The Da Vinci Code: It won't be over your head.

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Akeelah and the Bee

Akeelah (Keke Palmer), an exceptionally bright 11-year-old from the 'hood, becomes a national sensation when she makes it to finals of the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee. At first she is hesitant to get involved in spelling bees for fear she'll be ostracized by her fellow ghetto dwellers. But with the help of a stern tutor (Laurence Fishburne), Akeelah comes to realize that being smart is actually a good thing. Though well-intentioned, writer-director Doug Atchison has crafted a hackneyed piece of drivel that gropes, clutches and embraces every imaginable cliché like some horny old bastard feeling up on a nubile bit of jailbait. In the genre of young-people-find-their-greatness you have exceptional films like Searching for Bobby Fischer and then you have steaming trash like Karate Kid III. Akeelah and the Bee definitely rests at the Karate Kid III end of the spectrum. PG. DAVID WALKER. City Center.

Art School Confidential

Director Terry Zwigoff reunites with his Ghost World writer, Daniel Clowes, for this disappointing comic noir about a series of murders at a Manhattan liberal-arts college. There are chuckles in the first half as the film skewers the various types of art students—vulgar filmmakers, gay fashion designers, vegan painters, et al. But things take a turn for the weird later on as the protagonist, "normal" freshman artist Jerome (Max Minghella), comes to be suspected for the murders. John Malkovich and Jim Broadbent give supporting performances that, like most of the film, are almost funny but not quite. ERIC D. SNIDER. Fox Tower.

Black Orpheus

After five decades, director Marcel Camus' interpretation of the Orpheus legend retains all its beauty and power. Set in the slums of Rio de Janeiro during carnival, the film is a stunning fusion of music and dance, as country girl Eurydice (Marpessa Dawn) flees to the city to escape a suitor who turns out to be Death. Breno Mello is Orfeo, a streetcar conductor who falls for the beautiful Eurydice and must help her elude the man who wishes to take her away. Guild Theatre, 829 SW 9th Ave., 221-1156. 7 pm Friday-Sunday, May 26-28. $4-$7.

Brick

After the death of his beloved ex-girlfriend-turned-junkie, high-school student Brendan Frye (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) smells foul play and becomes a vigilante out to get the drug-dealing hierarchy, kicking the crap out of people twice his size, getting the crap kicked out of himself, and eventually becoming the right-hand man to legendary pusher The Pin (Lukas Haas). Although the plot begins to waver toward the end, Brick offers a much-needed revamping of high-school genre films and seems destined to endure as a cult classic. Written and directed by Rian Johnson, the film was magnificently photographed by Steve Yedlin, who also shot Lucky McKee's cult film May (which Johnson edited). R. LAURY MULRY. Fox Tower.

C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America

For some people, it will be difficult to know when to laugh during C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America, Kevin Willmott's sharp political satire. Masking its biting humor under so much straight-faced seriousness, C.S.A. will go over some people's heads, while others are sure to be offended by Willmott's in-your-face take on racism. Built around the premise that the South won the Civil War, the film is presented as a legitimate, Ken Burns-style documentary produced in England that charts the history of a nation where Grant surrendered to Lee, and "Dixie" has become the national anthem. Abraham Lincoln was never assassinated; instead, disguised in blackface, he fled Confederate troops with the help of Harriet Tubman and the underground railroad. In this world, Lincoln died in exile in Canada and, an historian explains, "Today he's only remembered as the man who lost the War of Northern Aggression." C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America is equal parts brilliant comedy and astute social commentary, as funny as it is thought-provoking. And for those who pay close enough attention, it is as much a fairy tale of how things could have been in this country as it is a revelation of how things actually are. DAVID WALKER. Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd., 281-4215. $4-$6.

*NEW* The Da Vinci Code

Dan Brown's multimillion-copy bestseller comes to life on the big screen in this much-hyped but thoroughly disappointing piece of mediocrity. Tom Hanks stars as Robert Langdon, a Harvard professor and noted symbologist caught up in a mysterious murder at the Louvre in Paris. Based on the cryptic clues at the scene, police detective Fache (Jean Reno) suspects Langdon is the killer. But before he slap the cuffs on the American, police cryptologist Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou) arrives on the scene to let Langdon know he is in great danger, and the two make a hasty escape, leading to a chase across France and England. As the twisting, turning plot careens along, we learn that the murder was part of a massive conspiracy involving a ultra-conservative sect of the Catholic Church, led by Bishop Aringarosa (Alfred Molina), that is determined to keep a closely guarded secret from being revealed. Director Ron Howard infuses as much pedestrian style, action and special effects as one would hope to see in a big-budget movie of this nature. But the one thing missing from The Da Vinci Code—the same thing missing from many of Howard's maudlin opuses—is heart and soul. PG-13. DAVID WALKER. Pioneer Place, St. Johns Twin, Lloyd Cinema, Roseway, Eastport, Division Street, Oak Grove, Cedar Hills, Cornelius, Hilltop, Lake Twin, Sandy, Sherwood, Wilsonville, Cinema 99, Cinetopia, City Center, Vancouver Plaza.

