RiverRun Film Reviews

Most independent films shown at RiverRun International Film Festival have not been rated by the Motion Picture Association of America, so for those films not rated by MPAA, RiverRun officials have devised their own rating system. Here it is:

TN - Intended for teen-plus

MT - Intended for mature audiences

FM - Intended for 8-plus

You are still advised to use your best judgment when taking younger folk to the movies.

(500) Days of Summer. PG-13. Opening Night Premiere. 95 minutes. 7 p.m. Wednesday, Stevens Center.

(500) Days of Summer was a favorite at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, it is described as "a funny, true to life ... dissection of the unruly and unpredictable year-and-a-half of one young man's no-holds-barred love affair." Sounds like fun. -- Not Reviewed

Art & Copy, . 88 minutes. Documentary feature. MT for adult language. Showing at 11 a.m. April 23, UNCSA-Main; 9:45 a.m. April 24, UNCSA-Babcock; 9:45 a.m. April 26, UNCSA-Gold.

If the thought of hearing Clara Peller screech "Where's the beef?" again after all these years fills you with cold dread, stay away from Art & Copy. But if you're intrigued by the world of advertising (or are just a Mad Men junkie), you'll find much to enjoy here.

Art & Copy looks at how such ads as Nike's "Just Do It" campaign came about -- and how they became such a pervasive part of our culture. Director Doug Pray interviews some of the most influential copywriters and designers in the business, coming up with a compelling behind-the-scenes look at a fascinating profession.

Peller makes only a brief appearance. Close your eyes, plug your ears and count to three. Then it will be over, and you can go back to enjoying the film. -- Susan Gilmor

'Bama Girl, . 72 minutes. Documentary feature. NT for mild adult themes. Not in competition. Showing at 8 p.m. April 23 and 5 p.m. April 25, Reynolda House.

At the University of Alabama, no one shines brighter than the homecoming queen.

And in this honey-drenched slice of Southern heaven -- where one fraternity celebrates the Old South by wearing Confederate uniforms -- that queen has almost always been white.

Then along comes Jessica Thomas, a young black woman who has spent four years prepping for a run for queen.

But the biggest challenge awaits her -- a mythical entity known only as "the Machine."

For decades the Machine -- rumored to meet in the basement of a white fraternity house -- has controlled politics at Alabama, voting as a block for candidates for almost every elective office, from president of the student body to homecoming queen.

While many students seem content to allow the Machine to hold sway, a few, including Thomas, have fought to destroy it.

The filmmakers take us through the soft underbelly of life at 'Bama -- the segregation of black and white Greeks and the divide among black sororities, all seen against the shadowy backdrop of the Machine.

In the end, Thomas resorts to some Machine-like tactics, but she also manages to win supporters in the most unlikely of places, including some geeky guys fighting with light sabers and members of an Asian student group, all of whom identify with her struggle.

Thomas' steps -- and missteps -- make for an infinitely watchable documentary. -- Jeri Young

The Burning Plain, . 111 minutes. Narrative feature in English and Spanish. R for sex, nudity and language. Centerpiece premiere. Showing at 7 p.m. April 24, Stevens Center; 9 a.m. April 26, UNCSA-Gold.

As The Burning Plain opens, we meet Sylvia. We don't know quite what, but there's obviously something eating away at her. By day, she manages a swanky seaside restaurant, juggling big-ticket customers and fetching vintage Bordeaux. In between, she smokes a lot of cigarettes. She broods. She cuts herself. And she falls into unattached sex.

And then there's this image of a burning trailer in the middle of a desert that we keep seeing. Two lovers perish inside, leaving behind their angry spouses and kids. "Did you love your mom?" one of the lovers' daughters asks the other lover's son. Then she answers her own question: "I loved my mom too, but I didn't like her."

The Burning Plain is the directorial debut of Guillermo Arriaga, a Mexican-born screenwriter who wrote 21 Grams, Babel and Amores perros. The storyline here twists and bends, switching between past and present, English and Spanish border life in Texas, and divergent tales that ultimately run back into one another. That's the hook. And it will get you. Along the way, Charlize Theron and Kim Basinger give solid, moving performances. -- Laura Giovanelli

Eyeborgs. 102 Minutes. Narrative Feature. MT for language and violence. Not in Competition. Showing at 9:15 p.m. April 27, UNCSA-Main.

This horror-science fiction movie by local filmmaker Richard Clabaugh is a work in progress. Set in the near future, it tells a story of government surveillance run amok in the form of mobile robotic creatures. The movie was shot almost entirely in Winston-Salem. The cast includes cult actors Adrian Paul (Highlander: The Series) and Danny Trejo (Robert Rodriguez' movies). -- Not Reviewed

Food Inc., . 93 minutes. Documentary feature. TN. Showing at 12:45 p.m. April 24 and 10 a.m. April 25, UNCSA-Main; 9:30 a.m. April 26, Reynolda House.

Food Inc. has a definite point of view: that the industrialized food system in the U.S. has produced an abundance of cheap food at the expense of Americans' health and the environment. The movie comes from Participant Media, which made An Inconvenient Truth, and director Robert Kenner, and was co-produced by Eric Schlosser, the author of Fast Food Nation.

