Bizarre Love Story In ëTalk to Her,í AlmodÛvar Communicates His Sensitive Side by Ky N. Nguyen Talk to Her,î Spanish director Pedro AlmodÛvarís 14th feature, follows the Foreign Language Oscar-winning ìAll About My Motherî with another bizarre yet unusually mature story of loss and love. He employs a complex formal structure to examine myriad ideas including communication, relationships, desire, devotion, compassion and aesthetics. AlmodÛvarís steady pacing and assured direction make the film flow effortlessly. He can instantly change the movieís tone without any abruptness, as if heís smoothly switching gears. His actors live and breathe their roles precisely and naturally. The result is a poignant tragic comedy worthy of the ancient Greeks. Journalist Marco (Argentine DarÌo Grandinetti) and nurse Benigno (Javier C·mara) sit next to each other watching German choreographer Pina Bauschís modern dance ìCafÈ M¸ller.î After Marcoís later girlfriend Lydia (Rosario Flores) is severely gored in the bullfighting ring, she becomes a vegetative patient in the hospital where the seemingly innocent Benigno works. Marco comes across gentle Benigno as he devotedly cares for former ballet student Alicia ( Leonor Watling), whoís been in a four-year coma. Benigno kindly tells stories to Alicia and advises the mournful Marco to do the same for Lydia. AlmodÛvarís most audacious segment is the seven-minute black-and-white silent movie ìThe Shrinking Loverîóa risquÈ adaptation of ìThe Incredible Shrinking Man.î Other memorable images include Lydiaís elaborate ritual getting dressed in her bullfighting costume. Javier Aguirresarobe warmly photographs ìTalk to Her,î and the frames are enhanced by the vibrant, colorful production design of Antxon GÛmez. At the recent European Film Awards in Rome, the movie cleaned up, taking prizes for Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenwriter (AlmodÛvar) as well as Audience Awards for Best Director and Best Actor (C·mara). It was also awarded the National Board of Reviewís Best Foreign Language Film. ìTalk to Her (Hable con Ella)î (Spanish with subtitles; 112 min.) is now playing at Cinema Arts and Landmarkís Bethesda Row. God of Gamblers Spanish director Juan Carlos Fresnadilloís first featureóìIntactoîóis a visually striking, surreal thriller. Its strengths are its eerie ambience, created by accomplished art design by Cesar Macarron and skillful cinematography from Xavier Jimenez. The barren, volcanic terrain of Tenerife in the Canary Islands adds to the otherworldly atmosphere, which overcomes the movieís shortcomings in plot and dialogue. The film won Goyas (Spanish Academy Awards) for Best New Director and Best New Actor (Leonardo Sbaraglia). Exceptionally lucky survivors of the Holocaust (the legendary Swede Max Von Sydow as casino owner Sam), an earthquake (Eusebio Poncela as Federico, Samís disowned protÈgÈ), a plane crash (Argentine Sbaraglia as thief Tomas), a car wreck (MÛnica LÛpez as police detective Sara), and the bullfighting ring (Antonio Dechent as Alejandro) play unusual games of chance in this alternative world. Sam is known as the God of Chance, who has successfully won at 5-to-1 Russian roulette for 30 years. After Federico tries to leave him, Sam takes away Federicoís gift of luck. Federico is forced to enlist Tomas as a surrogate player in his quest to eventually seek revenge on Sam. In the meantime, Sara seeks to crack the illicit gambling networkóunwillingly aided by Alejandro. ìIntactoî (Spanish and English with subtitles; 108 min.) opens Fri., Jan. 3. Ignorant Fairies ìHis Secret Life,î the sensitive sophomore effort of Italian-based Turkish filmmaker Ferzan Ozpetek (ìSteam: The Turkish Bathî), delicately explores the issues of remembrance and bereavement. The intelligent script benefits from excellent, subtle acting from the leads and the ensemble cast. Complacent Antonia (Margherita Buy) is stunningly grieved when her dashing husband dies after being struck by a car. She then discovers her husband had a lover, who turns out to be Michele (Stefano Accorsi), a man with whom her husband shared a second life under the cover