The Devil and Daniel Johnston

The music of Daniel Johnston isn't for everybody. That eerie, trembly, little-girl caterwaul, the archetypal lo-fi keyboard, the basement recordings dubbed over and over onto cheap cassette tapes...it takes a certain amount of devotion to underground music to appreciate the man's secretly sublime pop songs. Such is not the case, however, with Jeff Feuerzeig's documentary about Johnston's roller-coaster life. It's a heartwrenching story, and Feuerzeig tells it with such honesty, restraint and respect that the film's appeal extends well beyond the obvious audience of indie-music fans. But music is only one small aspect of the complex character that is Daniel Johnston. There are also his films, his artwork (his drawings were included in this year's Whitney Biennial), his obsessive recording and documentation of every important moment in his life, his spiral into mental illness, and the walking shell of a man he is today. Cinema 21, 616 NW 21st Ave., 223-4515. Wednesday-Thursday, May 24-25. $4-$7.

Down in the Valley

If you cut this movie's second half, it would probably be pretty good. It's weird enough to be compelling—Ed Norton, in perfect Eastwood-as-Blondie hair, plays a young fella living in the San Fernando Valley who reckons he's a cowboy. He manages to escape the beige plastic subdivisions and concrete rivers long enough to convince his girl Tobe (Evan Rachel Wood) and her little brother (Rory Culkin) that he's, if not legit, at least unique. But when their dad (David Morse, nicely humanizing the mean-parent role) steps in, things take a turn for the worse—especially the pacing. From here the film drags itself gutshot through an extended, heavy-handed lone-outlaw-against-the-world conclusion that anyone could've seen coming. R. BECKY OHLSEN. Fox Tower.

Ed Wood

[SHORT RUN] Johnny Depp stars in one of director Tim Burton's best films, a sentimental bio-pic about a cross-dressing filmmaker of questionable talent. Martin Landau gives a standout performance as a fallen-on-hard-times Bela Lugosi. Screening Friday night at midnight is Wood's Glen or Glenda, an exceptionally terrible film about gender identity. Clinton Street Theater, 2522 SE Clinton St., 238-8899. Friday-Thursday, May 26-June 1. $4-$6.

Flicker: Film Club for Teens Presents Vladimir

[SHORT RUN] Portland visual artist Vladimir, winner of the PDX Invitational for two years running, will show her recent film Acteon at Home. Guild Theatre, 829 SW 9th Ave., 221-1156. 11 am Saturday, May 27. Free.

*NEW* Free Zone

Free Zone is not for the attention deficient. With a framework of scenes that can be long and confusing, it isn't your typical storyline. In fact, on the surface, it appears not to have anything close to a plot or a conclusive resolution. Instead, due to the minimal events and dialogue, it relies on the audience's senses, perceptions, feelings and aesthetics as a bridge for explanation, creating what can be taken as an uneven, disoriented stream of sequences. The minor plot seems trivial and insignificant—a young, distraught American girl (Israeli-born Natalie Portman) finds herself on a journey to Jordan with an Israeli taxi driver in order to clear up an unpaid debt. But for those who know and follow the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict, the film's combination of a cross-section of languages and the visual and mental barriers of the Middle East come together to serve a bigger, more poignant story. ELIANNA BAR-EL. Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd., 281-4215. Friday-Thursday, May 26-June 1. $4-$6.

Friends with Money

Watching writer-director Nicole Holofcener's Friends with Money is like being dragged to a party where you don't know anyone, don't want to know anyone, and spend the whole night wishing someone would choke to death on a chicken wing. None of the main characters in this ensemble is likable, and the more you get to know them, the less you like them. As a drama there's nothing compelling, as a comedy there's nothing funny, and as a mix of the two the film is a lifeless failure. R. DAVID WALKER. Fox Tower, Tigard Joy.