The filmmakers contend that the concentration of food production into a handful of companies has helped change food production more in the past 50 years than in the past 10,000 years.

That concentration gives companies tremendous economic and political power -- to influence government policy, what food is planted, how workers are treated and, ultimately, what America eats.

The film works best when it tells personal stories, such as that of Barbara Kowalcyk, whose son died at age 2 1/2 from E. coli poisoning. Kowalcyk has worked for six years to get legislation to give the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture authority to shut down plants that produce contaminated food, and it still hasn't passed. When Kowalcyk is asked to say how her family eats differently now, she refuses to answer for fear that some food company will sue her for libel.

Some of the other examples of corporate power are even more disturbing. Food Inc. is a clarion call for revamping the way food is produced in this country. -- Michael Hastings

Football Under Cover . 86 minutes. Documentary feature. English subtitles. TN for brief adult language and content. Showing at Noon April 24 and 5 p.m. April 26, UNCSA-Babcock; 4:30 p.m. April 27, UNCSA-Main.

Because of its universal appeal, soccer has often been called the World's Sport. From street kids in Rio de Janeiro to farm boys in North Carolina, soccer has captivated millions. So it should be no surprise that Iranian women also dream of bending it like Beckham.

Football Under Cover is about soccer and girl power set against the backdrop of Iran's conservative Islamic government. The film is a behind-the-scenes look at the delicate negotiations and bureaucratic red tape that was involved in staging a women's soccer game in Tehran between a German club and Iran's international team, which had never played against a foreign team.

Despite the Iranian government's tepid support, the match eventually comes together, but what transpires in the stadium, where no men are allowed, is more than a sporting event. It's a rally for women's rights. In an age of bloated salaries and steroid-addled athletes, this inspiring documentary reaffirms the power of sports. -- Lisa O'Donnell

For The Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism, . 82 minutes. Documentary feature. TN. Showing at 10:30 a.m. April 25, UNCSA-Gold; Noon April 26, Reynolda House.

For the Love of Movies comes along at a time when fewer and fewer mainstream newspapers are employing film critics. But that doesn't mean that the profession is dead -- just that it's changing.

Director Gerald Peary, a critic for the Boston Phoenix, explores the evolution of film criticism, from the days before The Birth of the Nation to today's shift toward online movie reviews. We meet the critics behind the bylines -- Elvis Mitchell (formerly of The New York Times), Lisa Schwarzbaum (Entertainment Weekly), Roger Ebert (The Chicago Sun-Times) and others -- and hear some pretty entertaining tales about how they came to their jobs and their love of movies.

The film, which is narrated by Patricia Clarkson, is a tad on the academic side. Casual viewers will probably find the prolonged examination of the rivalry between critics Pauline Kael and Andrew Sarris to be a bit tedious, for example.

But film buffs will relish the chance to learn more about how critics feel about their work, and how that work has influenced legions of readers and filmmakers. -- Susan Gilmor

The Garden, . 80 minutes. Documentary in English and Spanish. Not in competition. MT for mild violence, adult language. Showing at 7 p.m. April 24, UNCSA-Gold; 9:30 a.m. April 26, UNCSA-Main.

The South Central Community Garden in Los Angeles rose from the ashes of the 1992 riots.

Created as a way to heal a community fractured by racial strife and poverty, the garden became an oasis, a place where people proudly showed off their bananas, cilantro and papayas.

The documentary traces the history of the 14-acre patch. In the 1980s, a group of black women -- amid cries of environmental racism -- successfully fought the city to keep it from putting a trash incinerator there. In the '90s, it was worked mostly by the area's Hibic community.

When the owner of the property decides to evict the gardeners, the gardeners take their battle to the city council, the courts and the court of public opinion.

Through the gardeners' struggles, the Oscar-nominated documentary explores the complexity of the relationship between the city's black and brown communities and the intersection of powerful politicians and the constituencies they claim to represent.

Eventually, the owner decides to sell the property to the gardeners for a whopping $16 million, more than three times what he paid for it.

The gardeners raise it with help of Hollywood heavyweights and foundations.

And in the end, the gardeners learn a harsh lesson -- $16 million can't buy an oasis. -- Jeri Young

Garrison Keillor: The Man on the Radio in the Red Shoes, . 86 minutes. Narrative feature. TN. Not in competition. Special Presentation. Showing at 7 p.m. April 27 and 28, UNCSA-Main.

Garrison Keillor has built his life around county fairs, folk music and "middle America," where honesty, laughter and a good slice of rhubarb pie will win you more friends than any night at a five-star restaurant in New York City.

"My ambition took me a long way," he says during one monologue in the film, "but once I got there, I wondered who I was."

Keillor, the host of National Public Radio's A Prairie Home Companion, is a storyteller and a writer, through and through, and he travels from small-town Midwest festivals to big-city New York in his comfortable red tennis shoes, looking for the best stories about the people who live in the heart of our country.

The film is an over-the-shoulder look at Keillor's life on the road, at his search for all things authentic. It is told in the tradition of the best NPR stories, slowing down at life's most integral moments, and narrated by Keillor's rich radio voice.