of a time-consuming business career. A further shock to Antoniaís small world is Micheleís apartment, home base to a motley crew of gays, lesbians and transvestites. Antoniaís interactions with them catalyze her transformation beyond sorrow to self-discovery. ìHis Secret Life (Le Fate Ignoranti)î (Italian and Turkish with subtitles; 106 min.) opens Fri., Jan. 3 at Visions Cinema/Bistro/Lounge. It premiered in Washington at New Films from Italy in November 2001. Stolen Generations Based on a true story, the restrained yet affecting ìRabbit-Proof Fenceî has caused a stir in its native Australia with the provocative advertising slogan: ìWhat if the government stole your children?î From 1905 to 1971, the Australian government kidnapped half-breed Aboriginal children from their families, sending them to remote camps to train them as domestic servants and laborers. In 1931ís Western Australia, Governor A.O. Neville (Kenneth Branagh) executed the racist policy designed to foster assimilation into the dominant white society. Three young girls escape the Moore River Native Settlement to return home to Jigalog in northwestern Australia. Directed by Phillip Noyce (Best Director from the National Board of Review, also for the upcoming ìThe Quiet Americanî), the interestingly upbeat movie feels like an epic fable. It seems inconceivable that the girls could walk 1,500 milesóincluding a long stretch through the Gibson Desertówhile evading trackers and finding adequate food, water and shelter. The titular rabbit-proof fence divided the entire country from north to south, separating rabbits from farmland. Molly (Everlyn Sampi in a quietly powerful performance), the spiritual center of the movie, uses the fence as a guide home. Director of photography Christopher Doyle, best known for his work in Hong Kong with Wong Kar-Wai, visually evokes the charactersí emotions with his desolate landscape images. ìRabbit-Proof Fenceî won Best Film from the Australian Film Institute and Best Director and Screenplay from the Film Critics Circle of Australia. ìRabbit-Proof Fenceî (English and Aboriginal with subtitles; 95 min.) is now playing at Landmarkís Bethesda Row. Polanskiís Return to Poland ìThe Pianist,î Roman Polanskiís Palme díOr winner at Cannes, vividly recounts a Jewish pianistís fight for survival in Warsaw during World War II. Polanski makes a film in his native Poland for the first time in more than 25 years. As a Holocaust survivor, he uses his personal memories of the Krakow ghetto to create palpable, visceral experiencesóremarkably photographed by cinematographer Pawel Edelman. Unfortunately, the verisimilitude is weakened by awkwardly accented English dialogue and elaborate production design that doesnít quite avoid appearing artificial. Furthermore, the intentionally detached atmosphere lacks emotion that could complement the mechanical plot and frequently stock characters. The film is based on the memoirs of pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman, played competently by American Adrien Brody. After the Germans invade Warsaw in 1939, the cityís Polish Jews face increasing restrictions and are relocated to the Jewish ghetto. Through chance, Szpilman escapes the train to the concentration camps and eventually the ghetto itself, hiding with the assistance of Poles who risked their lives for him. ìThe Pianistî (English and German with subtitles; 148 min.) opens Fri., Jan. 3 at Cinema Arts. Repertory Notes From Jan. 16 to 23, the Goethe-Institut Inter Nationes presents the annual New Films from Germany series at Visions Cinema/Bistro/Lounge ((202) 667-0090, http://visionsdc.com). The National Gallery of Art screens selections of French cinema, ranging from Marcel LíHerbierís silent films to AgnËs Vardaís 2000 digital video documentary, ìThe Gleaners and Iî ((202) 842-6799, www.nga.gov/programs/film.htm). The Hidden Half: Iranian Women Directors program begins at the National Museum of Women in the Arts ((202) 783-5000, www.nwma.org) and the Freer Gallery of Art ((202) 357-2700, www.asia.si.edu/programs/film.htm). Ky N. Nguyen is the film reviewer for The Washington Diplomat.