Page 4 of 4

Sunday, April 22

THE INTOUCHABLES (6:45 p.m.; also 11:45 a.m. April 26)

Literally voted the cultural event of last year in France — speak up, eh, The Artist? — where its crowd-pleasing multiculturalism incensed neo-fascists, Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache's overseas blockbuster has grossed more than $310 million even before its U.S. release. The documentary-inspired story concerns the friendship between a wealthy quadriplegic (Francois Cluzet) and the Senegalese delinquent (Cesar Best Actor winner Omar Sy) who comes to care for him. We haven't seen it, but The Weinstein Company is hoping it will please the stateside audiences who turned out for The Iron Lady and The King's Speech: gauge your interest accordingly. JIM RIDLEY

click to enlarge

• Pink Ribbons, Inc.

PINK RIBBONS, INC. (7 p.m.; also 4:45 p.m. April 23)

Timing is everything, and earlier this year, when the whole Susan Komen/Planned Parenthood kerfuffle went down, it seemed like everyone concerned with reproductive freedom and women's access to medical care was paying close attention. Now filmmaker Léa Pool digs down deep into the selling of breast cancer awareness and activism in this new documentary, which draws an intense response wherever it plays. Though the film wasn't provided for previewing, it's hard to think of a more timely piece: As with the recent Kony 2012 campaign or the documentary Bully, it's become all too easy to promote activism as something that can be effortless. A purchase of a branded object, a visit to a website — there's an entire industry predicated on making people believe that such simple actions can move mountains. Expect shocking revelations and heated post-screening discussions. JASON SHAWHAN

★CHARLIE LOUVIN: STILL RATTLIN' THE DEVIL'S CAGE (3:30 p.m.; also 12:45 p.m. April 23)

The often harrowing and amazing story of country music icon Charlie Louvin is told in Louvin's own words, rare performance clips, home movies and interviews with the usual suspects (big-name Louvin lovers like George Jones, Marty Stuart, Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss and Cake lead man John McCrea). The main focus of the film is Charlie's story, not necessarily that of The Louvin Brothers, and by not tying themselves to a strict chronological telling, directors Blake Judd and Keith Neltner deliver a film that feels more like front-porch conversation about Louvin's life and career than a by-the-numbers biography. Music journalist and singer-songwriter Peter Cooper leads a post-film panel. RANDY FOX

Monday, April 23

HEADSHOT (9:30 p.m.; also 2 p.m. April 24)

The latest effort from Thailand's Pen-Ek Ratanaruang is the sort of shoddy affair that gives foreign art cinema a bad name. Confusing and emotionally detached not so much by design as by incompetence, Headshot is a would-be genre scramble that finds hitman Tul (Nopporn Chaiyanam) shot in the head and, upon awakening, afflicted with grainy, upside-down vision. (A metaphor for a misspent life?) Extended flashbacks show us his life as a cop, his dark temptations, and his fatal lack of charisma. Perhaps Headshot is trying to combine extremity with contemplation, two Asian-identified filmic modes. Alas, Pen-Ek came up only with graceless claptrap. In Thai with subtitles. MICHAEL SICINSKI

Tuesday, April 24

ARTIFICIAL PARADISES (5:45 p.m.; also noon April 25)

The debut narrative feature from the director of the NaFF 2009 Best Documentary Shakespeare and Victor Hugo's Intimacies evokes the works of Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Carlos Reygadas as well as the 2011 NaFF standout Le Quattro Volte ... at least in its first 15 minutes. But what begins wordless, lush and dreamy (think wind-blown rainforests, cows roaming deserted Mexican beaches) quickly descends into a fairly conventional (if sparse) narrative about two lost souls connecting through addiction. For 63-year-old fisherman Salomón (Salamón Hernandez), marijuana makes the world tolerable. For young drifter Luisa (Luisa Pardo), heroin helps her escape it. The tale is told without cloying moralism, and the cinematography is absolutely gorgeous; yet I can't quite shake the feeling of potential unfulfilled. Still, 29-year-old director Yulene Olaizola is a talent to watch. In Spanish with subtitles. TONY YOUNGBLOOD

click to enlarge

• Girl Model

★GIRL MODEL (9:30 p.m.; also 2:45 p.m. April 25)

