Unforgettable Day ëSeptember 11í Offers Challenging Collection of Global Perspectives by Ky N. Nguyen Any film made about the terrorist attacks in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, is bound to be controversial. The fictional ìSeptember 11î offers an impressive but challenging collection of global perspectives on those events. French producer Alain Brigand commissioned notable filmmakers from 11 countries to make short filmsóeach lasting 11 minutes, 9 seconds and one frame. The art-house veterans include Samira Makhmalbaf (Iran), Claude Lelouch (France), Youssef Chahine (Egypt), Danis Tanovic (Bosnia-Herzegovina), Idrissa Ouedraogo (Burkina Faso), Ken Loach (United Kingdom), Alejandro Gonz·lez IÒ·rritu (Mexico), Amos Gitai, (Israel), Mira Nair (India), Sean Penn (United States) and Shohei Imamura (Japan). Each offers distinctive, sometimes elusive, and often shocking approaches to their thought-provoking commentary. In the limited space available here, itís impossible to specifically address each short film but here are a few highlights. Ken Loach, long known for his leftist politics, employs the device of a Chilean refugee in London. After mourning the victims of the terro rist attacks, he eloquently addresses the U.S.-sanctioned coup of Salvadore Allende in Chile on Sept. 11, 1973. In U.S. representative Sean Pennís startling film, the collapse of the World Trade Center permits sunshine to enter Ernest Borgnineís dark apartment. That literally revives a dying plant and figuratively jump-starts the moribund widowerís life. Shohei Imamuraís concluding segment is set more than half a century in the past. After his return from World War II, an insane Japanese soldier believes he is a snake, like the Japanese imperialist movement crawling throughout Asia. Although the piece is the most elliptical of the anthology, itís the only one that pointedly condemns the actions of the Sept. 11 terrorists, universally denying the possibility of any just holy war. ìSeptember 11 (11í09î01)î (English, French, Arabic, Farsi and Hebrew with subtitles; 128 min.) opens Fri., Sept. 5 at the Avalon Theatre. Coming of Age in ëHoly Landí Directed by Eitan Gorlin, ìThe Holy Landî offers a unique view of modern Israel, blending a nontraditional coming-of-age story with politics always present in the background. The social commentary encompasses the gap between secular and Orthodox Judaism, problems of recent immigrants, and Arab-Israeli tensions. Mendy (Oren Rehany), a sheltered young Orthodox rabbinical student, is distracted by his overflowing curiosity about the secular world. His progressive teacher sends him to a brothel, where he falls in love with Sasha (Tchelet Semel), a beautiful 19-year-old Russian prostitute. The slippery slope continues when Mendy finds work in American Mikeís (Saul Stein) bar, a mixing bowl of Arabs and Jews. Some uneven script elements are overcome with heartfelt performances from the protagonists. The vivid atmosphere feels raw and very real and full of a nervous energy that brings a sense of immediacy to the exotic scenes. ìThe Holy Landî (Hebrew, Arabic, English and Russian with subtitles; 96 min.) opens Fri., Sept. 12 at the Avalon Theatre. Wedding Day Jitters ìRanaís Wedding,î directed by Hany Abu-Assad, offers a highly personal account of modern Palestinian life that seamlessly weaves political threads into the story. The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is seen from the perspective of a young woman named Rana (Clara Khoury). Her father insists on taking her abroad with him or marrying her off to one of a list of acceptable suitors. Rana surreptitiously decides to marry her theater director boyfriend Khalil (Khalifa Natour), but she faces multiple obstacles in her quest to get married, which must be completed by 4 p.m. before her fatherís departure. Besides the usual bureaucracy, Rana must also deal with family conflicts and the Israeli occupation. With literal roadblocks impeding her travels, the time it takes simply to move about in everyday life is exacerbated. Rana rarely directly addresses these political issues, but with a couple notable exceptions, the film quietly shows us how she accepts them as a part of her life. ìRanaís Wedding (Al Qods Fee Yom Akhar)î (Arabic and Hebrew with subtitles; 90 min.) opens Fri., Sept. 12 at Visions Cinema/Bistro/Lounge. Kurosawa in Siberia Legendary Japanese director Akira Kurosawa ventures outside the Japanese language with ìDersu Uzala,î a spectacular visual journey through the lives of the eponymous Siberian hunter (Maksim Munzuk) and Russian explorer Arseniev (Yuri Solomin). The auteur displays on screen the awesome power of nature that words simply fail to adequately describe. Kurosawa brings Arsenievís stirring memoir to life. Dersu and Arseniev undertake two expeditions together through the brutal Siberian wilderness. Their struggle to survive an incredibly dangerous ice storm leaves an indelible imprint on the viewerís mind. Although the landscape is undeniably breathtaking, the film is really a human portrait, focusing on the lengthy friendship between the two men. Itís tested by differences in opinion, culture, time and spaceóthe perennial challenges to any human relationship. ìDersu Uzulaî (Russian with subtitles; 141 min.; scope) plays through Thu., Sept. 11 at the American Film Institute (AFI) Silver Theatre. Hair: A Social Hub Rahul Bose makes an auspicious directorial debut with the wildly entertaining ìEverybody Says Iím Fine.î The Bollywood comedy is not all fluff, incorporating a dark back story about the protagonistís struggles in dealing with his parentsí death in a freak accident. The comedy, sort of an Indian ìSteel Magnolias,î takes place in an upscale hairdressing salon in Bombay. In the background, the televisions are blaring with music videos as idle, affluent women have their hair done while getting their regular fill of gossip. Rehaan Engineer gives a startling performance as Xen, the salonís proprietor-operator who is literally able to read the minds of his customers as he does their hair. When his gift fails to work with the incredibly stunning Nikita (Koel Purie), Xen wonders, ìWhatís going on here?î The answers that follow are completely unexpected. ìEverybody Says Iím Fineî (English; 95 min.) is now playing at Visions Cinema/Bistro/Lounge. A Musical Sex Comedy With ìThe Other Side of the Bed,î director Emilio MartÌnez-L·zaro came up with Spainís biggest hit of 2002, which the Sundance Film Series selected to be its debut feature. It complements a long line of sexy Spanish comedies made famous by bad boy director Pedro AlmodÛvar. The filmís crowd-pleasing hijinks involve a coupleís break-up and messy romantic entanglements among good friends. The well-written script also thoughtfully analyzes the problems involved in the chaos of modern relationships. The fine actors, who also happen to be rather easy on the eyes, execute the funny jokes with excellent comedic timing. They even break into song and dance at times, turning the raucous movie into a lively musical. ìThe Other Side of the Bed (El Otro Lado de la Cama)î (Spanish with subtitles; 114 min.) is now playing as part of the Sundance Film Series at Loews Georgetown. Repertory Notes Cinema from Central Asia, a unique series featuring films from the countries lining the fabled Silk Road, is presented jointly by the Freer Gallery of Art ((202) 357-2700, www.asia.si.edu/programs/film.htm) and the National Gallery of Art ((202) 842-6799, www.nga.gov/programs/film.htm). The Latin American Film Festival runs Sept. 18 to 28 at the American Film Institute (AFI) Silver Theatre as well as the AFI National Film Theater at the Kennedy Center (www.oas.org/FilmFestival/2003/). The DC Labor Film Festival takes place Sept. 4 to 7 at the AFI Silver Theatre (www.afi/com/Silver). The Georgetown Independent Film Festival returns Sept. 18 to 21 (http://georgetownfilmfest.com). Ky N. Nguyen is the film reviewer for The Washington Diplomat.