International Film Clips **All non-English films are with subtitles unless otherwise noted. Arabic Canticles of the Stones (Nashid Al-Hajar) Directed by Michel Khleifi (Israel/Palestine, 1990, 97 min.) Two Palestinian lovers torn apart 20 years earlier reunite against a backdrop of resistance and repression. The Center for Policy Analysis on Palestine Wed., Feb. 6, 6:30 p.m. Forbidden Marriages in The Holy Land Directed by Michel Khleifi (Israel/Palestine/Belgium/UK, 1995, 72 min.) An intriguing exposé of couples who, in a region scarred by conflict and catastrophe, chose love instead of hate. (Arabic and Hebrew) The Center for Policy Analysis on Palestine Wed., Feb. 20, 6:30 p.m. Tale of the Three Jewels (Hikayatul Jawahiri Thalath) Directed by Michel Khleifi (Israel/Palestine/Belgium/UK/Spain, 1995, 100 min.) To marry the girl he loves, 12-year-old Yussef must find the three missing jewels from a family necklace. The Center for Policy Analysis on Palestine Wed., Feb. 13, 6:30 p.m. West Beirut (West Beyrouth) Directed by Zaid Doueiri (Israel/Lebanon, 1998, 105 min.) Determined to have fun despite the tragedy unfolding around them, two teenagers from West Beirut film the first year of the Lebanese Civil War and are gradually drawn into the violence. (Arabic and French) The Center for Policy Analysis on Palestine Wed., Feb. 27, 6:30 p.m. Bamana Adanggaman Directed by Roger Gnoan M’Bala (Ivory Coast/Burkina Faso/France/Switzerland/Italy, 2000, 90 min.) Set in the 17th century, this film exposes the untold story of slavery. (Bamana, Baule, and French) National Museum of African Art Fri., Feb. 8, 7 p.m., Sat., Feb. 9, 3 p.m. Bosnian No Man’s Land Directed by Danis Tanovic (Bosnia/Slovenia/France/Italy/Belgium/UK, 2001, 98 min.) A Bosnian soldier and a Serbian soldier are stuck together in a trench between the fronts of the opposing sides. (Bosnian, Serbian, French and English) Cineplex Odeon Foundry Check theater for times Chinese Mandarin Beijing Bicycle (Shiqi Sui de Dan Che) Directed by Xiaoshuai Wang (China/Taiwan/France, 2001, 113 min.) Vittorio de Sica’s Neorealistic classic “The Bicycle Thief” receives a modern Chinese update. Theater TBA Opens Fri., Feb. 8 Cinema Arts Opens Fri., Feb. 15 What Time Is It There? (Ni Neibian Jidian) Directed by Tsai Ming-Liang (Taiwan/France, 2001, 116 min.) Father Miao Tien wanders about, smoking heavily. In the next scene, he’s ashes in an urn on his son’s lap while his wife makes over their apartment for his imminent reincarnation in this oddly humorous tale. (Mandarin, Taiwanese and French) AFI Fri., Feb. 1 to Thu., Feb. 7 Check theater for times Czech Dark Blue World (Tmavomodry Svet) Direc ted by Jan Sverák (Czech Republic/UK/Germany/Denmark/Italy, 2001, 114 min.) Exiled Czech aviators fly for the RAF during WWII, only to be imprisoned by the communists after the war. (Czech, English and German) Theater TBA Opens Fri., Feb. 8 Danish Italian for Beginners (Italiensk for Begyndere) Directed by Lone Scherfig (Denmark, 2001, 99 min.) In the latest Dogme 95 film, Italian lessons are used in an isolated Denmark suburb to find romance. (Danish and Italian) Theater TBA Check theater for times Wedding of Palo (Palos Brudefærd) Directed by Friedrich Dalsheim (Denmark, 1934, 72 min.) An account of Eskimo life during anthropologist Knud Rasmussen’s expedition of Greenland. National Gallery of Art Sat., Feb. 23, 3:45 p.m. Dutch The Underground Orchestra (Het Ondergrondse Orkest) Directed by Heddy Honigmann (The Netherlands, 2000, 108 min.) This documentary looks at the stories of the musicians in the Paris Métro. National Gallery of Art Sun., Feb. 24, 4 p.m. English Birthday Girl Directed by Jez Butterworth (UK, 2001, 93 min.) After his Russian mail-order bride (Nicole Kidman) arrives, a small town bank clerk’s life drastically changes. Theater TBA Check theater for times Charlotte Gray Directed by Gillian