Life Without a Plan De Oliveiraís ëIím Going Homeí Shows How Life Goes On by Ky N. Nguyen Iím Going Homeî is a quiet gem reflecting on how life goes on with or without us. Many of its most profound moments are unhurried scenes without words, suggesting work Portuguese director Manoel de Oliveira may have made over seven decades ago. De Oliveira is probably the only working filmmaker who started in silent cinema. In his 90s, he hasnít slowed down a bit. Heís as prolific as ever, having made 13 films since 1990. (His latest, ìThe Uncertainty Principle,î screens Nov. 3 and 5 at the American Film Instituteís European Union Film Showcase.) The 77-year-old French actor Michel Piccoli is another living legend, having acted in more than 200 films. He plays Gilbert Valence, a famous actor nearing the end of his career. After a production of Ionescoís ìExit the King,î Valence learns that his wife, daughter and son-in-law have died in an accident. His peers, including Catherine Deneuve in a cameo, lament his tragic loss. Later, we see Valence continuing his lifeís routine. He still works in theateróplaying Prospero in ìThe Tempest.î Despite having ìdifferent hoursî from his grandson, Valence interacts daily with him and his housekeeper-nanny. Valence goes to the same cafÈ each day for coffee, walks around the boulevards of Paris, and meets with his agent Serge (Jean Koeltgen). His agent wants him to do a television action film for the money and exposure. Valence angrily refuses, saying that Serge should know him better. When Serge comes up with a small part in an esteemed American directorís (John Malkovich) film adaptation of ìUlysses,î itís an offer Valence canít refuse despite the difficulties of working in Englishóespecially on short notice. De Oliveiraís experience and wisdom is palpable on celluloid. His long takes give the viewer time to absorb the rhythms and thoughts of Valenceís life. Piccoli is fabulously understated as a man whoís been around long enough to know who he is and where heís going. With multiple scenes introducing the element of chance and fate in life, de Oliveira expertly demonstrates how life doesnít always work out as we plan itóin both small and large ways. ìIím Going Home (Je Rentre ? la Maison)î (French and English with subtitles; 90 min.) is now playing at Visions Cinema/Bistro/Lounge. Spark of Troubles Though itís a narrative feature film, ìBloody Sundayî has been crafted to feel like supercharged reality television. Director Paul Greengrass startlingly depicts the infamous January 1972 massacre of civil rights marchers in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, by the British army policing the area. The film was shot with a loosely handheld 16mm camera to achieve an intense cinema veritÈ feel. The images are generally framed in tight close-ups that reinforce the claustrophobic atmosphere. The viewer is thrust deep in the heart of the action with no opportunity for escape. Imagine protesters marching down the street singing, ìWe shall overcome one day.î Newly elected Protestant Member of Parliament Ivan Cooper (James Nesbitt in a fine performance) embraces Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.ís civil disobedience legacy. Cooper leads his mostly Catholic constituents in a parade (in defiance of a ban by the British Army) protesting the Ulster governmentís institutional anti-Catholic prejudice. Given the setup portrayed here, the disastrous impending results seem inevitable. The expertly staged documentary-like battle sequences recall the stark realism of Gillo Pontecorvoís ìBattle of Algiers.