La Belle personne (2008) 90min

Fri, Mar 6 at 2pm | Sat, Mar 7 at 5:15pm | Sun, Mar 8 at 7pm | Mon, Mar 9 and Wed, Mar 11 at 4:30, 9:15pm | Tue, Mar 10 and Thu, Mar 12 at 6:50pm

Directed by Christophe Honoré | With Louis Garrel

Honoré reunites the cast from his musical Love Songs for this retelling of the 17th century novel La Princesse de Clèves set in a modern-day high school. New student Junie (Seydoux) gets into a relationship with mild-mannered Otto, but falls in love with handsome young teacher Némours (Garrel). Populated by a hot young cast, Honoré’s film presents bed-hopping at its extreme. However, all of this sexual abandon leads to tragic consequences. US Theatrical Premiere!

Frontier of Dawn (Frontière de l’aube) (2008) 106min

Fri, Mar 6 and Sun, Mar 8 at 4:30pm | Mon, Mar 9 and Wed, Mar 11 at 6:50pm | Tue, Mar 10 and Thu, Mar 12 at 4:30, 9:15pm

Directed by Phillipe Garrel | With Louis Garrel

Philippe Garrel’s (Regular Lovers) new film, which screened in competition at Cannes, is a tempestuous tale of amour fou. Sparks fly between a seductive photographer (Louis Garrel, the director’s son) and an unstable actress (Smet) at a photo shoot, igniting an explosive affair that endures even in death. William Lubtchansky’s luminous photography captures the spirit of the French New Wave, while supernatural motifs, such as a haunted mirror, suggest the fantastic worlds of Cocteau and Franju. US Theatrical Premiere!

Hunger (2008) 96min

Fri, Mar 6 at 6:50pm

Directed by Steve McQueen | With Michael Fassbender, Stuart Graham

This harrowing, hauntingly beautiful film takes place inside the prison in Northern Ireland where, in 1981, Bobby Sands led incarcerated IRA members in protests against British authorities, culminating in a hunger strike. Visual artist McQueen is startlingly unconventional in his storytelling: point of view shifts between prison officers and inmates instead of remaining with a single protagonist, while bold stylistic flourishes, including a 20-minute static shot of a conversation with a priest, surprise. Distilling its ideas into stunningly-composed, visceral images—close-ups of an emaciated Sands, the bloodied knuckles of a guard, a prisoner’s glistening head wound, or a cell wall painted with excrement—Hunger is endlessly provocative, blunt in its depiction of the violence perpetrated by both sides, and reflective in its consideration of the complexity of the conflict. Sneak preview. Opens March 20, 2009.

The Chaser (Chugyeogja) (2008) 125min

Fri, Mar 6 at 9:15pm

Directed by Na Hong-Jin | With Yun-Seok Kim, Ha Jung-woo, Seo Yeoung-hie

An ex-cop turned pimp, Joong-Ho has a staff of pretty girls and a heap of financial troubles. When girls go missing, he discovers they’re victims of a serial killer and that his latest missing girl is still alive. He races to find her before she is dead and the man responsible is released. Reminiscent of Memories of Murder in its depiction of Korean authorities as bumbling, incompetent fools, Na Hong-Jin’s slick debut is a disturbing, darkly funny thriller that was a huge hit in Korea and will soon be remade by Hollywood. Sneak preview.

Summer Hours (L’Heure d’été) (2008) 103min

Sat, Mar 7 at 7:15pm

Directed by Olivier Assayas | With Juliette Binoche, Charles Berling

Assayas returns to the style of ensemble pieces like Late August, Early September to craft one of his best films. Three siblings reunite after their mother dies and leaves behind a country house overflowing with valuable art objects and antiques (on loan from the Musée d’Orsay). With its richly-detailed script and nuanced performances by Binoche and Berling, Summer Hours illuminates the private experience of loss, as well as the practical concerns of settling an estate, with remarkable insight. Sneak preview. Opens May 2009.

I’m Gonna Explode (Voy a explotar) (2008) 106min

Sat, Mar 7 at 9:30pm

Directed by Gerardo Naranjo | With Juan Pablo de Santiago

Naranjo (Drama/Mex) channels Pierrot le fou in this high-energy, inventive anthem to youth and freedom. Ramon, the son of a right-wing politician and a rebel in search of a cause, fakes his own suicide at a school talent show, catching the eye of the brainy (and bored) Maru. Seeking a passion that ordinary life does not provide, she befriends him and the pair “run off” together. Hiding on Ramon’s roof, they camp out, barbecue, and listen to music while the parents below get drunk on tequila and haplessly search for them. Sneak preview.

Quiet Chaos (Caos calmo) (2008) 107min

Sun, Mar 8 at 2pm

Directed by Antonio Luigi Grimaldi | With Nanni Moretti

Moretti gives one of his finest performances as a recently widowed television executive in this compelling character study. Though deeply shocked by his wife’s death, he remains stoic, in turn mimicked by his daughter who is equally incapable of grieving openly. Once the father promises to pick up his child after classes one day, the story expands in scope with Pietro’s business associates and family members meeting him in a parked car and on park benches as his schoolside vigil extends from days to weeks. Sneak preview.