Armstrong (UK/Australia/Germany/USA, 2001, 120 min.) A Scottish woman becomes a secret agent in WWII France to find her lover, a downed RAF pilot. Cineplex Odeon Dupont Circle Check theater for times The Count of Monte Cristo Directed by Kevin Reynolds (UK/USA/Ireland, 2002, 131 min.) In Alexander Dumas’s classic story, a wrongly imprisoned man escapes to seek his revenge. Theater TBA Check theater for times The Debut Directed by Gene Cajayon (USA, 2000, 89 min.) This heartfelt portrayal of the tensions surrounding a Filipino-American family is set around the daughter’s 18th birthday party. (English and Tagalog) AMC Hoffmann Opens Fri., Feb. 8 Gosford Park Directed by Robert Altman (UK/USA/Germany, 2001, 137 min.) Altman transplants his talkie ensemble style to a murder mystery set in 1930s English aristocratic country life. AMC Courthouse AMC Hoffmann Cinema Arts Cineplex Odeon Cinema Cineplex Odeon Shirlington Cineplex Odeon White Flint Loews Rio Check theater for times Invincible Directed by Werner Herzog (Germany/UK/USA/Ireland, 2001, 128 min.) In Berlin, the legendary Aryan hero Siegfried is played by a blond Jewish strongman. Theater TBA Opens Fri., Feb. 22 Iris Directed by Richard Eyre (UK/USA, 2001, 90 min.) This biopic is a fabulous memoir of the life of author Iris Murdoch, played by Judi Dench and Kate Winslet. Theater TBA Opens Fri., Feb. 15 Lantana Directed by Ray Lawrence (Australia/Germany, 2001, 121 min.) Dubbed the Australian “Magnolia,” the multiple characters and plots become interwoven around the disappearance of a psychoanalyst. Cinema Arts Cineplex Odeon Dupont Circle Cineplex Odeon Shirlington Check theater for times Metropolis Directed by Rintarô (Japan, 2001, 107 min.) Adapted from Osamu Tezuka’s comic book, this futuristic animated film features robots as the working class. Cineplex Odeon Dupont Circle Check theater for times Q Planes Directed by Tim Whelan (UK, 1939, 90 min.) Laurence Olivier comes under suspicion for stealing British aircraft secrets, and Ralph Richardson is the eccentric secret service man who cracks the case in this tongue-in-cheek spy thriller. Capitol Hill Arts Workshop Wed., Feb. 20, 7 p.m. Tremblin’ Before G-d Directed by Sandi Simcha Dubowski (Israel/USA/France, 2001, 94 min.) This award-winning documentary explores the hidden world of gays and lesbians in the ultra-Orthodox and Hasidic Jewish community. (English, Hebrew and Yiddish) Visions Check theater for times The Young One (La Joven) Directed by Luis Buñuel (Mexico/USA, 1960, 95 min.) A New Orleans jazz musician flees to a remote coastal island where he befriends a young girl, much to the distrust of the island’s sheriff, who is also involved with the girl. La Maison Française Sun., Feb. 3, 1 p.m. Farsi Going By (Az Kenar-e Ham Migozarim) Directed by Iraj Karimi (Iran, 2001, 86 min.) In this unusual road movie, passengers in four cars encounter each other along their separate journeys. Freer Gallery of Art Fri., Feb. 15, 7 p.m.Sun., Feb. 17, 2 p.m. Kandahar (Safar e Ghandehar) Directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf (Iran/France, 2001, 85 min.) A female journalist secretly returns home to Afghanistan to rescue her suicidal sister. (Farsi, Pashtu and English) Visions Check theater for times Under the Moonlight (Zir-e Noor-e Maah) Directed by Seyyed Reza (Iran, 2001, 96 min.) A young seminarian finds his doubts about becoming an Islamic cleric magnified when a thief leads him into a pitiful but close-knit community of homeless men. Freer Galler y of Art Fri., Feb. 1, 7 p.m. Unfinished Song (Qateh-ye Natamam) Directed by Maziar Miri (Iran, 2001, 94 min.) A young researcher attempts to document the disappearing folk music while coping with the barriers of Islamic and local culture. Screens with “Tabaki” (Iran, 2001, 27 min.) by director Bahman Kiarostami about professional mourners. Freer Gallery of Art