A must-see. An intriguing subject — the corrupt, creepy process that procures Siberian teenage models for Japanese fashion spreads — leads to this award-worthy piece of documentary journalism. Filmmakers Ashley Sabin and David Redmon follow Nadya, a 13-year-old girl picked out of her picturesque homeland to model for Japanese audiences under uncomfortably shady conditions. The title refers also to former model turned scout Ashley Arbaugh, who selects Nadya and then keeps tabs on her — making for a fascinating study of a complex and ambivalent psychology seemingly shaped by trauma. When a SXSW screening audience delivered the knee-jerk criticism that the filmmakers didn't intervene in the queasy situations they document, they fired back with a sobering reality check: By making this film at all, the filmmakers put their lives on the line. By film's end, you'll understand why. SAM SMITH

Wednesday, April 25

PAUL WILLIAMS: STILL ALIVE (11:45 a.m.; also 7:15 p.m. April 26)

In the 1970s, Paul Williams was more than just the songwriter responsible for hits such as the Oscar-winning "The Rainbow Connection." He was a celebrity, a star personality, and the perfect hero for Stephen Kessler, a lonesome teenager who found in Williams the geeky rock-star idol who inspired him to make this documentary. Much of this film deals with Kessler's pursuit of Williams, first in discovering that he is in fact still alive after recovering from years of alcohol and drug abuse, then as Kessler tags along on Williams' scattered speaking and singing appearances. Kessler's persistence is painfully awkward at times; in a way this is more a portrait of obsessed fandom than of a legendary entertainer. Nevertheless, Williams (still alive!) will attend on closing night — though regrettably, he'll miss the retrospective screening of Brian De Palma's Phantom of the Paradise (see below). SAM SMITH

HANK COCHRAN: LIVIN' FOR A SONG (7 p.m.; also 12:15 p.m. April 26)

A straight-forward, no-cinematic-frills documentary on the incredible life and talent of master songwriter Hank Cochran. Shot in the months leading up to his death in 2010, Wes Pryor's film features a seemingly never-ending line-up of singers, songwriters and friends of the late Cochran, from Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard to Elvis Costello and Jamey Johnson, all paying tribute in interview clips, performances and encounters with the great man himself. Especially interesting is the focus on Cochran's skill and tenacity as a song-plugger and the way he was able to draw from the ups and downs of his personal life to produce classic and timeless music. RANDY FOX

★SUPPORTING CHARACTERS (7:45 p.m.; also noon April 26)

After a group of film students savage an indie film at a disastrous test screening, co-editors and best friends Nick (Alex Karpovsky) and Darryl (Tarik Lowe) are tasked with editing the mess into a coherent film – or at least something a bit better than "this movie blows." Though the editors are saddled with obstacles like an uncompromising director (Kevin Corrigan) and a disinterested crew of post-production engineers (including legitimate indie darling Lena Dunham, writer/director of Tiny Furniture), Karpovsky and Lowe's chemistry takes Supporting Characters out of the realm of "movie about making movies" and into "charming indie buddy picture." LANCE CONZETT

★OSLO, AUGUST 31 (9:30 p.m.; also 2:15 p.m. April 26)

The latest from up-and-coming Norwegian auteur Joachim Trier (Reprise) zeroes in on one pivotal day for Anders (Anders Danielsen Lie), a 30-something drug addict finishing up rehab and taking an outpatient day to apply for a job. We follow Anders on the interview, but also as he visits his best friend, tries to meet up with his sister, and takes stock of his options after cleaning up. Anchored by Trier's rich, literary sensibility and a steely, pitiless performance by Danielsen Lie, Oslo eviscerates the pat inspirational tales Hollywood loves to spin about its own 12-stepping pals. This ain't 28 Days. In Norwegian with subtitles. MICHAEL SICINSKI

★PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE (10 p.m.)

Paul Williams, elfin actor-songwriter, meet Brian De Palma, leering gargoyle of '70s Hollywood. If you know this movie, you've already got tickets — it's among the biggest cult rediscoveries of recent years (especially in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where it's celebrated like heat). If you don't, oh my God. Williams, who wrote the soundtrack of so-off-they're-awesome pop pastiches, plays the demonic record mogul who literally smashes composer William Finley in his music-biz machinery; the disfigured Finley dons a cape and metal mask to terrorize Williams' glam-rock palace and moon over delectable ingénue Jessica Harper. (The screening will serve as a sad epitaph for Finley, who died Tuesday after an association with De Palma that dated back 50 years to his earliest shorts.) In some ways, this garish cartoon horror-rock musical is the quintessential De Palma movie: operatic in style, sarcastic in sensibility, yet oddly chivalrous in its wounded-romantic fashion. It was a life-changing experience when I saw it at Murfreesboro's Cinema One in 1974 in third grade. Will it change yours? JIM RIDLEY