anguage of choice for the heroine (she doesn't speak or understand French). Pauline and Paulette is the kind of honest story about a mentally challenged person that Hollywood never seems to get right. This modest film, one without grandiose aims, hasn't one false note. All first-time director and co-writer Lieven Debrauwer does is tell the simple universal story about Pauline and her relationship with her three elderly sisters without unneeded embellishments. She is a sweet-natured but stubborn and childishly demanding 66-year-old woman with a severe mental handicap, who needs constant supervision. When she says "Don't want to," you've got a problem because she turns into a pest who must get her own way. The actress who plays her, is one of Belgium's outstanding veteran actresses, Dora van der Groen. Her convincing performance is simply magnificent. Jaak Boon was the co-screenwriter, whose contributions aided in producing a rich script that avoids being either sentimental or sugary. The film cruises along at just the right speed and its length of 78 minutes is not loaded down with any superfluous moments, as it arrives at a wonderfully appropriate bittersweet conclusion. –Dennis Schwartz, http://www.sover.net/~ozus/  Won the Golden Pyramid at the 2001 Cairo International Film Festival.  Directed by Lieven Debrauwer, 2001, Belgium, 78 minutes.  In Flemish with English subtitles.

Jindabyne

Friday, February 8, 2008 @ 7 p.m.

Food Sponsor: F4 film committee and Friends of the Library

With its subdued emotional tone and superbly subtle performances, Jindabyne is the kind of film you have to be in the right mood for. If you get onto its low-key but ultimately powerful wavelength, you'll find much to admire in this Australian adaptation of Raymond Carver's short story "So Much Water So Close to Home." The same story was previously adapted as a segment of Robert Altman's Short Cuts, but here it's been given a decidedly indigenous spin, focusing on the emotional fallout that occurs when four men discover the half-naked body of a 19-year-old Aboriginal woman while fishing in a remote river near their home town of Jindabyne, on the border of outback country in New South Wales. Stewart was the one who discovered the body on a sunny Friday afternoon, but he and his buddies didn't report their discovery until two days later, resulting in a local news scandal and deep resentments from the Aboriginal locals. Worse yet, the incident dredges up a storm of emotions in Stewart's wife, Claire, who's still recovering from a marital separation and post-partum depression following the birth of their young son. Simmering guilt, familial tensions, and strained friendships threaten to tear these residents of Jindabyne apart, and director Ray Lawrence does a remarkable job of exploring mysteries of human behavior that are slowly resolved as the drama unfolds. Jindabyne is not the kind of film one watches for light entertainment--its deliberate pacing and deep-rooted themes must be appreciated with careful attention--but it's a mature and richly observant study of people in crisis, whether they're aware of it or not, or even ready to admit it. --Jeff Shannon, www.amazon.com  Won the 2006 FIPRESCI Prize for Best Film at the Stockholm Film Festival.  Directed by Ray Lawrence, 2006, Australia, 123 minutes.  In English with English subtitles.

The Dinner Game
Friday, March 14, 2008 @ 7 p.m.
Food Sponsor: F4 film committee

French farce as it's rarely done these days -- well. The Dinner Game presents the straightforward tale of a wealthy publisher who attends a weekly "idiot dinner," with the prize going to the guest who brings with him the biggest fool. Pierre is sure he's going to win with François -- only they never actually make it to the dinner because Pierre hurts his back. The idiot becomes an unwanted guest in his home, and before we know it, Pierre's life is almost ruined thanks to François's stupidity and naïveté. There's a moral to the story that I won't ruin, but The Dinner Game is raucously funny despite its smallness. An excellent way to spend a free hour and change.  --Christopher Null, www.filmcritic.com.  Won the 1999 Lumière Award for Best Actor and Screenplay at the Lumière Awards in France.  Directed by Francis Veber, 1999, France, 80 minutes.  In French with English subtitles.

All films are shown at the Guntersville Public Library, 1240 O’Brig Ave. in Guntersville, Alabama.

For more information: (256) 571-7595