V.A. Musetto

As with "Distant," the dialogue is minimal, the takes are long, the narrative is laconic (too much so for many viewers, I imagine) and the cinematography is painterly.

Chang doesn't pull his punches in this continuing look at a changing, out-of-control China.

The real star of the movie is the delectable sushi itself. Viewers will be tempted to hop the next flight to Tokyo, but probably will have to settle for a Japanese eatery closer to home.

The plot of the gorgeous Mexican film Alamar -- a father-son vacation -- isn't what Hollywood calls "high concept." But thanks to director-cinematographer-editor Pedro Gonzalez-Rubio, the film might be called "high enjoyment."

Direction of all three films is no more than workmanlike, which isn't surprising since they were originally made for British television. The acting, on the other hand, is sometimes superb.

More popular today than during his lifetime (his music even made it into a Volkswagen commercial), Drake once complained, "Everybody tells me I'm great, but I'm broke. Why?"

The film leisurely unfolds as a series of vignettes about class distinctions and crime, with an unexpected ending. It is beautifully filmed in CinemaScope and strongly acted (especially by Solha), and makes for mesmerizing viewing.

Porumboiu, who also produced and wrote, elicits remarkably deadpan performances from Teo Corban (as the show's host), Ion Sapdaru (the professor) and - especially - Mircea Andreescu, as the old man. Even the subtitles cracked me up.

A tad too long, "Tea" is nevertheless touching and funny, with charming performances. You might say it's as calming as a hot cup of green tea.

It's a long way from the carefree days of "Breathless" and "Band of Outsiders," but then the world has changed since Godard made those movies 40 years ago.

Clever, wise and witty.

You don't have to be a fan of Daniel Johnston, an underground artist and singer-songwriter whose manic-depression has kept him from realizing his full potential, to appreciate director Jeff Feuerzeig's documentary.

The stunning adventure Mountain Patrol: Kekexili is like a John Ford western set, not in the master's beloved Monument Valley, but in remotest China.

A charming and enjoyable movie.

A devastating indictment of unbridled greed and materalism, made all the more relevant by the Enron and WorldCom scandals.

Pleasant but lifeless love story.

The plot has all the ingredients of a soap opera, but Bani-Etemad, who has been making movies since the '80s, is able to make it much more.

The Holy Girl ends without resolution, but one isn't needed in this mature, thoughtful drama.

Circo is more like "The Smallest Show on Earth" than "The Greatest Show on Earth," the 1952 Oscar winner, but it does provide a look at a unique family and a disappearing way of life.

Uninspired in style, and Joan Allen's narration is dry.

Pity that the direction and narrative lack passion. If there's anything a story of interracial adultery needs, it's passion.

The poetry has more in common with rap lyrics than Baudelaire, but that just increases the fun.

It boggles the mind to think that Elite Squad won the top prize at the prestigious Berlin Film Festival in February.

A must for hip-hop heads. Others will either be won over or left wondering what all the fuss is about.

There's not enough here to justify the almost two hours.

The hit man's narration is compelling and frightening on its own.

Cinematographer Mohammad Davudi's nighttime shots of jammed Tehran highways help convey the society's dehumanization. Scenes of a vast forest outside the city, where Ali releases tension by hunting, are powerful in their own, sparse way.

It's scary to see how one man can brainwash a gigantic nation, as Mao did.

A 3-D epic that, despite its title, is more of a soap opera than a swordplay thriller.

Buck is best left to TV, where it will land soon. It's "The Horse Whisperer" that should be seen on the big screen.

Pegg and director/co-writer Edgar Wright mix numerous references to other zombie flicks with hilarious bits of their own. The best has Ed and Shaun deciding which LPs can be used as ammo.

Few directors make action movies with the pizazz of Hong Kong's Johnnie To, although his films rarely get runs in New York. That's all the more reason to see his Vengeance.

Has no profound statements to make, but it does provide warm and fuzzy comfort.

There is much opportunity to turn the film into a soaper, but Hansen-Love resists.

Too-convenient coincidences hurt the movie's credibility. A melodramatic script best left to cable TV doesn't help, either.

Ruscio's script is grim and darkly funny, but the big attraction is Wright's right-on performance. She's an actress waiting to be discovered.

A high point shows O'Day, in a black-and-white hat and form-fitting dress, singing "Sweet Georgia Brown" at the Newport Jazz Festival. That scene alone confirms O'Day's place among the greats.

There are moments of fun (an aphrodisiac-laced dessert, for example), but generally the humor seems warmed-over.

Awesome filmmaking. But it doesn't make for easy film-watching.

Doesn't have the crossover appeal of the Mexican sexcapade "Y Tu Mama Tambien," but it does herald the arrival of an audacious young filmmaker. We can't wait to see what he does next.

Director Susanne Bier is helped by a well-chosen cast, especially the glowing Nielsen, a Danish-born actress best known for American films like "Gladiator."

Long, talky and shot in black and white. In other words, it requires a commitment in time and brain power - a commitment worth making.

Bears more than a passing resemblance in story and form to "The Twilight Samurai," but stands on its own as a pleasant, if unremarkable, romance.

iIt is clear that it would have benefited from black-and-white cinematography. And the melodramatic musical soundtrack is annoying and unnecessary.

A master class on turning a talky, one-man play into a visual delight.

The result is a finely plotted, stylishly photographed and brilliantly acted whodunit that clocks in at 2 1/2 hours but never seems long.

Low-budget triumph.

