Lawrence Van Gelder

As skillfully written and directed by Jia Zhang Ke, a product of the Beijing Film Academy who uses a nonprofessional cast, the cool-eyed Xiao Wu appears to be more than a relatively nonjudgmental portrait of an emotionally repressed young thief turned against the weight of conformity.

Experience filmgoing joy.

A fine and loving memorial that preserves his charm, his intellect and his splendid body of work.

At once admirable and deeply unsettling.

Propelled by a captivating, wrenching performance by Karine Vanasse as Hanna, a 13-year-old girl adrift in a sea of powerful emotions in Montreal in 1963.

Mysterious, poetic and allusive, The Werckmeister Harmonies beckons filmgoers who complain of the vapidity of Hollywood movie making and yearn for a film to ponder and debate.

Quite simply a treat for the ear.

Mr. Gast skillfully blends photographs, celebrity interviews with Norman Mailer and others, and colorful forays into the Zairian countryside, where Ali fostered black brotherhood and became a huge favorite, in a film that ''gazes well beyond the ring and seeks engagement with history''.

Yakusho and Ms. Shimizu deliver unerring performances in a splendid film that harvests hope from a bleak landscape.

Brims with understanding of the complexities of relationships, the frailties of humankind and the possibilities of joy.