Our two top choices this week are French: Claire Denis' "Friday Night" concerns a lonely woman finding her way through Paris, and Patrice Leconte’s "Man on the Train" loses himself in a small town in the French Alps.
1. Friday Night
Half of Claire Denis' hypnotic movie is spent in traffic, the other half in bed. Based on a novel by Emmanuelle Bernheim, the story follows the self-discovery of a woman (Valerie Lemercier) over the course of a single rainy Paris night.
2. Man On The Train
Jean Rochefort and Johnny Hallyday play an odd couple in this sly yet powerful drama about a retired teacher who puts up a bank robber. Winner of the Audience Award for Best Film in Venice.
3. The Legend Of Suriyothai
At two-and-a-half hours, this historical epic from Thailand has been compressed from its original running time. See it for the costumes and the elephants. Directed by Chatrichalerm Yukol.4. Marooned in Iraq
From Bahman Ghobadi, the director of "A Time For Drunken Horses," comes an Iranian musical.5. Dead or Alive Trilogy
The complete gonzo gangster trilogy from Japan's master of action movie madness Takashi Miike: "Dead or Alive" (1999), "Dead or Alive" (2000), and "Dead or Alive: Final" (2002). Starring Sho Aikawa and Riki Takeuchi and released by Kino.