Wasted acting talent collides with a rotten script and bad direction in this truly awful horror-slasher film, as photographer Blair Underwood stalks his former lover, Debbi Morgan, and her current husband, Michael Beach, after the accidental death of his own wife. (9:30 p.m. Oct. 9, 1:45 p.m. Oct. 10, 8:15 p.m. Oct. 11 WT) — J.P.
– “Juha” (star) (star) (star) (star) (Aki Kaurismaki; Finland). A festival high spot: Kaurismaki’s silent, black-and-white remake of a much-filmed Finnish love story — about a vile city seducer who breaks up a happy country couple, luring the wife to the evil metropolis. Done with poetry and feeling, laced with Kaurismaki’s usual wry, understated humor, it also boasts an original score and even old-time title cards. The whole thing works beautifully; maybe silent moviemaking is ripe for a revival. (4 p.m. Oct. 10 and 11 WT; 9 p.m. Oct. 12 MB) — M.W.
– “Moloch” (star) (star) (star) (star) (Alexandr Sokurov; Russia/Germany). A fascinating subject, an uncompromisingly made film, hypnotically well visualized. We see, utterly convincingly, a day and night with Hitler’s entourage (including Eva Braun) at his Bavarian Mountain retreat during the crucial months before the crippling defeat at Stalingrad. Hitler is a bully and madman; Eva a wench. Misty, slow, haunting, this winner of the 1999 Cannes Festival Screenwriting Prize is one of the screen’s great portrayals of the excruciating banality of evil. (German, subtitled.) (6:15 p.m. Oct. 10, 6 p.m. Oct. 12, 8:45 p.m. Oct. 13 WT) — M.W.
– “The Letter” (star) (star) (star) (star) (Manoel de Oliveira; France/Portugal). The latest film by Portugal’s astonishing 92-year-old late bloomer, Manoel de Oliveira (“The Silver Slipper,” “Journey to the End of the World”). Winner of the 1999 Cannes Festival Prix de Jury, and one of that evening’s more popular choices, it’s another precise and pristine literary drama of ill-fated love: charting the triangle among Madame de Chartres, her unromantic husband and a young singer. Serene, poetic, beautifully made. Great if thoroughly out-of-the-mainstream stuff. (9 p.m. Oct. 10 MB; 3:45 p.m. Oct. 11, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 12 WT) — M.W.
– “Under the Sun” (star) (star) (star) (Colin Nutley; Sweden). British-Swedish director Nutley (“House of Angels”) again displays his gift for the erotic and psychological in this intense three-cornered romance between a kind but illiterate farmer, his wastrel young Elvis-loving companion and a newly arrived housekeeper. Both lusty and poignant, filled with memorably sun-dappled images. (Swedish, subtitled.) (8:15 p.m. Oct. 11, 3:30 p.m. Oct. 12, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 13 WT) — M.W.
– “The Unspoken” (star) 1/2 (Frederick Marx; U.S.). One of the stellar “Hoop Dreams” trio — co-director/editor Fred Marx — tries his first fiction feature. It’s about runaway mute Jean (Sergei Shnirev) — a one-time charismatic boy preacher who hasn’t spoken since a childhood trauma — and foul-mouthed nurse Cory, who speaks way too much. Despite a fine performance by Harry Lennix as yet another preacher, this Chicago production should probably remain unspoken about, if not unseen. (6:15 p.m. Oct. 12 MB; 8:45 p.m. Oct. 14 WT) — M.W.
– “Lea’s Story” (star) (star) (Chito S. Rono; Philippines). A melodrama that chronicles the life, loves and heartbreak of an independent, politically progressive woman who tries to reconcile the needs of her two young children, her political involvement and her relationships with the children’s fathers. Though Vilma Santos’ lead performance is impressive, particularly in illustrating middle-aged sexual longing, the tone veers abruptly and the individual stories are poorly paced and structured. (3 and 8:15 p.m. Oct. 13, 6 p.m. Oct. 14 WT) — P.Z.M.