Hard Candy

The specter of pedophilia is raised in Hard Candy, an intense, well-acted film that deals with its alarming subject matter in an audacious way. Like it or hate it, there's no denying it hasn't been done quite like this before. Our predator is Jeff (Patrick Wilson), a handsome 32-year-old who meets a 14-year-old girl named Hayley (Ellen Page) on the Internet, followed by a meeting at a cafe, followed by a trip back to his house. That's when Jeff realizes Hayley's giggly, flirtatious teenager routine was an act, and that she's actually a precocious, manipulative girl who knows of his past crimes and is bent on revenge. Patrick Wilson, so flat in Phantom of the Opera, redeems himself here with a performance that is rawly emotional but not over the top, while Ellen Page—a striking young actress with great potential—carries the film on her righteously indignant little shoulders. Still, at 103 minutes, it's too long. The characters reach their emotional and psychological endpoints long before the film has ended, and there's not much for the story to do after that. Cut this thing down to size and you've got yourself one dickens of a thriller. R. ERIC D. SNIDER. Fox Tower.

Hoot

The message of Hoot, based on Carl Hiaasen's Newbery Honor-winning book, is that you can never be too young to get started in the field of eco-terrorism. Vandalizing construction sites and chaining yourself to bulldozers—that's not just for grownups, you know. The target demographic of tweenage boys and girls—it's the rare film that seems aimed at both—will probably react favorably to it, though I can't say it did much for me, a grownup who notices things like plot holes and logical fallacies. The story concerns two boys and a girl in Florida who learn that the site where a Mother Paula's Pancake House is supposed to be built is also home to some endangered burrowing owls. This leaves them no choice but to sabotage the construction efforts and attempt to bring down The Man. Why don't the kids just alert the media about the presence of the owls and let the government revoke Mother Paula's permit? Because that wouldn't be any fun, silly! But the young actors give earnest, straightforward performances, and the film has a playful tone that makes it likable regardless of its dubious story line. PG. ERIC D. SNIDER. Kennedy School, Academy Theater, Valley Cinema-Pub.

Kinky Boots

Those working-class British comedies, with their bittersweet mix of humor and melodrama, are all well and good, but between everything from The Full Monty to Waking Ned Devine to The Snapper, we've pretty much seen 'em all. This time around, the action takes place in a shoe factory on the brink of financial ruin, inherited by Charlie Price (Joel Edgerton). Enter Lola (Dirty Pretty Things' Chiwetel Ejiofor), a transvestite who inspires Charlie to make women's footwear for men. Next thing you know, it's the standard ups and downs, with everyone learning valuable lessons about self-esteem and accepting others for who they are on the inside. Been there, done that. Ejiofor continues his streak of great performances, but the hackneyed script is such an eye-rolling waste of time, his performance does not make it worth watching this junk. PG-13. DAVID WALKER. Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd., 281-4215. Call theater for times. $4-$6.

Mission: Impossible III

A little over halfway through the latest installment in the Mission: Impossible franchise, Impossible Mission Force agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) explains an elaborate plan to rescue his new wife (Michelle Monaghan) from the cold-blooded clutches of the nefarious terrorist Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman). After mapping out his plan, Ethan's fellow IMF operative Luther Strickell (Ving Rhames) tells him, "There's a point where bold becomes stupid." Luther could just as easily be talking about the movie itself, a stylish action thriller so bombastic in its effects-heavy histrionics that the audacious stupidity of the threadbare plot—recycled from the James Bond Book of Cliché—is almost forgivable. And perhaps M:I3 would be deserving of a bit more slack, if only it weren't for the sanctimonious Cruise, who has become a colossal joke with no punch line. Cruise spends much of the film running with a sort of heterosexual determination, as if trying to escape some dark truth lurking deep in his closet. And in a film overflowing with special effects, none seem more special than Cruise's ability to get misty-eyed on command for no apparent reason. For a super-agent out to save the world, Ethan Hunt is a crybaby bitch boy. Mission: Impossible III is more entertaining than it is bad, but also more stupid than it is good. PG-13. DAVID WALKER. Lloyd Cinema, Eastport, Division Street, Oak Grove, Cedar Hills, Cornelius, Hilltop, 99 W Drive In, Sandy, Sherwood, Wilsonville, Cinema 99, Cinetopia, City Center, Vancouver Plaza.