The Man on the Radio in the Red Shoes was released in the U.S. last summer. It's a film that will delight lovers of Americana, good stories, NPR or, yes, rhubarb pie. -- Laura Graff

Goodbye Solo. . 91 minutes. Narrative feature. MT for adult language, themes and some violence. Not in competition. Special Presentation. Showing at 4 p.m. April 25 and 4:30 p.m. April 26, UNCSA-Main.

As with his two previous films, Man Push Cart and Chop Shop, Winston-Salem-born filmmaker Ramin Bahrani's latest work focuses on a working-class immigrant pursuing modest dreams. This time, the focus is on Solo (Souleymane Sy Savane), a Senegalese taxi driver who lives in Winston-Salem. He is a friendly, talkative soul, eager to help his clients. He hopes one day to become a flight attendant, if he can pass the necessary tests.

As the story begins, he becomes perplexed by an unusual request from William (Red West), who wants to be driven to Blowing Rock, no questions asked. Judging William's dour demeanor, Solo suspects that William plans to commit suicide, and Solo tries to befriend the man and convince him to change his mind -- or, at the very least, comprehend his motivations.

What follows is a poignant character study about two wildly different men, one who wants to connect emotionally and one who doesn't. The premise could easily become a saccharine feel-good movie or a weepy melodrama, but Bahrani deftly avoids clichés. Both actors turn in first-rate performances, as does young Diana Franco Galindo as Solo's precocious 9-year-old stepdaughter.

Local audiences will enjoy seeing such familiar sights as The Peanut House, Crystal Towers, Stratford Road and the downtown skyline on the big screen. But even without the local connection, this would be a film worth recommending. -- Tim Clodfelter

Guest of Cindy Sherman, . 88 minutes. Documentary feature. MT for adult language, themes. Showing at 2 p.m. April 23, Reynolda House; 3 p.m. April 24, UNCSA-Babcock; 9:45 p.m. April 25, UNCSA-Main.

Imagine dating the Madonna of the art world. That's what it's like being with blockbuster photographer Cindy Sherman, at least according to Paul Hasegawa-Overacker, or Paul H-O as he's known.

H-O meets the notoriously guarded, pixie-haired Sherman while prowling the New York art scene for Gallery Beat, a tongue-in-cheek public-access television show. It seems unlikely, but the two hit it off. Their on-camera flirting is almost embarrassingly blatant. It's like watching your parents ogle one another.

If Sherman's name doesn't ring a bell, you'll know her artwork when you see it -- she's perhaps best known for modeling in her own photographs, a series of film-noir-ish black-and-white film stills from the late 1970s and early '80s. In 2007, a Sherman photograph sold for $2.1 million (Ah, remember those heady, pre-recession days?). She's also a 1995 recipient of a MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship.

But even if you know nothing about Sherman, you're likely to enjoy a jaunt through what H-O calls "Cindy World." It's as much a documentary about the weird business of art as it is about a relationship or an artist.

H-O's bitterness is kept to a dull roar, though it gets a wee pathetic at the end (he and Elton John's civil partner have a lot in common, it turns out -- oh, the price of fame!). And I can't help wonder -- would this broken relationship be worth such self-examination if it was made from a woman's point of view? Haven't wives to famous men played second fiddle for centuries? -- Laura Giovanelli

Heart of Fire, . 94 minutes. Narrative feature. English subtitles. TN for mild adult themes, some violence. Showing at 5 p.m. April 23 and 9:30 a.m. April 25, Reynolda House; 6:30 p.m. April 27, UNCSA-Gold.

Growing up in a Catholic orphanage in Eritrea, young Awet wants nothing more than a family. When word comes that her father has sent her sister to bring her home, she is overjoyed. One of Awet's teachers, a nun, sends her off with the lesson that turning the other cheek can shame her enemies. The nun also gives Awet a Catholic emblem with a blazing heart on one side -- a heart of fire.

But Awet's life with her family is not the joyous one she has imagined. She speaks her mind -- something her father, an ardent supporter of the Eritrean Liberation Front, can't tolerate. He sends Awet and her sister to a liberation camp, where they, alongside other children, learn to shoot rifles and fight Eritrean soldiers who belong to a competing liberation movement.

The film focuses on the lives of child soldiers and Awet's struggle to reconcile what the camp teaches her with her realization that she is not so different from the Eritreans she is supposed to fight.

Despite its intense storyline, Heart of Fire sometimes lacks emotion -- Awet's sister and other characters seem numb and indifferent to the changes in their lives.

Heart of Fire is loosely based on Feuerherz ("Heart of Fire"), the memoir of Senait Mehari, a German singer who was escaped from life as a child soldier in Eritrea. Lack of emotion aside, it nevertheless delivers a serious message about child soldiers and a lesson about Eritrean history and politics. -- Laura Graff

Herb and Dorothy, . 87 minutes. Documentary feature. TN. Showing at 11 a.m. April 23 and 2:30 p.m. April 26, Reynolda House.

You think you have to make priorities and live on a budget now? Herb and Dorothy Vogel have been living that way for decades. They're a couple of modest means living in one of the most expensive cities in the U.S. -- she's a retired New York librarian, he worked for the postal service -- who built an astounding collection of modern art.

Living on Dorothy's salary to pay the rent and bills, the couple used Herb's paychecks to buy thousands of pieces from up-and-coming and little-known artists during the 1960s and onward. Their collection includes Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Chuck Close, James Siena and Pat Steir.