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– “Kazoku Cinema” (star) (star) (Park Chulsoo; Korea). Korean director Chulsoo (who brought us the fabulous “301.302.”) disappoints with this story of a dysfunctional Korean-Japanese family that reunites for a “Real World”-type documentary about their lives. The divorced parents fight like mad, the eldest daughter is borderline suicidal, the brother is catatonic and the youngest is a porno queen. The humor and pathos surrounding their reunion often falls flat as they deal their particular problems as well as their bad family dynamics. (6 p.m. Oct. 13, 3:45 p.m. Oct. 15, 8:45 p.m. Oct. 17 WT) — Monica Eng
– “Love Will Tear Us Apart” (star) (star) (star) (Yu Lik-wai; Hong Kong). Vibrant culture-clash ensemble piece about a quartet of mainland Chinese emigres who come to Hong Kong and find a sexy, violent, overstimulating night life world they could never have anticipated. With Tony Leung and Lu Liping. (Chinese, subtitled.) (8:30 p.m. Oct. 13, 4 p.m. Oct. 15, 8:45 p.m. Oct. 16 WT) — M.W.
– “Ratcatcher” (star) (star) (star) (Lynne Ramsay; United Kingdom). Grim, painfully realistic portrayal of lower-class ’70s Glasgow life, as seen through the eyes of a guilt-stricken boy in a dysfunctional family. Reminiscent at times of Ken Loach in his “Kes” period, this is a sometimes turgid, sometimes shattering film from an exciting young Scottish talent. (8:30 p.m. Oct. 14 WT; 6:30 p.m. Oct. 16 MB) — M.W.
– “East is East” (star) (star) (star) (Damien O’Donnell; United Kingdom). A fine culture-clash comedy-drama, based on Ayub Khan-Din’s play, set among the Pakistani community of London. The centerpiece and main asset: the great Indian actor Om Puri’s full-blooded portrayal of an over-traditional patriarch, coping with his rebellious family. (9:30 p.m. Oct. 15 MB; 3:45 p.m. Oct. 16 WT) — M.W.
– “Nothing” (star) (star) 1/2 (Dorota Kedzierzawska; Poland). Intense psychological tale of a brutalized housewife (Anita Kuskowska-Borkowska), afraid to reveal her pregnancy to her violent, unfaithful husband. Absorbing but only fitfully effective; the incongruously beautiful, shiny visuals work against the stark, impoverished backdrop. (Polish, subtitled). (9:30 p.m. Oct. 15, 3 p.m. Oct. 16, 4 p.m. Oct. 17 WT) — M.W.
– “Seconds” (star) (star) (star) 1/2 (John Frankenheimer; U.S., 1966). As much a modern noir classic as Frankenheimer’s 1962 “Manchurian Candidate,” this is the chilling, cautionary sci-fi tale of a sinister corporation that grants new life and a newer, more handsome and playful body (Rock Hudson’s, in fact) to a tired, rich old businessman (John Randolph). Will Geer has a great macabre turn as the “Seconds” corporation’s homespun president-spokesman. (In an ironic subtext, Randolph and Geer were both blacklist victims.) Scripted by Lewis John Carlino from David Ely’s novel. Part of the Frankenheimer tribute-appearance. (4 p.m. Oct. 17 WT) — M.W.
– “Tumbleweeds” (star) (star) (star) (Gavin O’Connor; U.S.). Director-writer-actor O’Connor won the Sundance Filmmakers Trophy for this film, which is driven by Janet McTeer’s terrific, earthy, sexy performance as a restless, lower-class Southern mother who takes her daughter (Kimberly J. Brown) on the road to the West. The story has familiar elements (think “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”), but the cast never lets you doubt that you’re watching flesh-and-blood people. (6 p.m. Oct. 18 and 8:45 p.m. Oct. 19, WT) — Mark Caro ( (star) (star) (star) 1/2 M.W.)
– “Snow Falling on Cedars” (star) (star) 1/2 (Scott Hicks; U.S.). Unnervingly arty, fussily photographed adaptation of David Guterson’s socially conscious novel about a murder trial, thwarted love and racial prejudice. One of the big Toronto film fest disappointments and further proof that Ron Bass is co-writing too many screenplays. With Ethan Hawke and (one bright spot) Max Von Sydow. (6:30 p.m. Oct. 19 MB) — M.W.
– “The Cider House Rules” (star) (star) (star) 1/2 (Lasse Hallstrom; U.S.). A sensitive, offbeat and lyrical film of Irving’s deliberately Dickensian novel of an orphanage, an abortionist (Michael Caine, with a convincing New England accent), his protege (Tobey Maguire) and a wounding romantic World War II-era adventure at an apple orchard. Scripted by Irving himself, this is undoubtedly the author’s personal favorite of the several adaptations of his books. It’s mine, too. With Charlize Theron and Delroy Lindo. (8:30 p.m. Oct. 21 MB) — M.W.