Scandinavian

The brutal effect of war on ordinary people is the subtext of this World War II drama from Finland. Perkola (Peter Franzen) is the leader of a small Finnish platoon sent on a mission into Russian territory in 1942. Perkola has been terribly upset since he was told that his fiancée, a nurse, was killed in battle. As the war progresses, Perkola finds that he and his men are slowly becoming capable of acts of shocking violence he would have believed unthinkable as a civilian. Rukajarven tie/Ambush received enthusiastic notices for its excellent photography and realistic battle scenes in its screenings at the 1999 Gothenburg Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Norwegian director Bent Hamer follows up his quirky and critically acclaimed Kitchen Stories with a heartbreakingly humorous look at the life of depressive writer Hank Chinaski -- the fictional counterpart of real-life author Charles Bukowski. Adapted from Bukowski's 1975 novel of the same name, Hamer's film follows the perpetually unemployed, alcohol-swilling Chinaski (Matt Dillon) as he drifts through the city streets in search of a job that won't come between him and his first love, writing. Consistently rejected by the only publishing house he respects but driven to continue by the knowledge that he could do better than the authors they continually publish, Chinaski soon begins sleeping with fellow barfly Jan (Lili Taylor), a kindred spirit he meets while drowning his sorrows at a local watering hole. When Hank eventually gets abandoned by the only woman with whom he is able to relate, a brief fling with gold-digging floozy Laura (Marisa Tomei) finds him once again falling into a morose state of perpetual drunkenness and unemployment. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Swedish filmmaker Mikael Kristersson directs this austere yet beautiful experimental documentary about two European falcons. Shot over the course of two years, Kristersson manages to fashion a narrative without the use of voice-overs or music, showing the falcons as they forage for food and tend to their eggs. Much of this film, though, is spent viewing the world from the falcons' vantage point -- high up on a 13th century church steeple, watching the groundskeeper tending to the village cemetery and the choir boys growing tired of a long religious procession. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

A septuagenarian taking his penultimate voyage from Oslo to Bergen begins to mentally prepare for his final trip, but finds that sometimes things don't turn out as expected when he misses the last departure for the first time in 40 years. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A horror film shoot in an abandoned mental hospital with a dark history turns terrifying after the cast and crew make a morbid discovery in bowels of the dilapidated building. Back in the early-1970s, at a mental institution near the Russian border, a crazed doctor violated the Hippocratic Oath in the most repulsive manner imaginable. Consumed by murderous bloodlust, Dr. Andersson assumed the persona of "The Auteur," and began murdering his patients while filming the atrocities with his 8mm camera. Thirty years later, an American film crew has arrived at the hospital to shoot a horror film based on those awful events. The director, Steven, is determined to make the film as realistic as possible, a goal that doesn't seem too far fetched when his Finnish sound men discover a hidden room in the hospital basement. There, perfectly preserved, are the original snuff films shot by "The Auteur" three decades prior. It's the perfect fodder for the must brutal horror film ever made, and Steven quickly sets about rewriting his script to make it as raw as possible. As Steven's obsession grows, his cast and crew begin to fear for his sanity. But this is only the beginning, because when Steven discovers actual 8mm camera used by "The Auteur" to capture his reprehensible crimes, he assumes the role of the murderous doctor and the real slaughter begins. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A young man is forced to choose between family tradition and his own dreams and desires in this drama from Brazilian filmmaker Walter Salles. In 1910 in a remote farming community, two families, the Breveses and the Ferreiras, both of whom earn their living growing sugar cane, have been squabbling over the ownership of a piece of land for years. The disagreement turned violent some time back, and after the first shot was fired and blood was spilled, the other family insisted upon killing the gunman as a matter of honor. The second shooter was then killed for the same reason, and ever since the two clans have been trading off murders in the name of familial honor and justice. The Breveses, who are a much smaller family, have been suffering a great deal more than their rivals thanks to this feud; a steady drop in sugar prices has also left the family with little but their pride. When Inácio, the first-born son of the Breves family, is shot down, his father (José Dumont) orders his next-oldest son, Tonho (Rodrigo Santoro), to kill one of the Ferreira boys after the traditional month-long waiting period. Tonho finds himself questioning the wisdom of this bloody rivalry, and he ponders his fate while spending time with his younger brother (Ravi Ramos Lacerda), whom his parents never bothered to name. As Tonho ponders his fate, a small traveling circus comes to town; Tonho and his brother are soon caught in the spell of Clara (Flavia Marco Antonio), a beautiful circus performer who befriends the young boy and nicknames him Pacu, while Tonho finds himself falling in love with her, and longing to travel the country at her side. Abril Despedacado won the Little Golden Lion award at the 2001 Venice Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