Over the years, the Vogels packed their one-bedroom Manhattan apartment with drawings, sculpture, paintings and conceptual art. In 1991, a portion of their collection went to the National Gallery of Art in Washington. Then, they re-filled their apartment. Plans are in the works for 2,500 other pieces to be distributed among 50 museums across the country (the Weatherspoon Art Museum at UNC-Greensboro will house the Vogels' gift to North Carolina). Especially given the economy, it's heartening to see some of us little people -- not just the "suits" with deep pockets -- so willing to devote their lives to beauty. "Most of us go through the world never seeing anything," artist Richard Tuttle says in the film. "Then you meet someone like Herb and Dorothy, who have eyes that see. Something goes from the eye to the soul without going through the brain." -- Laura Giovanelli

Idiots and Angels, . 78 minutes. Animated feature. MT for violence, graphic images. Not in competition. Showing at 9 p.m. April 23 and 8:45 p.m. April 25, UNCSA-Babcock.

In Idiots and Angels, the latest feature from renowned animator Bill Plympton, a man sprouts wings and learns to fly. So what does he do? He soars up and moons a planeful of people and then swoops down to leer at a woman who's sunbathing topless.

The man, you see, is a slimeball -- a mean-spirited hard-drinking gunrunner who is being thrust toward redemption entirely against his will. He does everything he can think of to rid himself of his wings and the promise of salvation that they bring. But they won't go away, so he has to come to terms with his new reality.

Using his signature scribbled style, Plympton has taken his dark, wry wit and crafted an intriguing, stylish film without one line of dialogue. It's crass, to be sure, and it drags a bit at times, but Idiots and Angels is an amusing experiment that pays off in the end. -- Susan Gilmor

Il Divo, . 113 minutes. Narrative feature in Italian with English subtitles. MT for adult language, violence. Showing at 4 p.m. April 23, UNCSA-Main; 1:30 p.m. April 24 and 4:15 p.m. April 24, UNCSA-Gold.

This engrossing character study of Gulio Andreotti is masterfully portrayed by Toni Servillo. Andreotti was a dominant political player in Italy in the second half of the 20th century. In writer-director Paolo Sorentino's Il Divo, Andreotti emerges as a complicated figure whose emotions bubble underneath an unflappable public persona as Andreotti -- dogged with accusations of Mafia ties -- wields and attempts to expand his power. It is beautifully filmed with a sumptuous feel for Rome.

Those with only a passing knowledge of post-World War II Italian politics will likely find the action difficult to follow. The cast of characters is large, and the various associations are complex. Some characters are on screen only long enough to be killed off. The filmmakers included a glossary of terms at the beginning of the film to explain briefly the historical importance of the groups referenced in the film. As I lost myself in the action, however, the glossary text was largely forgotten.

Il Divo was released during the Cannes Film Festival last year, where it won the Jury Prize. -- Paul Garber

I Sell the Dead . 85 minutes. Narrative Feature. NT for brief adult language, content. Not in Competition. Showing at 11:30 p.m. April 24 and 9 p.m. April 25, The Garage. Tickets are $10.

"If I've learnt anything over the years," ne'er-do-well Arthur Blake explains at one point in I Sell the Dead, "it's that you never, ever trust a corpse." Good advice, especially considering that Blake is part of a grave-robbing duo that runs afoul of the undead. This giddy, atmospheric horror-comedy is a macabre blend of the classic Hammer horror movies, the over-the-top Evil Dead films and Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead.

In 18th-century Britain, Blake (Dominic Monaghan) and his partner Willie Grimes (Larry Fessenden) go about their lives of crime at the behest of a mad doctor (Angus Scrimm of the Phantasm films) who constantly needs more corpses. Between the supernatural and dangerous rivals, it's tough work. The story is told in flashbacks, as Blake awaits his turn with the guillotine and confesses his sins to a priest (Ron Perlman).

Writer/director Glenn McQuaid has a clear fondness for the horror genre and does an impressive job emulating classic horror films without seeming to be parodying them. Like such horror-comedy classics as Shaun of the Dead and An American Werewolf in London, I Sell the Dead benefits from charismatic, offbeat lead actors who have terrific chemistry together. -- Tim Clodfelter

Kalinovski Square, . 87 minutes. Documentary with subtitles. MT for mild adult themes, language. Showing at 10:30 a.m. April 23, UNCSA-Gold; 4 p.m. April 24 and 2:30 p.m. April 25, Reynolda House.

Kalinovski Square is a humorous look at a deathly serious subject -- the repressive government of Belarus, a former Soviet bloc country where individual freedoms are squashed, opposition leaders mysteriously disappear and the populace lives in a culture of fear.

Yury Khashchavatski's documentary uses satire to shine a light on the ruthless rule of President Alexander Lukashenka, who looks and acts as if he belongs in Moscow, circa 1980, and the spirited resistance movement that emerged from the underground after the 2006 presidential election, which Lukashenka won by a landslide.

Thousands of young people, clad in blue jeans, gathered at Minsk's October Square on the night of the election to protest the fishy results. They erected a tent city on the square and braved a blizzard, scrutiny from the secret police and taunts from Lukashenka supporters. Eventually, they were rounded up and thrown into a detention center.

