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31st ATLANTA FILM FESTIVAL

20 must-see movies from film festival

By BOB LONGINO

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 04/20/2007

So many movies. So many chances to see a good film. You need a scorecard to navigate the 31st annual Atlanta Film Festival, which began Thursday night with a screening of the compelling documentary "The Last Days of Left Eye," and continues through April 28 with more than 150 other full-length features, documentaries and shorts.

Here are 20 movies you shouldn't miss, ranked in order of preference. All will be screened at Landmark's Midtown Art Cinema.

1. "Darius Goes West: The Roll of His Life" — This moving documentary virtually assures you'll get emotionally caught up in the revel of Darius Weems, an Athens teen suffering from muscular dystrophy who travels for the first time beyond Clarke County on a cross-country trip with 11 friends. 7:15 tonight and 2:30 p.m. Monday.

2. "Killer of Sheep" — Director Charles Burnett's 1977 neorealist masterpiece looks deeply into African-American life at society's edge and resonates with the filmmaking verve of classics such as "The Bicycle Thief." The film will also have a theatrical run at the Landmark starting May 4. 3:30 p.m. Sunday.

3. "Away From Her" — Actress Sarah Polley ("The Sweet Hereafter") writes and directs this fascinating, mature study of a husband and wife (a radiant Julie Christie in an Oscar-worthy performance) grappling with the mental destruction of Alzheimer's. The film also arrives in Atlanta theaters May 11. 8:30 p.m. Saturday.

4. "The Last Days of Left Eye" — The fest's opening-night wonder, a concise and revealing documentary about the final month in the life of TLC's Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, gets an encore screening. 7:15 p.m. Wednesday.

5. "Blue Blood" — A tightly wound documentary following the Oxford University elite as they prepare to battle rivals from Cambridge in a long-held tradition: winners-take-all-the-pride boxing matches. 8:30 p.m. Saturday and 12:45 p.m. Monday.

6. "Milk in the Land" — The questionable politics and ad campaigns of milk and milk production are brazenly distilled and revealed in this documentary, providing an unsettling look at our nation's most basic health drink. 2:15 p.m. Sunday and 12:45 p.m. Wednesday.

7. "La Vie en Rose" — Marion Cotillard (most recently seen opposite Russell Crowe in "A Good Year") rocks the screen in this prickly and distinctive biopic on legendary singer Edith Piaf. The film is also expected to arrive in Atlanta theaters June 22. 7 p.m. Thursday.

8. "The Killer Within" — The recent tragedy of shooting deaths at Virginia Tech elevates the importance of this documentary that explores the real-life Columbine-style shootings a half-century ago at Swarthmore College. 6:30 p.m. Saturday and noon Thursday.

9. "Soldiers of Conscience" — Georgian Kevin Benderman is one of several ex-soldiers in this revealing documentary about troops in Iraq who take the hard road of becoming conscientious objectors. Noon Sunday and 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

10. "Crazy Love" — He loves her. He loves her so much. He may love her too much. As wild as any current tabloid affair, this documentary follows real-life twosome Burt Pugach and Linda Riss through decades of their bizarre, often unsettling relationship. The film is also expected to arrive in Atlanta theaters June 1. 9:30 p.m. April 27.

11. "The Blood of the Yingzhou District" — This year's Oscar winner for documentary short takes a quick and devastating look at orphans and others in an AIDS epidemic in rural China. 12:15 p.m. Saturday.

12. "Rocket Science" — "Spellbound" director Jeffrey Blitz takes a feature-film turn with this decidedly indie story about a stuttering teen (Reece Thompson) seeking love and acceptance through his school's debate team. 7:15 p.m. April 27.

13. "The Hip Hop Project" — In director Matt Ruskin's heartfelt documentary, Virgin Islands-born rapper Doug E. Fresh leads an art program, inspiring New York City youth to rap about their personal discoveries. The film also opens in Atlanta theaters May 11. 10:30 p.m. Tuesday.

14. "The King and the Clown" — A gigantic box office hit in its native South Korea, this historical drama involves an androgynous street performer and the country's ultimate ruler, who develops affection for him. 9 p.m. Wednesday.

15. "Hamilton" — OK, so this film with a modern-day family in Maryland maneuvering through two summer days has no plot. Literally. But its cinematography is near-brilliant. 7:15 p.m. Saturday and noon Tuesday.

16. "Johan" — Atlanta mainstream audiences love romantic comedies. So here's a good one from the Netherlands involving a soccer-mad brood of siblings, their misfit brother who wants to be a music star, the beautiful lass who lives next door and plenty of love complications. 12:15 p.m. Saturday.

17. "Ghosts of Cite Soleil" — A slightly flawed but eye-opening documentary about gang members in Haiti's most notorious slum who claimed to be part of a secret army for President Aristide before his departure in 2004. 7:15 p.m. Monday.

18. "Great World of Sound" — Writer-director Craig Zobel, who earlier worked on the acclaimed indie drama "George Washington," has made a somewhat quiet, affecting drama about con artists in the record business. 4:30 p.m. Sunday and Tuesday.

19. "Kamp Katrina" — Harsh life in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans is shown in vivid detail in this documentary about a woman who opens her home and yard to others displaced by the storm. 9 tonight and 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.

20. "The Third Monday in October" — Students at Atlanta's Inman Middle School are part of this docu following kids at four schools nationwide competing for student-body office. Local filmmaker and Oscar winner Tracy Seretean ("Big Mama") oversaw the Atlanta filming. 4:15 p.m. Saturday and 5 p.m. Wednesday.

— Bob Longino