Eddie Cockrell

Will be of keen interest to fans but plays to the unwashed as cringingly pompous.

Stunningly played story of faith vs. family.

The miscalculated and overlong Julia proves a startling misfire for "The Dreamlife of Angels" writer-helmer Erick Zonca and dependably fearless actress Tilda Swinton.

Recent history once again intrudes on the present-day lives of working Czechs in the masterful multicharacter drama Beauty in Trouble.

Noteworthy for its detail and evenhandedness.

Glacially paced, self-consciously acted and narratively risible.

The trio is so individually and collectively charismatic that the film eventually neglects fully fleshed-out narrative in favor of sublime characterization.

A rueful yet gentle fable about the price of individuality and the value of dignity that preserves the intellectually stimulating spirit of Kieslowski's best work while tapping into a universally understandable vein of low-keyed absurdist comedy.

Predictable yet charming, The Grand Role is a crowd-pleasing dramatic comedy about love, friendship, role-playing and Jewish pride.

Ungainly titled, overlong, intermittently funny.

A dignified and wistful look at the unusual life, difficult career and lasting influence of singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt.

The most nonconfrontational and thus accessible title in the Dogma lot to date, and will speak the international language of proletariat love to arthouse auds who go for such fare.

Prolific helmer Kari Skogland draws a fiery performance from vet Burstyn and a beguiling one from Christine Horne as the young Hagar. Yet the book's sheer "Giant"-like scope necessitates generational cross-cutting that's both rushed and cluttered; pic would have have been better served as a more leisurely miniseries.

A taut police procedural that craftily blends ripped-from-the-headlines genetic issues with foreboding Icelandic stoicism, Jar City reps a supremely confident stride into mass-appeal genre fare for Icelandic hyphenate Baltasar Kormakur.

Explores another courageous, little-known chapter in the saga of resistance and heroics during World War II.

A cut above the average Aussie crazy-clan comedy.

Exquisitely modulated and superbly mounted, the directing debut of skilled cinematographer Lajos Koltai went through an extended, unpredictable production history to emerge as a genuinely new way of looking at the Holocaust that is markedly different in tone from other such stories including "Schindler's List" and "The Pianist."

Bids to whip homoerotic iconography into something palatable for those suspicious of the cuisine.

The big, burly Samoan Wedding is a shrewdly written, impeccably timed and audaciously played romantic comedy.

This triumph of historical verisimilitude in the service of solid storytelling requires no detailed knowledge of the period to be appreciated as the moving story of a son's unconditional love for his mother.

It doesn't make for involving drama, unless the audience is already invested in the subjects' fortunes. Thus, 49 Up will have more appeal for long-time followers than newcomers.

Though it may feel undernourished to the faithful, Winnipeg is an easily digestible meal, for the uninitiated and fans alike.

A plea for attention to despicable conditions of female servitude in contempo Iran.

A natural crowd-pleaser.

Unfortunately, Murat's decision to jump back and forth in time makes the film hard to follow for even the most committed viewer.

An instant ancillary classic for music fan.

A stately, intermittently gripping, ultimately overlong drama.

Managing to be at once epic and intimate, Zelary matches a resilient urban woman against a compassionate rural man in the spectacular Moravian countryside during World War II. Results rep a triumph of regional filmmaking, but in the David Lean tradition.