Although that doesn't sound like fodder for a comedy, Lukashenka, his henchmen and misguided supporters come across as buffoons, thanks to witty writing and clever use of footage. -- Lisa O'Donnell

Mommy is at the Hairdresser's . 97 minutes. Narrative feature. French with English subtitles. TN for some adult themes, language. Showing at 6:30 p.m. April 23, UNCSA-Babcock; 6:30 April 24, Reynolda House; 9:30 a.m. April 25, UNCSA-Babcock.

It's the 1960s in the French Canadian countryside -- an ideal time to be a carefree youth in an upper middle-class family.

One family's picturesque life is shattered when a mother abandons her children after the father's dark secret is revealed.

How those children react and ultimately triumph in the face of their parents' failures is the setting for Mommy is at the Hairdresser's, a coming-of-age tale that manages to wrench and warm the heart simultaneously.

The long, silent shots of wildflowers, shimmering lakes and corn stalks dancing in the breeze help offset the film's dark edges. And the performances, especially from the three children, are a delight. -- Lisa O'Donnell

Official Rejection, . Documentary feature. MT for some adult language. Not in competition. Showing at 4:30 p.m. April 25, UNCSA-Gold; 7:30 p.m. April 26, Reynolda House.

Rejection hurts. Oh, it hurts so bad. So what do you do when you get rejected? Well, if you're Paul Osborne, you make a movie about your rejection experience.

The result is Official Rejection, the rollicking journey of a crew of filmmakers taking their film, Ten Til Noon to a series of small film festivals after getting flatly rejected from the big one -- Sundance.

And that journey is a set-up to take an often-humorous look inside the world of independent filmmaking -- the politics, the headaches involved in submitting a film, constant rejection, the camaraderie and the debate on how independent the Sundance Film Festival really is.

Cool stuff, for the most part, though the film gets bogged down in independent vs. studio debates that only filmmakers and film lovers really care about. Where the film works is in the road-trip feel of the filmmakers' experience, when the unexpected happens, and you realize that sometimes being rejected can turn into a really good thing. -- Michael Hewlett

Pressure Cooker, . 99 minutes. Documentary feature. TN for mild language. Not in competition. Showing at 1 p.m. April 24 and Noon April 25, Reynolda House.

Temperamental celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has nothing on Wilma Stephenson; the drill sergeant of a high-school teacher is legend in Frankford High School's culinary-arts program. Her tongue can be as sharp as a knife -- she blasts some students for their "McDonald's palate" -- but her tough love is for their own good. She knows what's at stake -- thousands of scholarship dollars to send students to culinary schools and restaurant programs, and an escape hatch from inner-city Philadelphia. Pressure Cooker follows three Frankford seniors from their first salad to final competition, through slicing, dicing, whisking, chopping, making omelets and crepes and perfecting their potato-turning (a difficult football-shaped cut).

It's a stirring look into the world of teenagers, grown-up before their time, and far more compelling than any high-heated restaurant reality show. "There are so many people stuck here," one student, Erica Gaither, says. She's determined not to be. -- Laura Giovanelli

The Prisoner of Shark Island. 96 minutes. Narrative Feature. TN for some adult themes. Not in Competition. Special Presentation. Showing at 6 p.m. April 25, UNCSA-Babcock.

John Ford directed this 1936 drama about a doctor who treats an injured man, only to discover that his patient was John Wilkes Booth, on the lam after assassinating President Lincoln. The doctor is arrested as a co-conspirator. Noted screenwriter Jay Cocks will be the host of a post-film discussion. -- Not Reviewed

Rocaterrania, . 74 minutes. Documentary feature. TN for mild adult language. Showing at 9:15 p.m. April 23 and Noon April 26, UNCSA-Main; 9:30 p.m. April 25, Reynolda House.

In the documentary Rocaterrania, director Brett Ingram explores the previously undiscovered country of Rocaterrania created by artist Renaldo Kuhler of Raleigh.

For decades, Kuhler has been a scientific illustrator at the N.C. Museum of Natural History. But for even longer -- about 60 years -- he has documented Rocaterrania, a tiny country founded by Eastern European immigrants on the border between New York state and Canada. Kuhler has created Rocaterrania's alphabet and language; chronicled its political revolutions; and drawn detailed plans of its cities, portraits of its leading citizens, and scenes from its history.

As early scenes make clear, he is a striking public character, with his wild white hair and beard, and clothes tailored to his own design. But Rocaterrania was unknown to the public before Kuhler began to show his materials to Ingram in the mid-1990s. Ingram, who teaches film at UNC Greensboro, began shooting the documentary in 1997.

The detailed depiction of the country is fascinating in itself; but even more so is the way that in creating Rocaterrania, Kuhler also created himself. He always resisted the forces of conformity. The story of the country he created both reflects and enabled Kuhler's growth from his lonely and difficult youth into the person he always wanted to be -- himself. -- Julie Harris

Rumba, 77 minutes. Narrative feature in French with English subtitles. TN for some violence. Showing at 7 p.m. April 23 and 6:30 p.m. April 24, UNCSA-Main; 7:30 p.m. April 25, UNCSA-Gold.

