IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE (Hong Kong) 8:30 pm Feb. 17, 7 pm Feb. 19 GU

PREVIEW
Worldwide Visions
The Portland International Film Festival returns with films from around the globe.

BY JAY HORTON, BRIAN LIBBY, CHRISTOPHER MCQUAIN, ILIKE MEREY, SEYTA SELTER & DAVID WALKER
243-2122

BW Broadway Theatre, Southwest Broadway and Main Street
GU Guild Theatre, 829 SW 9th Ave.
FX Fox Tower, Southwest Taylor Street and Park Avenue
WH Whitsell Auditorium, 1219 SW Park Ave.

General Admission--$7
Members--$6
Children--$4
Festival Pass--$175

Ninety-one films from 36 countries in 17 days. That's right, it's time once again for the Portland International Film Festival. This year's lineup includes an exciting schedule of film from some of the world's most acclaimed filmmakers. Deciding which films to see can be difficult, but with a little luck, we might be able to make things easier for you. Here's the lowdown on the festival's second week.

A PLACE NEARBY
Tense drama of a mother's desperate attempts to clear her autistic son of a murder rap.
(JH)(Denmark) 6:45 pm Feb. 14 BW

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF CHICKENS
Director Mark Lewis trains his unblinking lens again upon one of nature's less-romantic creatures and, inevitably, uncovers more about the owners than their pets. Essentially a series of interviews exploring biological oddities (the globally renowned chicken that lived years after decapitation) and the deep ties between man and bird (the Palm Beach widow who bathed with her rooster), the documentary flirts with a heavy-handed whimsy and oddly affecting sentiment that renders the framing sequences of industrial egg production less political than tasteless. The result is something like the average hour of Animal Planet, only with better camera work and a badly needed perspective.
(Australia) 7:15 pm Feb. 15 GU

THE LAST RESORT
Hoping to find a new, happy life, Russian immigrant Tanya and her 9-year-old son arrive in England to meet Tanya's fiancé. When he doesn't show, Tanya claims refugee status, and the two are shipped to a gray holding flat (ironically overlooking the Dreamland Amusement Park). Despite the dreary-sounding premise, this window into troubled lives is filled with refreshingly straightforward characters. (SS)
(Britain) 7 pm Feb. 14 WH, 9 pm Feb. 16 BW

A PARADISE UNDER THE STARS
A young would-be dancer struggles with budding love, family intrigue and Cuban manliness.(Cuba) 9:15 pm Feb. 15 FX, 4 pm Feb. 17 BW

VILLA-LOBOS: A LIFE OF PASSION
The fiery story behind the woes and triumphs of 20th-century Brazil's most influential composer.
(Brazil) 7 pm Feb. 14 FX

THE CLOSED DOORS
Crushing teenage confusion of the Oedipal and religious persuasion amid the Gulf War.
(Egypt) 7:15 pm Feb. 14, 9 pm Feb. 15 BW

BRIDE OF FIRE
Modern love clashes violently with tribal customs in the ancient question: "Who owns the fate of the bride?"
(Iran) 6:30 pm Feb. 16, 2:15 pm Feb. 17, 7 pm Feb. 19 BW

FAST FOOD,FAST WOMEN
A melee of modern players are on the prowl for that elusive love connection.

THE GLEANERS AND I
Only a legendary filmmaker like Agnes Varda could grab a camcorder, talk to a few vagabonds and make something meaningful. In The Gleaners and I, the 70-something French director profiles those who live off other people's castoffs, be it discarded farm produce or city trash. Recalling the neglected tradition of gleaning celebrated in the paintings of Millet and Van Gogh, Varda comments on our throw-away culture and casts filmmaking itself as an act of visual gleaning. (BL)

(France) 7:15 pm Feb. 17, 7:15 pm Feb. 18 FX(US) 7 pm Feb. 15 BW

A RUN FOR MONEY
Selim is as upstanding a citizen as one could be--until he finds a bag bursting with half a million dollars of stolen money.
(Turkey) 7 pm Feb. 15, 7 pm Feb. 20 FX, 9 pm Feb. 21 BW

NO PLACE TO GO
An idealistic left-wing writer in Munich becomes disillusioned and drug-addicted after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
(Germany) 7 pm Feb. 16 BW, 9:15 pm Feb. 17 WH

THE TASTE OF OTHERS
The title is something of a pun: It chronicles both the (oddly chaste) sexual adventures of a wildly disparate group, brought together by a balding industrialist's visit to a local theater production, and the sudden souring of romantic entanglements from the smallest prejudices. Lightning-quick, with overlapping dialogue and a confident, unpredictable structure, The Taste of Others is shaped like a traditional romantic comedy. The glossy production lends a car-commercial sheen, but the lingering tone of the film can be achingly sad. (JH)
(France) 7:15 pm Feb. 14 GU, 7 pm Feb. 15 WH