î The charactersí emotions and motivations are succinctly illustrated. Though Greengrass attempts to give a somewhat balanced perspective, the movie is clearly on the side of the victimsóresulting in allegations of bias and historical inaccuracies. Regardless, as a work of art, ìBloody Sundayî is a monumental achievement. ìBloody Sundayî (English; 110 min.) is now playing. Match Made in ëHeavení Like Steven Spielbergís inheritance of Stanley Kubrickís ìAIî project, ìHeavenî is another curious hybrid by living and dead filmmakers. In this case, however, German director Tom Tykwer (ìRun Lola Run,î ìThe Princess and the Warriorî) picked up the generally intact script written by the late Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski and his regular co-writer Krzysztof Piesiewicz (ìThe Decalogue,î ìBlue,î ìWhite,î ìRed,î ìThe Double Life of Veroniqueî). ìHeavenî succeeds at blending Tykwerís virtuoso visual style with Kieslowskiís poignant philosophic meditations. Philippa is a widowed English schoolteacher (a luminous Cate Blanchett) in Turin seeking justice for the drug-related deaths of her husband and others, including children in her school. The corrupt police ignore her pleas, leading her to desperately plant a bomb intended for the responsible drug dealer. After her plan backfires terribly and causes more loss of innocent lives, sheís arrested as an alleged terrorist. With the aid of an adoring policeman named Filippo (Giovanni Ribisi), whose brother happens to be her student, she goes on the lam in search of fulfillment and redemption. The translucent Blanchett is able to change her displayed feelings as if sheís turning a dial, a performance nicely contrasted by Ribisiís wide-eyed, quiet wonder. Tykwer specializes in using cinema to illustrate the arbitrary nature of timing and chance, a technique effectively complementing Kieslowskiís emotional concerns with coincidence and fate (ìBlind Chanceî). The otherworldliness of ìHeavenî is enhanced by the filmís breathtakingly gorgeous images in and around Turin. ìHeavenî (English and Italian with subtitles; 104 min.) is now playing locally, including at Cinema Arts. Repertory Notes The annual European Union Film Showcase continues through Nov. 10 at the American Film Instituteís (AFI) National Film Theater at the Kennedy Center. Highlights include Swedish director Jan Troell and actress Amanda Ooms appearing in person with ìAs White as in Snowî on Nov. 1 to 2. The festival also includes the latest prize-winning films by the Dardenne brothers (Belgium), Claude Miller (France), Olga Malea (Greece), Marco Bellochio (Italy), Jeroen KrabbÈ (The Netherlands), Manoel de Oliveira (Portugal), and Ken Loach (UK) ((202) 785-4600, www.afi.com/exhibition/nft.asp). From Nov. 1 to 7, Search for Common Ground sponsors the Common Ground Film Festivalófilms showing that ìworkable solutions can be found to contentious problemsîóat Visions Cinema/Bistro/Lounge. The movies cover situations with roots in India, Pakistan, Turkey, Malawi, Trinidad, Canada, Northern Ireland, Israel, Palestine, the former Yugoslavia, Vietnam, Korea, Sierra Leone and the United States. ((202) 667-0090, http://visionsdc.com). From Nov. 16 to 24, the National Gallery of Art presents New Films from Hungary, the debut features from five new filmmakers. All but one was a student of the late SimÛ S·ndor, whose first film ìThose Who Wear Glassesîóa ìnew waveî film of the 1960sówill be screened Nov. 23 ((202) 842-6799, http://nga.gov/programs/film.htm). The Goethe-Forumís November screenings include the Looking at Germany series, films by foreign directors Roberto Rossellini (ìGermany Year Zero,î Italy), Alain Resnais (ìNight and Fog,î France), and Jean-Luc Godard (ìGermany Year 90 Nine Zero,î France). On Nov. 18, ìThe Divided Heavenî kicks off the DEFA Films: Women in East Germany series ((202) 289-1200, ext. 168, www.goethe.de/uk/was/3_2002/enpfilm.htm). The Freer Gallery of Art presents new films from Egypt, China, Iran, India and Thailand. Highlights include legendary Egyptian director Youssef Chahineís new film, ìSilence Ö Weíre Rollingî ((202) 357-2700, www.asia.si.edu/programs/film.htm). The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden screens Russian director Alexandr Sokurovís ìTaurusî (Nov. 14 to 15) and two works by Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni: ìRed Desertî (Nov. 7) and ìThe Eclipseî (Nov. 8) ((202) 357-1618 ext. 5, www.hirshhorn.si.edu/programs/films.asp). MicroCineFest, Baltimoreís underground film festival, plays through Nov. 3 ((410) 243-5307, www.microcinefest.org). The Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival runs Nov. 6 to 10 in Rehoboth, Delaware ((302) 645-9095, www.rehobothfilm.com). Ky N. Nguyen is the film reviewer for The Washington Diplomat.