Dominique and Fiona are a married couple who teach for a living but who live for Latin dance. One night, after winning a dance competition, they get into a serious car accident that leaves Fiona without a leg and Dominique without his memory. The ensuing story is about the myriad things that go wrong in their lives -- they lose their jobs, their home burns down -- and about their attempts to stay happy despite all their troubles.

The movie is quirky, like a Noah and the Whale music video, and at times touching in its tender, humorous moments. The film looks like it would have been fun to be in -- it starts with a funny scene in Dominique and Fiona's school, then goes to an energetic dance sequence -- but it isn't always fun to watch. The tender, humorous moments are outweighed by the feeling that this movie is an inside joke that the viewer doesn't get. -- Laura Graff

Saving Luna, . 94 minutes. Documentary feature. Not in competition. FM with some adult themes. Showing at 2 p.m. April 26, UNCSA-Main; 9 p.m. April 28, UNCSA-Gold.

Saving Luna is a breathtakingly beautiful documentary about Luna, a young orca separated from his pod -- his killer-whale family -- and the years he spent on his own in Canada's Nootka Sound.

Orcas, like humans, are intensely social creatures. Luna creatively compensates for the loss of his family by making friends with the people who live and work on the sound.

But as the film shows, friendship between whales and people is complicated and dangerous for both species. Friendly whales can accidentally damage property or hurt people; and they are in physical danger from boats and cruel people. Luna is further endangered by the conflicting meanings and motives that humans apply to him.

To some, Luna is a simply charming creature; to others, he is nuisance and danger; to the native people in the area, he is a spiritual symbol; to the Canadian government, he is a wild animal who should be isolated from the human contact he craves. So many people want to save Luna, but they cannot agree on how.

The filmmakers, Mike Parfit and Suzanne Chisholm, intended to spend three weeks at Nootka Sound to write about Luna. They were so taken by him that they stayed for three years. Eventually they were compelled to become part of Luna's story as his advocates and protectors.

The film that resulted from their commitment is a touching exploration of the nature of friendship, and a heart-rending meditation on humans' relationship with the natural world. -- Julie Harris

Shall We Kiss?, 102 minutes. Narrative feature in French with subtitles. Not in competition. Special Presentation. MT for sex, nudity, adult language. Showing at 7 p.m. April 26, UNCSA-Main; 6:30 p.m. April 28, UNCSA-Gold.

Perhaps it's that Shall We Kiss? is in French, so you have to read subtitles instead of watching Meg Ryan get all doe-eyed, but this is a romantic comedy I can get my arms around (I usually run away, screaming).

This is a story within a story, told by Emilie to Gabriel, two strangers who have a chance meeting and an illicit attraction. As Gabriel moves to kiss Emilie, she breaks the news -- there's someone else. He wants to kiss her anyway. "A kiss of no consequence?" she asks doubtfully. And then she tells him about Judith and Nicolas.

They're are just friends, happily so, and oh-so-French, meeting at cafes and jogging together on Saturdays, then catching up over cigarettes and wine (while still in their workout clothes). They should have left it there, but one day Nicolas asks Judith to help him with a very personal problem.

One of the joys of this frothy French fable is how the actors so, uh, nail awkward physical encounters -- so much so that I had a little trouble believing in some of the relationships when they got fiery. Still, we get a clear answer. A kiss of no consequence? It doesn't exist. -- Laura Giovanelli

Sita Sings the Blues. . 82 minutes. Animated feature. Not in competition. NT for some adult situations. Showing at 9:15 p.m. April 24, UNCSA-Main; 3:30 p.m. April 25, UNCSA-Babcock.

"The Ramayana," one of Hinduism's epics with flying monkeys and multi-headed demons, certainly lends itself to animation, and animator-director Nina Paley has given free rein to her imagination, using four animation styles to support four narrative threads.

Even such religions as Hinduism, which has a pantheon of fabulous goddesses, tend to be male-centric. The conventional "Ramayana" tells the adventures of Prince Rama, regarded as the ideal man. When his wife, Sita, considered the ideal woman, is kidnapped by the demon Ravana, the monkey king Hanuman joins Rama on his quest to rescue her. In fact, Hanuman, who embodies the ideal of the noble servant, does most of the work, but that is another story. Refreshingly, this film is Sita's story, told from a sweetly feminist perspective and across thousands of years, from 1,000 BC to the present. There are three Sita threads and a modern counterpart, Nina.

Those threads are woven together by the recorded 1920s jazz vocals of Annette Henshaw, a Betty Boop-only-better singer, who deserves, on the strength of this film, to be rediscovered. Her songs voice Sita's fluctuating emotional states as she endures captivity and duress from Ravana, followed by doubt and rejection from Rama.

The dry humor that runs throughout gets emphasis from three unseen commentators -- two male and one female -- who drop in from time to time, accompanied by Indonesian shadow puppets, to remark, often with hilarious inaccuracy, on the historic and cultural significance of the proceedings.

With its gorgeous animation, charming music and epic storyline, Sita Sings the Blues is more than a movie; it is an experience. -- Lynn Felder

Speedy. 85 Minutes. Narrative feature with subtitles. Not in competition. Suitable for all ages. Closing Night Event. Showing at 7 p.m. April 29 at UNCSA Main. Tickets are $25.

The closing-night event of this year's RiverRun is Speedy, a classic silent film with live accompaniment by the Alloy Orchestra. The 1928 comedy features Harold Lloyd, a bespectacled comedian known for his outrageous stunts, as a man trying to save New York's last horse-drawn trolley from being run out of business by the railroads. Babe Ruth has a cameo as himself. -- Not Reviewed

Surveillance, . 97 minutes. Narrative feature in English. R for bloody violence, pervasive language, drugs, aberrant sex. Not in competition. Special Presentation. Showing at 7 p.m. April 25, Stevens Center; 9:30 p.m. April 28, UNCSA-Main.

Two FBI investigators set up shop in a rural town after a series of random highway murders. Three witnesses survive, but their stories diverge.

What is it about windswept locales and arrow-straight asphalt that filmmakers love these days? No Country For Old Men gave me nightmares for weeks; I'm not the best person to ask about tense movies set in the West. That said, director Jennifer Chambers Lynch (daughter of David Lynch of Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks fame) has made a strange, scary and beautiful film populated with corrupt small-town cops, druggies and a solemn, pigtailed-girl, probably the most innocent and sweetest one of the bunch -- not a hard prize to win.

There are sadists galore in Surveillance. This is a thriller for the nerdier set, though, and even if some of the acting is overwrought, it's hard to tell if that's bad drama, or just part of the trademark subversive Lynch style. And it's hard not to laugh when one of the cops lies on the back of a driver he's playing games with (e.g. torturing), then kisses his bald head. -- Laura Giovanelli

Three Monkeys, 109 minutes. Narrative feature in Turkish with English subtitles. MT for adult language, themes; some violence. Showing at 3:30 p.m. April 24, UNCSA-Main; 7 p.m. April 25, Reynolda House; 7:30 p.m. April 26, UNCSA-Babcock.

Three Monkeys was Turkey's submission for the 2009 Oscars' best foreign film. It's a grim story -- an Istanbul politician flees a hit-and-run accident, then bribes his driver, Eyup, into taking the blame. In exchange, he'll get some money, but only after he gets out of jail.

Eyup leaves his wife, Hacer, and brooding teenaged son at home. Things are bound to go wrong. It's like making a deal with the devil.

Bleak and beautiful, this film has a lot of silence. It will take some patience to watch. But there's reward in the subtleties -- the rumbling trains, creaking doors and the lonely squawk of seagulls, drops of blood on a floor from a fight, Hacer's wounded eyes, and a haunting cell-phone ring that plays through the film. Art-house tactics, such as shooting very wide or very close, make you feel sometimes that you are watching the movie through the eyes someone who can spy on Hacer, Eyup and the rest from afar, but also get into their bedrooms. -- Laura Giovanelli

Treeless Mountain,. 89 minutes. Narrative feature. In Korean with English subtitles. TN for some adult themes. Showing at 10 a.m. April 23, UNCSA-Babcock; 4:30 p.m. April 24, UNCSA-Gold; 12:30 p.m. April 25, UNCSA-Babcock.

So Yong Kim's feature unfolds slowly, chronicling the lives of two young sisters, Jin (Hee-yeon Kim) and Bin (Song-hee Kim).

Their impoverished mother, unable to care for them, gives them first to their aunt, who, frustrated by her own lot in life, hands the girls off to their grandparents.

The girls, in tiny fits and starts, learn to fend for themselves, leaning on each other for comfort and strength.

Treeless Mountain's sadness lies in its simplicity. The movie, based loosely on So Yong Kim's life, is told entirely from the point of view of the girls, who don't understand what is happening to them or why.

Under Kim's skillful direction, the girls turn in heartbreaking performances, using stillness -- and a faded blue gown -- to convey wonder and sadness. -- Jeri Young

Tulpan. . 100 minutes. Narrative feature with English subtitles. TN for mild adult themes. Showing at 10 a.m. April 24 and 4:30 p.m. April 28 at UNCSA-Main; 7:15 p.m. April 26 at UNCSA-Gold.

The life of a lonely Kazakhstani sheepherder may not sound like a subject rife with comic potential, but this amiable comedy proves otherwise.

Asa (Askhat Kuchencherekov), a cheery, gangly fellow, has recently returned to his homeland after serving with the Russian navy, and is eager to share tales of heroism to impress those around him. But he has work to do tending his family's flock of sheep and trying to woo a potential wife, who he can't seem to impress. Told she thinks his ears stick out too much, he takes to strapping them down while he sleeps. He also fails to impress his brother-in-law, whose sheep are ill.

Though slow-paced in spots, the film is an intriguing look at life in the harsh steppes of Kazakhstan, and is filled with endearing characters. Director Sergei Dvortsevoy's previous work was in documentaries, and though this is a narrative it maintains a documentarian's eye for small details about life in the harsh desert terrain where Asa and his family dwell. -- Tim Clodfelter

Unmistaken Child. . 102 minutes. Documentary feature with English subtitles. TN. Showing at 12:30 p.m. April 23 and11:45 a.m. April 26, UNCSA-Babcock;10 a.m. April 24, Reynolda House.

This startling glimpse into Tibetan Buddhism in Nepal takes us from a disciple's grief at the death of his guru, a purported fully enlightened being, to the disciple's joy at the opportunity to serve the reincarnated guru again. But first, he has to find him.