Fri., Feb. 22, 7 p.m.Sun., Feb. 24, 2 p.m. French Amélie (Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain) Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet (France/Germany, 2000, 123 min.) Everybody in France has been talking about the wide-eyed waitress from Montmartre who receives a revelation to do good deeds for her neighbors. Cinema Arts Cineplex Odeon Dupont Circle Cineplex Odeon Outer Circle Cineplex Odeon Shirlington Cineplex Odeon White Flint Regal Ballston Common Check theater for times Belle de Jour Directed by Luis Buñuel (France/Italy, 1968, 105 min.) An exquisite tale of self-discovery and tragic passion that chronicles a French housewife’s journey as she spends her days at a brothel and her nights with her husband. La Maison Française Sun., Feb. 3, 3:30 p.m. Brotherhood of the Wolf (Le Pacte des Loupe) Directed by Christophe Gans (France, 2001, 142 min.) A naturalist is sent to track down a wild beast ravaging the countryside. AMC Hoffmann Cineplex Odeon Wisconsin Ave Hoyts Potomac Yard Check theaters for times La Commune Directed by Peter Watkins (France, 2000, Part I-175 min., Part II-170 min.) As the monarchy of Napoleon III collapsed and commoners seized the reigns, establishing the Paris Commune, two television journalists in period costume interview the “participants” of this civil war in Peter Watkins’s remarkable historical documentary. National Gallery of Art Part I: Sat., Feb. 9, 2 p.m. Part II: Sat., Feb. 16, 2 p.m. Diary of a Chambermaid (Journal d’une Femme de Chambre) Directed by Luis Buñuel (France/Italy, 1964, 98 min.) Célestine, a social-climbing chambermaid, enters the service of an eccentric family where she encounters a foot fetish-obsessed patriarch and a murderous man-servant who wants her for his bride. La Maison Française Sun., Feb. 10, 6 p.m. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (Le Charme Discret de la Bourgeoisie) Directed by Luis Buñuel (France/Italy/Spain, 1972, 105 min.) This superb cinema classic, surrealistic in style, deals with the comic efforts of a group of socialites who dine together. La Maison Française Fri., Feb. 8, 7 p.m. The Ghost of Freedom (Le Fantôme de la Liberté) Directed by Luis Buñuel (France, 1974, 103 min.) Buñuel attacks society’s false pretensions about freedom and its distorted ideas of liberty and religion in this offbeat comedy. La Maison Française Sun., Feb. 10, 1 p.m. Happenstance (Le Battement d’Ailes du Papillon) Directed by Laurent Firode (France, 2000, 90 min.) The “butterfly theory” is charmingly demonstrated as a young man and woman (Audrey Tautou of “Amélie”) meet through random and unrelated events. Visions Opens Fri., Feb. 15 In Praise of Love (Éloge de l’Amour) Directed by Jean-Luc Godard (France/Switzerland, 2001, 97 min.) Godard’s latest meditation on love and loss. Screens with the short comedy “V.O.” (Spain, 2001), directed by Antonia San Juan. Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Gallery Thu., Feb. 7, 8 p.m. Queen Margot (La Reine Margot) Directed by Patrice Chéreau (France/Italy/Germany, 1994, 144 min.) It’s 1572 and Catherine de Medici sets up a political marriage between Catholic Margot and Protestant Henry of Navarre—then the scheming, betrayals and murders begin. (French and Italian) AFI Sat., Feb. 9, 8:45 p.m., Sun., Feb. 10, 5:30 p.m. That Obscure Object of Desire (Cet Obscur Objet du Désir) Directed by Luis Buñuel (France/Spain, 1977, 105 min.) Mathieu cannot resist pursuing the beautiful Conchita, but she remains just outside his grasp until she finally denies him the pleasure he wants. La Maison Française Sun., Feb. 10, 3:30 p.m. Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train (Ceux Qui M’aiment Prendront le Train) Directed by Patrice Chéreau (France, 1998, 122 min.) That’s a last request of bossy painter Jean-Louis Trintignant, and as the train-load of mourners rattles along, reminiscences, revelations, attractions and aversions come out with a vengeance. AFI Fri., Feb. 8 to Sun., Feb. 10 Check theater for times Italian The Son’s Room (La Stanza del Figlio) Directed by Nanni Moretti (Italy/France, 2001, 99 min.) Moretti plays a psychoanalyst and father in this sensitive study of a family’s mourning, which received the Palme d’Or at Cannes. Theater TBA Opens Fri., Feb. 8 Japanese Taboo (Gohatto) Directed by Nagisa Oshima (Japan/France/UK, 1999, 100 min.) Set in 1865, the beautiful, androgynous and narcissistic Kano is recruited to protect the shogun and attracts the attention of a lower-level samurai warrior, causing rumors and jealousies to abound. Cinema Art Bethesda Sun., Feb. 17, 10:30 a.m. Korean Shiri (Swiri) Directed by Je-Gyu Kang (South Korea, 1999, 124 min.) South Korean secret agents hunt down North Korean commandos who’ve stolen an experimental explosive from Seoul. Theater TBA Opens Fri., Feb. 8 Portuguese Behind the Sun (Abril Despedaçado) Directed by Walter Salles (Brazil/France/Switzerland, 2001, 105 min.) In the Brazilian badlands of 1910, a young man considers avenging the death of his older brother. Theater TBA Opens Fri., Feb. 22 Black Orpheus (Orfeu do Carnaval) Directed by Marcel Camus (Brazil/France/Italy, 1959, 100 min.) A Franco-Brazilian response to the classical Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Brazilian-American Cultural Institute Tue., Feb. 12, 7 p.m. Orfeu Directed by Carlos Diegues (Brazil, 1999, 111 min.) The struggle of a community against urban violence amidst the realism and magic of the carnaval carioca. (Without English subtitles) Brazilian-American Cultural Institute Fri., Feb. 15, 7 p.m. Spanish The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz (Ensayo de un Crimen) Directed by Luis Buñuel (Mexico, 1955, 90 min.) A wealthy man is obsessed with killing women to recapture the childhood rush he felt when he witnessed the murder of his governess. La Maison Française Fri., Feb. 1, 7 p.m. The Devil’s Backbone (El Espinazo del Diablo) Directed by Guillermo del Toro (Spain/Mexico, 2001, 106 min.) Against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War, gothic secrets are hidden in an isolated orphanage. Cineplex Odeon Dupont Circle Check theater for times The Exterminating Angel (El Ángel Exterminador) Directed by Luis Buñuel (Mexico, 1962, 95 min.) A mysterious being forces hunger and thirst on the guests of an elegant dinner party as they find themselves unable to leave. La Maison Française Sat., Feb. 9, 1 p.m. Frida (Frida, Naturaleza Viva) Directed by Paul Leduc (Mexico, 1983, 108 min.) Paul Leduc’s poetic film portrait of Frida Kahlo depicts her life in all its powerful aspects, from her crippling childhood accident to her stormy marriage to muralist Diego Rivera. National Museum of Women in the Arts Wed., Feb. 20, 7 p.m. Regarding Buñuel (A Propósito de Buñuel) Directed by José Luis López-Linares and Javier Rioyo (Mexico/Spain/France/USA, 2000, 100 min.) A documentary on the life of Luis Buñuel with López-Linares on hand for the screening. National Gallery of Art Sat., Feb. 2, 2 p.m. Simon of the Desert (Simón del Desierto) Directed by Luis Buñuel (Mexico, 1965, 90 min.) Amid dwarf goatherds and the Devil, a monk spends his time perched atop a pillar in the Mexican desert in this surreal fable. La Maison Française Sat., Feb. 9, 5:30 p.m. Viridiana Directed by Luis Buñuel (Mexico/Spain, 1961, 90 min.) An idealistic nun’s charity backfires when the recipients of her benevolence choose to go on living without her help. La Maison Française Sat., Feb. 9, 3:30 p.m. Swedish Beauty Will Save the World Directed by Stefan Jarl (Sweden, 2000, 60 min.) Jarl looks back on the life of his mentor, nature documentarian Arne Sucksdorff. Screens with the 2001 Slovenian shorts “Obon” (6 min.) and “Origin” (24 min.). National Gallery of Art Sat., Feb. 23, 2 p.m.