THE WIDOW OF ST. PIERRE
Patrice Leconte's films turn on the edge of a blade. After scissors (The Hairdresser's Husband) and knives (The Girl on the Bridge), why not the guillotine? On a barren French island circa 1849, a murderer earns his community's reverence while awaiting execution. Starring familiar Leconte players Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche, The Widow of St. Pierre is another visually majestic, heart-rending (albeit over-earnest) story of love and loss from one of France's most dependable magicians. (BL)
(France) 7 pm Feb. 16, 3 pm Feb. 17 GU

BYE BYE AFRICA
A film director returns to his homeland to chronicle the decline of the Chadian film industry and in the process finds themes that run much deeper.
(Chad) 4:45 pm Feb. 18 BW, 6:30 pm Feb. 19 FX

HOUSE
This stylistically challenged British bingo comedy is meant to be a lighthearted, feel-good film about family loyalty and risk, but instead it's wannabe-artsy with a lame premise. Young Linda has a penchant for knowing the bingo numbers before they are called. Will she use her "gift" to save the bingo hall from crumbling under its new competitor? A few semi-funny moments of the hotshot bingo caller lewdly addressing bingo crones in his pre-game comedy routine are all you get for laughs--and it ain't that funny. (SS)
(Britain) 9:15 pm Feb. 15 BW

THE BIG ANIMAL
It takes a camel to teach a town about intolerance in this playful look at the power of the offbeat.
(Poland) 7 pm Feb. 16, 5 pm Feb. 17 FX, 9:15 pm Feb. 19 BW

ANGELS OF THE UNIVERSE
From Cold Fever director Fridrik Thor Fridriksson comes this portrait of an Icelandic artist (Ingvar Sigurdsson) who descends into tortuous schizophrenia. Relegated to a nearby asylum, Paul spends his days swaying between hollow sedation and frenzied tantrums. Luckily he has some new friends: One thinks he's Hitler, the other a missing Beatle who sends songs telepathically to the Fab Four. With empathy and quiet wit, Fridriksson views these outcasts as tragic heroes who can't fly from their cuckoo's nest. (BL)
(Iceland) 7:30 pm Feb.16 WH, 5:45 pm Feb. 17 GU

ME, YOU, THEM
Apparently the idea of "alternative families" is alive and well in rural Brazil. Darlene, a single mother, returns to her hometown, where she promptly marries an aging, crusty bachelor and conceives a second child. After having a child-begetting affair with her husband's cousin, she becomes involved with a field worker and bears yet another child. By the end, they're all living together as a family. A beautifully shot, frequently amusing riff on "it takes a village." (CM)
(Brazil) 7 pm Feb. 17, 7 pm Feb. 20, WH

CHUNHYANG
After directing more than 90 films, Im Kwon Taek can handle one of cinema's biggest clichés--the plight of star-crossed lovers. In Chunhyang, a prostitute's daughter and governor's son are married but driven apart by duty and class. Narrated by a traditional Korean Pansori singer (imagine Louis Armstrong chanting in Korean) before a live audience, Chunhyang walks a tightrope between sober self-awareness and fairy-tale magic. (BL)
(South Korea) 9 pm Feb. 16 FX, 4 pm Feb. 18 GU

WAITING FOR THE MESSIAH
This "two paths crossing" story concerns a Buenos Aires banker who becomes a transient and a young Jewish videographer fighting to change his life after his mother's death. The characters are void of feeling until well into the film. Full of annoying lessons on "Jewishness" and immature views of homosexuality, this isn't the festival's best film--though it comes together near the end. (SS)
(Argentina) 9:15 pm Feb. 17 BW

BARBECUE-PEJO
Corn and a finicky Peugeot go a long way in this story of a poor farmer trying to herd his family into some kind of stability.
(Benin) 7 pm Feb. 17, 1:45 pm Feb. 18 BW

LITTLE DARLING
The recurring theme of Anne Villaceque's slow movie is entrapment. Homely, 30-year-old Sybille is trapped in suburban doldrums with her parents--who are likewise trapped. Then Victor, an egomaniacal drifter in a suit, moves in on her and becomes trapped as well. The worst entrapment of all, however, is you in your theater seat. Nothing happens in the film's entire 106 minutes except Victor's continuous berating of Sybille and her supplicating compliance. The most you'll feel is boredom and pity. Ho-hum. (SS)
(France) 9:15 pm Feb. 16 BW

DR. MABUSE: THE GAMBLER
Fritz Lang's two-part tale of ex-psychologist mastermind Dr. Mabuse, who uses the backdrop of WWI ruin to defraud and deprave his victims.
(Germany) Part 1: 2 pm Feb. 18, Part 2: 6 pm Feb. 18 WH (One hour intermission between parts)