Israeli director Nati Baratz takes us on an amazing journey through the mountains and valleys of Nepal as the young disciple searches for a toddler who is unmistakenly the reincarnated guru. The sweetness of the people, the beauty of Nepal and the rich subject matter make up for a slow and slightly confusing start. -- Lynn Felder

Waveriders. . 80 minutes. Documentary feature. TN. Showing at 1:30 p.m. April 23, UNCSA-Main; 6 p.m. April 24 and 9:15 a.m. April 26, UNCSA-Babcock.

Waveriders is billed as a single film, but in a way it's practically a double-feature, with two interrelated -- but easily isolated -- subjects. The first half of the film focuses on the early history of surfing, with the focus on George Freeth, a pioneer of the sport and an impressive historical figure in the early 20th century -- think Lance Armstrong mixed with Aquaman. His father was from Ireland, a fact that provides the linchpin between his story and the rest of the film.

The second half looks at the surfer culture in contemporary Ireland, showing how surfing as a sport and an art form has grown in the Emerald Isle. Director Joel Conroy makes the most of the lilting accents of his Irish subjects, who bring a different voice and a more poetic tone to the sport than the California surfer dudes featured in so many other surfing documentaries. Cillian Murphy is the narrator. -- Tim Clodfelter

With These Hands: The Story of an American Furniture Factory. . 79 minutes. Documentary feature. TN. Not in competition. 7:15 p.m. April 25, UNCSA-Main; 5 p.m. April 26, Reynolda House.

In his understated yet poignant film, Matthew Barr perfectly captures the quiet stoicism of workers being laid off and the Hooker Furniture factory in Martinsville, Va., being closed down. Using film footage from the factory opening in 1937 and from the boom times in the late 1980s, Barr also shows the company in its heyday. Hooker had nine plants in the United States by the end of the 20th century, and its last U.S. factory, the one in Martinsville, closed on March 19, 2007.

The story of the company and its U.S. demise is told through interviews with executive and line workers who talk about the dignity of their labor, pride and pleasure in their work. What is most surprising in With These Hands is the relative lack of bitterness on the part of the workers, many of whom spent entire lifetimes working for Hooker, and who watched, with dismay, as more and more of their work was outsourced to cheaper Chinese labor. The furniture itself is also lovingly shown from the assembly of its individual parts -- the wires and pipes, vats, saws and sawdust, paint and stain, drills and earplugs, oil dripping on machine parts, glue and staples -- to its being packed up and shipped off in trucks.

Most of the telling is straightforward and resigned, but the tragedy comes through in a few tears from the workers and the foreboding but beautiful music by Charles Johnson.

With These Hands is an affecting and respectful film about the loss of an important piece of American heritage. -- Lynn Felder

A Woman in Berlin, . 127 minutes. Narrative feature in German with English subtitles. MT for adult language, themes; violence. Showing at 10:30 a.m. April 24, 1:30 p.m. April 26 and 9 p.m. April 27, UNCSA-Gold.

Stark and brutal depiction of the rape of German survivors as Berlin falls to the Russian Army in May 1945.The story opens quite literally in a haze, with sunlight breaking through the dust and debris of Berlin's streets, followed by a brief flashback to wartime when things were going better for the Germans. Mostly, however, the tones are dark as the remaining German citizens scramble to find refuge in the war-torn buildings left behind.

Based on autobiographical writings by a German journalist, the main character -- her name remains anonymous in the film -- struggles to find a balance between morality and survival, working her way into an arrangement that ultimately allows her to escape the daily brutalities of rape, but at a high cost to herself. "War and dying used to be men's business," she says at one point. "That's all over."

Originally released in September, A Woman is Berlin is making its RiverRun debut. -- Paul Garber

World's Greatest Dad. . 100 minutes. Narrative Feature. MT for sex; adult language, content. Not in Competition. Special Presentation. Showing at 7 p.m. April 23 at the Stevens Center. Tickets are $15.

Robin Williams stars in this very, very dark comedy about a sad-sack whose life isn't turning out the way he hoped. Lance Clayton wants to be a published author, but between rejection slips and self-doubt he hasn't gotten a thing published. He wants to be an inspiring teacher, but the poetry class he teaches at high school is sparsely attended by apathetic students. And he wants to be a great dad, but his teenaged son, who attends the same school where he teaches, is an obnoxious jerk who berates him at every turn.

When his son dies in a particularly embarrassing way, Lance fakes a suicide note that proves so poignant that it makes his spiteful son a folk hero at their high school. Lance has to keep up the charade.

Director Bob Goldthwait, best known for his long stand-up comedy career, does an admirable job establishing Lance's problems and then taking his life on a turn for the worse. Williams (who was also in Goldthwait's directorial debut, the 1991 film Shakes the Clown) can be a maniacal force of nature, but here he is subdued, insightful, sad, and at the same time sarcastically funny. -- Tim Clodfelter

Reviews of short films -- Documentary Shorts: Great Expectations, Narrative Shorts 1: Behind Closed Doors, Narrative Shorts 2: Growing Pains, Award-winning Shorts, Animated Shorts: Against the Current, Animated Shorts: Saturday Morning Cartoons -- will run Sunday in the Arts section. All reviews are online at www.journalnow.com.