The Fog of War and Peace

Speaking of atrocities, Sebastian Dehnhardt's three-hour documentary "Stalingrad," originally produced for German television, tells the story of the terrible World War II battle and siege in excruciating detail. Yes, war is indeed hell, and if you want to know exactly why, "Stalingrad" is as good a place as any to find out.

With its matter-of-fact presentation of a high school shooting, Gus van Sant's "Elephant" did not do much to lift the mood. Arriving with laurels from the Cannes Festival, the film seemed to meet with skepticism in New York. Devoid of solutions or even attempts at answers, "Elephant" illustrates what we already knew from the tabloids, but fails to illuminate.

Another thoroughly depressing experience, Barbara Albert's "Free Radicals" traces the impact of a freak accident on the lives of a community of Austrians. Steeped in pop science and chaos theory (including on-screen lectures about fractals), Alberts attempts to make dramatize the theories-- a butterfly literally beats its wings in a South American jungle, and tragedy ensues. But her narrative falters when the main character, who survives a terrible airplane crash in the opening scene is dispatched twenty minutes later in a gruesome car accident. Minor characters take her place, further suffering and tragedy follow, but the audience is left behind.

More convincingly (but, alas, no more uplifting), Marco Bellocchio's "Good Morning, Night" relives the Aldo Moro affair that shook Italy in 1978. Maya Sansa plays one of the Red Brigade terrorists who kidnapped the President (Roberto Herlitzka), only to doubt her own convictions. Bellcchio's look at the inside of good intentions gone terribly wrong is mature and profoundly affecting. Good intentions and their consequences also lie at the heart of  Julie Bertuccelli's "Since Otar Left," a quiet French film that only yields its bountiful rewards at the end.

Even though many of its major stars have moved to Hollywood, Hong Kong action cinema is alive and well. The sun never comes up in Johnny To's "PTU," the night-long story of three police units and their competing ethics. Fresh situations, haunting long takes, and a final showdown that is much more interesting than anything in Tarantino's "Kill Bill" make this film one of the more purely enjoyable flicks of the festival.