Moonlight

Moonlight has two 13-year-olds doin' it, makes frequent references to the girl's recently begun menstrual cycle, and includes a scene in which the boy (injured and hiding in a barn) craps his pants and lets the girl clean him up. Wanna guess which continent the movie comes from? That's right! Europe! Dutch director Paula van der Oest follows up her much-admired Zus and Zo with this moody suspense drama in which a young drug mule (Hunter Bussemaker), dying of gunshot wounds, is found by rich girl Claire (Laurien Van den Broeck) in her family's backyard shed. She treats his injuries, wipes his butt, and eventually takes him on the run from his evil, vaguely Russian pursuers. A language barrier prevents the kids from speaking much, so the film is often eerily quiet, to great effect. Other times, it's just plain odd, as when Claire and the boy hide at a Catholic youth retreat and the boy must pretend to be both (a) female and (b) mentally disabled. It's a serious film (really!) that keeps bringing up motifs of blood, sex and gender without ever really doing anything with them, and the story ultimately goes nowhere. ERIC D. SNIDER. Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd., 281-4215. Wednesday-Thursday, May 24-25. $4-$6.

Mountain Patrol: Kekexili

Inspired by true events, Mountain Patrol: Kekexili takes place in Tibet toward the end of 1996, where decades of poaching have left the Tibetan antelope on the verge of extinction. The only thing standing between the antelopes and complete obliteration is the Mountain Patrol, a ragtag group of self-appointed lawmen who traverse the inhospitable terrain of Kekexili, a massive plateau where the antelope feed and breed. Journalist Ga Yu (Zhang Lei) travels from Beijing to report on the Mountain Patrol, arriving for the somber funeral procession of a slain patrolman and just in time to join Ri Tai (Duobuji), leader of the patrol, as he and his men set out to bring the killers to justice. Despite the eastern setting of Tibet, in an era just a decade past, Mountain Patrol is in every way a classic western. Inspired by vast, sprawling films like John Ford's The Searchers, and the gritty ambiguity of Italian director Sergio Corbucci's The Great Silence, director Chuan Lu's film is an epic tale of honor and justice in a morally uncertain world. The film is bold and beautiful, and no matter what else may come along this year, it won't get much better than this. DAVID WALKER. Cinema 21, 616 NW 21st Ave., 223-4515. Wednesday-Thursday, May 24-June 1. $4-$7

Neil Young: Heart of Gold

The concert film Neil Young: Heart of Gold captures why the old guy's career has lasted four decades, why so many performers who came after him consider him a godfather, and why he is revered in every musical circle from country to grunge. The reason? Because he's so damn good. ERIC D. SNIDER. Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd., 281-4215. Call theater for times. $4-$6.

Over the Hedge

Movies based on comic strips have a spotty history—Garfield still haunts more than one parent's dreams, I'm sure. But Over the Hedge, about a group of woodland creatures who learn to steal people food when suburbia encroaches on their territory, is a genuinely funny animated lark. A peaceful group consisting of everything from possums to a turtle is joined by R.J. (voice of Bruce Willis), a smooth-talking raccoon who needs their help gathering a ton of junk food in order to pay off a bear he angered. The energetically animated film gets a lot of laughs from its subtle satire of American consumerism, with R.J. showing how the humans' lives revolve around food. But don't worry, there are fart jokes, too, and a truly hilarious finale in which the already-hyper squirrel (Steve Carell) uses caffeine to accomplish an urgent mission. Garry Shandling, Wanda Sykes and William Shatner are among the voices, adding some grown-up sensibilities to the goofy cartoon hijinks. At 80 minutes (not counting credits), it's a good length for the rugrats, who will laugh when the squirrel asks, "Wanna help me find my nuts?" even if they don't know why. PG. ERIC D. SNIDER. Eastport, Division Street, Moreland, Oak Grove, Cedar Hills, Cornelius, Hilltop, Lake Twin, 99 W Drive In, Sandy, Sherwood, Wilsonville, Cinema 99, Cinetopia, City Center, Vancouver Plaza.