When the concerned father of an autistic young girl decides to forcefully remove his daughter from the hospital where she is currently being treated, his mission is unexpectedly complicated by a horde of murderous creatures that seem to have found their way into our reality from some frightening parallel universe. It was supposed to be so simple: the father would locate his daughter and spring her from the hospital before the staff even knew what was happening. After getting trapped in the elevator on their way out, however, events take a horrifically grim turn as the doors open to reveal that the once sterile and bustling surroundings are now ominously silent and dank. With mutilated bodies strewn about and murderous gang of monsters stalking them through an endless maze of corroded hallways, the only remaining hope for the frightened father and daughter now lies in the affected mind of a little girl who may understand more about the situation than anyone realizes. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

In a series of remarkable events inspired by a true story, Maria Heiskanen stars as Maria Larsson, a Finnish mother and housewife who devotes all of her attention, care, and consideration to the well-being of her family -- but, like many homemakers, does so at the expense of her own identity and self-awareness. Not that her dockworker husband, Sigge (Mikael Persbrandt), particularly deserves such consideration; a brutish, alcoholic lout, his evenings consist of making life hell for Maria and their daughter with tyrannical, abusive behavior. Then, as the dockworkers go on strike and the family's economic situation plummets, a ray of hope appears, in the form of a Contessa camera won in a local lottery. Unsurprisingly, Maria at first attempts to pawn it to reel in extra monies, but store owner Sebastian Pedersen convinces her otherwise; he teaches her how to use it, and she begins taking gorgeous, haunting photographs with the unaffected, instinctive perceptions of a young child. As the woman's self-discovery builds and her identity takes on form and definition, Sebastian unofficially takes her on as a protégée and quietly witnesses romantic feelings for her building inside of him. Meanwhile, Sigge's life falls to pieces when the authorities connect him with the catastrophic explosion of a British vessel. Maria's daughter, Maja (Callin Öhrvall), narrates. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Froken Julie (Miss Julie) is adapted from August Strindberg's trenchant one-act play of the same name. The title character, a young woman of prestige and property, is played by Anita Bjork. Taught by her mother to hold all men in contempt, Miss Julie nonetheless enters into an affair with misanthropic valet Jean (Ulf Palme). Their passion for one another is tempered by their mutual animosity, and the results are catastrophic. Playwright Strindberg's intense dislike for womanhood will probably alienate half the audience of Miss Julie, but director Alf Sjoberg's handling of the material is masterful--so much so that this film, together with Frenzy (1947), cemented Sjoberg's international reputation as a filmmaker of distinction (despite the efforts by American censors to "water down" the film). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A likable hillbilly sets out for bloody revenge after seeing his fiancée, his friends, and his family ruthlessly gunned down during is engagement party in this parody of violent, Kill Bill-style revenge flicks. Awakening from his extended coma with an unrelenting desire to kill Buljo, the vengeful hick bumbles his way to the top of the criminal food chain in a ridiculously ludicrous rampage of mayhem and idiocy. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Producing Adults concerns a fertility counselor named Venla who is, ironically, childless. Although she wants to be a mother in the worst way, her significant other has no desire to become a father. One of Venla's co-workers, a doctor named Satu, offers to impregnate Venla with one of the samplings from the sperm donations kept at the clinic. The plot thickens when Venla begins to have serious feelings for Satu. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

As the final masterwork of Ingmar Bergman, the world's most revered cinematic craftsperson, Saraband (2003) embodies the sequel to the director's 5-hour Scenes from a Marriage, produced and directed 30 years after that original epic. Here, Bergman revisits the two characters from that film, divorcees Johan (Erland Josephson) and Marianne (Liv Ullmann), after years of estrangement from one another. Marianne now lives alone; of her two middle-aged daughters from the marriage to Johan, one lives in Australia, while the other suffered a mental breakdown. Marianne has contact with neither. After leafing through an assemblage of old photographs and waxing nostalgic, Marianne decides to revisit the now-wealthy Johan, who lives in the country with an adjoining cottage and two descendants: his 61-year-old widower son Henrik (Borje Ahlstedt of I Am Curious - Yellow) and Henrik's 19-year-old daughter, Karin (Julia Dufvenius). The relationships in Johan's family are broken and deeply dysfunctional; Johan resents Henrik, whom he perceives as worthless in every capacity other than fatherhood; Henrik resents Johan for his niggardly attitudes about his wealth; Karin feels bound by familial shackles and yearns to escape the confines of the life that ensnares her, ultimately hoping to move to the city and pursue her dream of becoming a cellist. Bergman uses the central narrative to examine how parents can damage one another by wielding the demands of their own selfish egos and refusing to grant joy and contentment to themselves or their children. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide