David Ehrenstein

Beautifully made and performed, this is a film of considerable insight into both the life of the impoverished and the mystery of human personality.

Though wildly imperfect, manages, for all its missteps, to touch on a number of important issues few gay films have dealt with to date.

Has all the crowd-pleasing elements moviegoers respond to: appealing hero, absorbing story, a solid group of supporting players and a big fat happy ending.

Out of prison, Milani is still not allowed to leave Iran. Whether she will ever get the chance to make another film there is doubtful, all the more reason not to miss this one.

It's the hallmark of a classic that must be seen to be disbelieved.

A film whose surface charm never gets in the way of its profound seriousness about living life to the fullest -- especially when one knows it isn't going to be a terribly long one.

Brilliant new documentary.

Few things are quite as frustrating as a film that chooses a highly controversial subject then proceeds to give it the kid-glove treatment. That's the case with writer-director James Bolton's well-made, if excruciatingly slow-paced, drama.

In the end, The Fluffer is a film for the chastened romantic in us all -- gay, straight or "for pay."

Not only unfunny, but downright repellent.

Not as tumultuous as "Happy Together" (the best gay break-up movie to date) it nonetheless offers much food for thought, particularly in regard to issues of trust and condom use.

May be too low-key for its own good. Still, if you want to get in on the ground floor of Aidan Gillen's certain-to-be-skyrocketing career, it's a good place to start.

Full of fresh and unexpected observations about the cross-culturally complex lives of second-generation Indians living in the U.S.

It's odd for a film to be both dramatically conventional yet emotionally bizarre at the same time, as this one is.

A subtle mood piece in which a man's collapse is examined so rigorously that one almost hopes for a murder to come along and break the tension.

At 145 minutes it's a bit of a stretch, but the cinematographer is the great Eric Gautier ("Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train," "Pola X") and the score by Howard Shore is far superior to his Oscar-winning "Lord of the Rings."

A thoughtful, well-acted and well-observed (though bleak) look at what some people have to put up with to get through life.

Beautifully made, deeply upsetting drama.

Shot on High Definition video, this exceptionally well-made but exceedingly bleak peek at tinseltown would be unbearable were it not for the sympathetic performance of Danny Huston.

If you're a Basquiat fan, or were around in New York back then, you'll want to take a look. If not, this film has little to recommend.

While nostalgically recalling the past, this is a clear-eyed look at Jewish history that should prove compelling even to those who've never heard of the Yiddish theater.

The film belongs to Jordan Brower, whose every appearance breaks one's heart, and makes some otherwise familiar material come alive.

If this all sounds masochistic, it most certainly is. But the filmmakers have rendered it with such grace and subtlety that the spectacle of three very intelligent people ruining each other's lives becomes irresistibly romantic.

Weber uses Faye as base from which to branch out in bizarre directions.

More art-directed than directed, there's nothing in the way of serious thought to be found here,

A lacerating study of sexual alienation.

Charged by Rideau's amazingly sexy performance as the most forthright gay character put on screen to date, this is a fine piece of filmmaking.

When Circuit is on its game it's very telling and where it's at its best is detailing just how difficult it is for men so hedonistically self-involved to love one another.