Poseidon

There are two types of people in the world. There are those, who, when handed something and asked, "Does this smell funny?" will take a whiff, cringe in disgust and say, "Yeah, that smells like putrid rhino shit." And then there are those who won't take a whiff. The makers of Poseidon are banking that most of you are the former, not the latter. But if the flies buzzing around this steaming pile are not enough indication of what you're being asked to smell, allow me—one who has breathed deep of this noxious trash—to tell you: This movie reeks. A "reimagining" of 1972's The Poseidon Adventure (not exactly a "stink-free" movie itself), the film takes place on a luxury cruise ship that has been capsized by a giant wave. There's massive destruction and PG-13 carnage, and then you get to lay bets as to which of the ragtag survivors will croak before the final reel. Will it be Kurt Russell, the former firefighter and ex-mayor of New York City, or will it be Richard Dreyfuss, the melancholy architect who's suicidal after being dumped by his gay lover? Poseidon is remarkable in its big-budget, effects-heavy ineptitude. The script is atrocious, which makes the acting laughable, and the direction by Wolfgang Petersen is about as subtle as a TNT enema. If this is any indication of what the rest of the summer has to offer, start stockpiling books now. PG-13. DAVID WALKER. Broadway, Eastport, Division Street, Oak Grove, Cedar Hills, Cornelius, Hilltop, Sandy, Sherwood, Wilsonville, Cinema 99, Cinetopia, City Center, Vancouver Plaza.

*NEW* The Proposition

Best known for his work as a musician, Nick Cave ventures into the world of film as the screenwriter of this moody, blood-spattered tale of revenge and justice in 1880s Australia. Guy Pearce stars as Charlie Burns, the middle brother in a ruthless gang being hunted for heinous crimes against humanity. When Charlie and Mikey (Richard Wilson) are captured by lawman Morris Stanley (Ray Winstone), an unusual proposition is made. Stanley promises to spare the life of younger brother Mikey if Charlie hunts down and kills older brother Arthur (Danny Huston), a cold-blooded killer with no remorse. Cave and director John Hillcoat appear to have watched quite a few westerns in preparation for this somber tale, especially the gritty revisionist fare of the late 1960s and '70s. But their film, while punctuated with great moments, never comes together as a whole. At times it feels like The Proposition is trying to be profound, but it never achieves that goal, leaving the audience wondering exactly what it is they should be feeling. R. DAVID WALKER. Fox Tower.

RV

RV isn't any good, but at least it has Barry Sonnenfeld (The Addams Family, Men in Black) as its director. The guy knows how to tell a visual joke. He'll position the camera and the actors in just the right way to catch the comedy, even when, as is the case for most of RV, there's no comedy taking place. Because Tim Allen was busy, I guess, Robin Williams stars as Bob Munro, a bumbling, workaholic dad who tries to make up for neglecting his wife and kids by taking them on an RV trip to Colorado. All the clichés of the road-trip comedy are present, including the vehicular mayhem (the RV is a rental, which means it must be destroyed) and a run-in with some wildlife (a raccoon, specifically). And in a special two-for-one offer, we also get the clichés of the workaholic-dad-learns-what's-really-important comedy, right down to the finale in which Bob tells his soulless boss to take this job and shove it. The whole thing is made bearable by Sonnenfeld's visual acumen; you can tell a talented professional had his hand in it. Now, why a man with Sonnenfeld's gifts would expend so much effort in making an erupting RV toilet look interesting, I have no idea. PG. ERIC D. SNIDER. Eastport, Division Street, Cedar Hills, Forest, Hilltop, Sherwood, Wilsonville, Cinema 99, City Center, Vancouver Plaza.

*NEW* The Sketches of Frank Gehry

[SHORT RUN] "What's so hot about Frank Gehry? What's the fuss about?" asks filmmaker Sidney Pollack early on in his new documentary. Both are valid questions if you've never heard of architect Gehry or are unfamiliar with his groundbreaking work. But as personal friend Pollack creates an intimate portrait of Gehry and explores the process by which he designs and creates building like the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, it becomes clear what all the fuss is about. Gehry is an innovative artist who took the very practical science of architecture and applied to it the organic randomness of fine art. The results are buildings and homes that are unique. It is all more interesting than it actually sounds, primarily because Gehry himself is a fascinating character who, unlike many artists, has found a way to reconcile the art-versus-commerce conflict that many creative people face. DAVID WALKER. Cinema 21, 616 NW 21st Ave., 223-4515. Friday-Thursday, May 26-June 1. $4-$7.

Somersault

A girl-in-bloom has a sexual awakening at an Australian ski resort. NR. Opens Friday, May 26. Fox Tower.

Sophie Scholl: The Final Days

A rare World War II film that focuses on Gentile Germans who resisted the war and the Hitler regime, Sophie Scholl is the moving tale of a gutsy student and her brother who were caught distributing anti-war leaflets at their university. They were immediately jailed and, when it became clear that denial wouldn't fly, opted to stick to their guns and stand up for their beliefs in the face of Nazi wrath. BECKY OHLSEN. Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd., 281-4215. $4-$6.

Thank You for Smoking

Based on Christopher Buckley's bestselling novel from the early 1990s, Thank You for Smoking stars Aaron Eckhart as Nick Naylor, the "sultan of spin"—a master of manipulating the truth with a self-conferred "bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names." Nick's job as the vice president of the Academy of Tobacco Studies is to debunk the claims that cigarettes are bad and to promote smoking. Brimming with subtle visual gags and absurd humor, Thank You for Smoking is a brilliant comedy that is ruthless in its attacks on both hand-wringing liberals and money-grubbing conservatives. R. DAVID WALKER. Cinemagic, Fox Tower.

United 93

United 93 may prove to be America's catharsis, a big group-therapy session for everyone who lived through 9/11 and still remembers it as though it were yesterday. As the first filmmaker to depict events from that day, writer-director Paul Greengrass has been under intense scrutiny amid fears that he would botch the project through sentimentalism, false heroism or any of the myriad ways a film like this could go wrong—and it turns out those worries were unfounded. This is as perfect a film as I've seen: respectful of its subject matter, utterly devoid of Hollywood-style fakery, and 100 percent gripping from beginning to end. Greengrass employs a subtle, documentary-style touch as he tells the story of the hijacked flight that crashed in Pennsylvania on 9/11. He refuses to underline important symbolic moments the way most filmmakers would, or indeed to pander to our emotions in any way, preferring to let the naturalistic acting and the crackerjack editing do the job without overt manipulation. The result? A completely devastating experience that demonstrates a mastery of the medium. R. ERIC D. SNIDER. Broadway.

V for Vendetta

Imagine the not-too-distant future, where Great Britain is a fascist state that has separated itself from the rest of the world. Obscured by a mask, Hugo Weaving stars as V, a mysterious "terrorist" out to topple the Orwellian dictatorship that oppresses the nation. Adapted from Alan Moore's 1980s comic-book series by director John McTeigue and screenwriters the Wachowski brothers (of Matrix fame), the film is not without style or cautionary, politicized messages. But while it is effective enough to achieve an admirable level of cerebral action drama, the uneven script is a stumbling block that keeps the whole thing from ever stepping firmly into the realm of genius. R. DAVID WALKER. Portlander, St. Johns Dome, Kennedy School, Laurelhurst, Academy, Avalon, Bagdad, Milwaukie, Edgefield, Grand Lodge, Valley Cinema-Pub.

Wah-Wah

Actor Richard E. Grant makes his directorial debut in this semi-autobiographical tale of a boy dealing with the separation of his parents in 1960s Swaziland, as the African nation is about to gain its independence from British rule. R. Opens Friday, May 26. Fox Tower.

Water

The third in writer-director Deepa Mehta's elements trilogy (after Fire and Earth), Water is a visually stunning film that is suffused with hope and humor despite its grim message. Set in the late 1930s as sentiment builds against British rule and Gandhi gains popularity, the story follows an 8-year-old girl, Chuyia (played by child actress Sarala), who was married so young she doesn't even remember it. Her middle-aged husband has just died, making her a widow—and a pariah. So her parents put her in an ashram with other widows, many of whom are ancient and have been there since they were children themselves. They're considered bad omens, reduced to begging for food and forbidden to remarry—at least according to Hindu tradition, if not the law. Also living in the widows' house is the beautiful Kalyani (Lisa Ray), who is prostituted to the Brahmin gentry across the river by the greedy old widow who runs the ashram. Chuyia and Kalyani become fast friends, and there are a lot of laughs and tender exchanges that shine through the web of oppressive custom, selfishness, conflicted faith and star-crossed romance. PG-13. BECKY OHLSEN.Fox Tower.

The World

[SHORT RUN] Written and directed by Jia Zhangke and set in a Beijing theme park, The World is a multilayered character study that, for lack of a better comparison, recalls the work of Robert Altman. Diverse characters cross paths, their hopes and desires mingling and clashing at World Park, an amusement park that re-creates various cities from all over the globe (think Epcot). Barely in his 30s, and with only a handful of credits to his name, Zhangke displays a profound talent that eludes most filmmakers twice his age with significantly longer filmographies. NR. DAVID WALKER. Whitsell Auditorium, 1219 SW Park Ave., 221-1156. 7 pm Friday-Saturday, May 26-27. $4-$7.