CHOPPER
Warning: Chopper is not for the squeamish. Raw brutality, graphic violence and pitch-black humor fuse in this unsettling tale of Mark "Chopper" Read, Australia's most infamous criminal. Based on the best-selling books written by Read, Chopper follows the sociopathic criminal as he cons, murders and brutalizes his way to fame. The violent imagery is disturbing, but it's offset by dark satire. Eric Bana stars as Chopper, giving an intense performance up there with Russell Crowe's in Romper Stomper. (DW)
(Australia) 9:30 pm Feb. 16 GU, 9:30 pm Feb. 17 FX

THE ADVENTURES OF ALIGERMAA
A tale told through the eyes of an 8-year-old Mongolian girl who dreams of racing horses.
(Denmark) 2:30 pm Feb. 18 FX

TSATSIKI, MUM AND THE POLICEMAN
A little boy nicknamed after a Greek condiment dreams of finding out more about his Mediterranean father.
(Sweden) 2 pm Feb. 17 WH, 2 pm Feb. 18 BW

BROTHER II
Filmmaker Alexei Balabanov returns, along with stars Sergei Bodrov and Viktor Sokhorukov, for this sequel to his popular 1998 film. After his friend's murder, Danilla (Bodrov), a former soldier/mobster, sets out on a bloody trail of revenge that takes him to America. Reminiscent of such '70s classics as The French Connection and Shaft's Big Score, Brother II is an action fan's wet dream. (DW)
(Russia) 4:15 pm Feb. 18, 6:45 pm Feb. 20 BW

DIVIDED WE FALL
Dark laughs arise as a couple struggles to protect a concentration-camp fugitive in WWII Czechoslovakia.
(Czech) 4:15 pm Feb. 17 WH, 7:30 pm Feb. 19 BW

MARSHAL TITO'S SPIRIT
Tito's ghost starts showing up all over modern Croatia in this playful poke at the country's current state.
(Croatia) 5 pm Feb. 18 FX, 9:15 pm Feb. 20 BW, 7 pm Feb. 23 WH

I PREFER THE SOUND OF THE SEA
A growing friendship tries to survive the strains of different roots, worlds and values.
(Italy) 5:15 pm Feb. 17, 7:30 pm Feb. 18 BW

SKY HOOK
Building a basketball court lends purpose to the lives
of two men coping with the 1999 Belgrade bombings.
(Yugoslavia) 7 pm Feb. 19 WH, 9:15 pm Feb. 21 GU

THE MISSION
Hot lead flies and bullet-riddled bodies pile up as Hong Kong gangsters square off over the life of a Triad crime boss. Sworn to protect their boss--who's got a price on his head--a posse of HK gangsters dispenses retribution with cold steel. Located between the fast-paced onslaught of John Woo's direction and the casual pace punctuated by extreme violence characteristic of Beat Takeshi, director Johnnie To Kei-Fung (Heroic Trio) has crafted a solid Hong Kong gangster thriller. (DW)
(Hong Kong) 7 pm Feb. 18 BW, 7 pm Feb. 21 GU

PEPPERMINT CANDY
Strange, and at first hard to follow, Lee Chang-dong's Peppermint Candy is innovative and completely engaging. Starting with the suicide of his lead character, Lee jumps backward in time, revealing key moments that will eventually lead to the protagonist's demise. With each step, the film sheds light on a complex life that serves as a metaphor for contemporary South Korea. (DW)
(South Korea) 9:30 pm Feb. 17 BW, 8:45 pm Feb. 19 FX

ARISTOTLE'S PLOT
Jean-Pierre Bekolo's scathing indictment of American film in Africa is better in theory than execution. Frustrated with watching imported Hollywood trash, a filmmaker goes to battle against a gang of thugs who have no interest in African cinema. Bekolo's film raises interesting issues while offering some genuine laughs, but it's uneven and at times confusing. (DW)

(Cameroon) 7 pm Feb. 20, 6:45 pm Feb. 21 BW

IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE
The latest from Chungking Express auteur Wong Kar-wai reminds us that contemporary cinema's creative epicenter lies in the Far East. Set in circa-1962 Hong Kong, In the Mood for Love stars Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung as next-door neighbors who learn that their spouses (whom we never see) are cheating with each other. Allied in grief, they cultivate their own brand of forbidden love. Wong's film is a dreamy, kaleidoscopic requiem for a bygone time and place, rendered in subtle moves and vivid hues. Luminous yet lonesome, beautiful yet bittersweet, In the Mood for Love is one of the festival's best. (BL)

(Hong Kong) 8:30 pm Feb. 17, 7 pm Feb. 19 GU

WHEN THE RAIN LIFTS
Tests in jealousy and loyalty abound for a masterless samurai suddenly lifted to a seat of honor in this sublime tale drawn from Akira Kurosawa's last screenplay. (BL)
(Japan) 9 pm Feb. 20, 5 pm Feb. 23 GU