`Severance’ (star)(star)(star)1/2
(Christopher Smith, U.K.; 1:36)
The anti-“Saw”: A slasher pic with an ingenious premise and a sly sense of humor. On a corporate team-building exercise somewhere in rural Hungary, the sales team of a British weapons manufacturing firm runs afoul of a psychopath of shadowy origin. Part of the Chicago fest’s “Late Night Screamings!” line-up, director Smith’s rollicking horror bash settles for some routine gore in the later scenes, but most of it’s a gas. Plus there’s an outlandish sight gag involving a misfiring missile and an unlucky jetliner, as audacious as anti-American jokes get these days. And these days there are a lot of ’em. 8:30 p.m. Tue., LM.
–Michael Phillips
“Shoot the Messenger” (star)(star)(star)
(Ngozi Onwurah, U.K.; 1:40)
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A provocative look at race, identity and forgiveness, “Shoot the Messenger” has at its center a prickly yet sympathetic narrator in Joe (David Oyelowo), who gives up a successful career in computers to assist young black men by becoming a teacher. His good intentions go awry when he has a run-in with recalcitrant student Jamal, who charges Joe with assault, sending him down the economic and social ladder. As his journey wends through a mental hospital, homelessness and janitorial work, he decides his problem is other black people, his curse his black skin. But two black women (Jay Byrd as mothering angel Mabel, Nikki Amuka Bird as his grounded girlfriend, Heather) help him find a path to redemption and reconciliation. 6:30 p.m. Tue., AMC.
–Maureen M. Hart
“Aurore” (no star rating)
(Nils Tavernier, France; 1:37)
All seven arts are shoehorned into “Aurore,” a once-upon-a-time ballet film whose young protagonists lack the charisma needed to bring a somewhat arbitrary and derivative fairy tale to life. Tavernier’s documentaries about the Paris Opera Ballet and hoofers at the Moulin Rouge showed the dedication of professional dancers; here, in his fiction debut, Tavernier rarely deploys the camera to best showcase the dancers’ movements. 6 p.m. Tue., AMC; 4:30 p.m. Wed, LM.
–Lisa Nesselson, Variety
“A Dirty Carnival” (no star rating)
(Yoo Ha, South Korea; 2:21)
The best Korean gangster movie since “Friend,” “A Dirty Carnival” elevates the genre to an epic narrative level as it follows the rise and emotional decline of a small-time hoodlum. Full of swiftly etched, well-developed characters and peppered with taut action sequences, the film has the kind of long-reaching dramatic span more often seen in regular dramas. 5:30 p.m. Tue., AMC.; 5:15 p.m. Wed., AMC.
–Derek Elley, Variety
“Darkbluealmostblack” (no star rating)
(Daniel Sanchez Arevalo, Spain; 1:45)
First-time director Arevalo more than delivers on the promise he showed with his series of well-received shorts with this assured and captivating drama that combines grit and grace into a distinctive, character-based whole. Featuring a range of attractive characters aiming at self-reinvention, this tragicomic film is not content to be straight-up social realism, and essays some tricky maneuvers before coming through with flying colors. 8:30 p.m. Tue., AMC; 7 p.m. Wed., LM.
–Jonathan Holland, Variety
“Summer Palace” (no star rating)
(Lou Ye, China; 2:20)
Two star-kissed lovers meet, part and finally are reunited against a backdrop of 14 years of contemporary Chinese history in “Summer Palace,” an occasionally involving movie. Fourth feature by director Lou Ye (“Suzhou River,” “Purple Butterfly”) shoots for metaphysical drama but ends up saying very little beneath all the poetic voiceovers, sexual encounters and political seasoning. 6:30 p.m. Tue., LM.–D.E., Variety
“Madeinusa” (no star rating)
(Claudia Llosa, Peru/Spain; 1:43)
Llosa’s debut film is a classically made yet personally accented fable about the clash between old and new in a strange Andean village in Peru. The outline of Llosa’s tale — stranger blows into town, and shakes things up, including the heart of a pretty gal–stems directly from Hollywood westerns, yet “Madeinusa” feels Peruvian to the core. 6 p.m. Tue., LM; 8:45 p.m. Wed., LM.
–Robert Koehler, Variety
“Host & Guest” (no star rating)
(Shin Dong-il, South Korea, 1:32)
First-time writer-director Shin Dong-il has fashioned a thoughtful, witty and involving gem involving an ornery skeptic and a young evangelist. Tucked away in an obscure sidebar of this year’s Pusan fest, low budget pic is one of the least flashy but best of this year’s South Korean harvest. 8:15 p.m. Tue., LM; 6:15 p.m. Wed., AMC. –D.E., Variety
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Festival screenings are held at AMC River East 21 (AMC), 322 Illinois St.; Landmark’s Century Centre Cinema (LM), 2828 N. Clark St.; and Thorne Auditorium, on Northwestern University’s Chicago campus (THN), 375 E. Chicago Ave. For more Tribune coverage of the fest, visit www.chicagotribune.com/filmfest. For ticket information, contact Ticketmaster at 312-902-1500 or the Festival hotline at 312-332-FILM. For a complete schedule, visit www.chicagofilmfestival.com.