There's style and panache to spare. Mournful jazz adds to the mood.

Lush and poetic, Dolls proves once again that Kitano is one of the world's most original filmmakers.

Ends in magnificent fashion, with skyscrapers bowing to Beethoven's Ninth. It's a stirring ending to a sweet movie.

Hilarious from first frame to last.

If the documentary has a star, it's pony-tailed AES exec Piers Lewis, who had the impossible job of getting Georgians to actually pay for their electricity.

A thinking man's buddy movie.

Despite copious full-frontal female nudity, House of Pleasures isn't mere sexploitation. Rather, it's a gorgeously filmed portrait of a bygone era, with painstaking attention to period detail. On the downside, the movie is overlong.

There's little reason to see the claustrophobic Chronicling a Crisis unless you have a fascination with the Kolleks. Watching the vanity project is like being forced to sit through a friend's boring home movies.

Should please die-hard fans as well as viewers who have never heard the band and its anthem, "Kick Out the Jams."

As this eye-opening documentary shows, the suits who run MLB are the real bad guys here, treating the aspiring ballplayers as so much sausage.

Cheung and Nick Nolte seem unlikely co-stars, but co-star they do in Clean, giving gritty performances under the direction of Frenchman Olivier Assayas.

Call this a profile in courage.

Overflows with psychological intrigue, something often missing from such offerings.

Part political thriller, part National Geographic travelogue, Tom Peosay's documentary is a distressing look at China's 50-year repression of the people of Tibet.

If you've seen either of the first two flicks in this outrageous series - "Oldboy" and "Sympathy for Mister Vengeance" - you know what's coming. Novices should prepare for mind-bending bloodshed and violence.

There's plenty of material here for a dark comedy, but director Martin Curland isn't up to the job. His film - like Luke - plods along, unsure of exactly what it's supposed to be.

The intolerance and inflexibility that marked the Taliban's brutal rule takes a solid hit in this lovely import from Bangladesh.

It takes a while to get used to the fractured narrative, but once done it is easy to put your mind on autopilot and go with the offbeat characters and events.

The tap-dance finale is a gem.

All this is loads of fun, but after a while sensory overload sets in, dulling the mind. Even in a kung-fu flick, more isn't always better.

If you're new to Kaurismaki, the film will make you a fan. If you've seen everything else he's ever done, the comedy will confirm your commitment.

The result is surprisingly engrossing -- even lively, due in part to brief musical numbers inserted amid the interviews.

They should hand out a score card with every ticket to The Witnesses to help viewers keep track of who's sleeping with whom.

The story is told in fractured time. This might not be a problem if his visuals were more fear-inducing.

Well-intended and often poignant film that, unfortunately, too often bogs down in too much talk by its participants.

Sadly, with the Soviet Union gone, the art faces a new enemy: Islamic extremists.

The sweet script, crisp direction and a delightful performance by Leila Hatami, as the sad-eyed wife, should put Deserted Station on your must-see list.

Will Marcela (wonderful Ana Geislerova) opt for brains or brawn? The answer might surprise you.

With Treeless Mountain, Kim establishes herself as a first-class filmmaker.

As Mark Twain didn't say, reports of the death of mumblecore are greatly exaggerated. As proof, I offer Andrew Bujalski's wise and wondrous Beeswax.

House is a spooky fairy tale mixed with martial arts, slow motion, black-and-white flashbacks — even a little upskirt action. A demonic white cat and a people-eating piano add spice. Movies as original as this one don’t come along very often, so grab it while you can.

The Japanese anti-war drama Caterpillar is difficult to watch. But it's directed, acted and photographed well, and it's worth seeing even if it makes you uncomfortable.

You might be reminded of Jean-Jacques Beineix's 1981 thriller "Diva," which also involves crooked cops and Metro chases. But you need never have seen "Diva" to be captivated by the exhilarating Point Blank.

In her directorial debut, Venditti does her best to keep a distance between herself and her subjects. But you have to wonder how much of the Billy we see on-screen is affected by the presence of Venditti's camera.

The story, based on a best-selling novel, has familiar overtones; but Kormakur overcomes them with stylish direction - Iceland's natural beauty looks great - and a gripping performance by Ingvar Eggert Sigurdsson.

Heisenberg's thriller ends with a chase across highways and through woods that will give viewers adrenaline highs of their own.

Koteas and Ribisi, as two very different brothers, give realistic performances, and play off the differences brilliantly.

Man's inhumanity to man is gruesomely detailed in S21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine.

The actors are charmingly low-key, and the lensing, by Jorgen Johansson, adds to the offbeat aura. Whatever you do, don't miss the booze-guzzling showdown.

The film flawlessly glides along as bodies start piling up. The finale brings to mind another Hitchcock film, "Psycho."

Directed by C. Scott Willis, this beautifully shot documentary blends Francesca's work -- photos, videos and passages from her diary -- with interviews.

An acid trip of a movie about a piece of Los Angeles history that exists no more: the Ambassador Hotel.

Sparse of plot, Iron Island is visually rich, thanks to cinematographer Reza Jalai. The final scene is especially stunning.

Director Ferzan Ozpetek's film doesn't break any new ground; rather, it recycles every cliché about gays in what is essentially an extended soap opera.

While never exploitative, Polisse can be extremely disturbing. Is it possible for a parent to mistreat a child in the ways shown here? Sad to say, the answer is yes.

Bardem gives such a brilliant performance in The Sea Inside, it's a crime that the film itself drowns in tears.