Kinshasa Kids

Marc Henri Wajnberg's Kinshasa Kids (Congo, 2012) - Perhaps the most ebullient “musical” you’ll see this year, Marc-Henri Wajnberg’s singular documentary/fiction hybrid follows a group of street kids—kicked out of their homes for being “witch children”—in the titular Congolese capital. These ever-resourceful youngsters decide to form a band and team up with Bebson, an eccentric impresario and one-time recording star; he’s just one of many unforgettable adults who, whether as informal instructors, fellow musicians, or menacing pursuers, impact the lives of these indefatigable tykes. Completely devoid of sentimentality and condescension, KINSASHA KIDS celebrates and honors both the resilience of its young protagonists and the chaotic city in which they live. 2012NYFF, 2012TOR. RATING: 5

The Ape

Jesper Ganslandt's The Ape (Sweden, 2009) - The Swedish experimental thriller “The Ape” follows its central character so closely and relentlessly that the film’s outside locations feel just as confining as in “Lebanon.” The first thirty minutes are excruciatingly opaque: We see a man washing blood from his body, and then follow him through random acts, riding his bicycle, working as a driving instructor, playing tennis, while brief signs of guilt and fury slowly emerge. When the first plot-twist finally emerges, it’s predictable, but what follows really sets the story in motion (think “The Road,” of fathers and sons). Better as it goes along, “The Ape” vaguely recalls the Dardennes, with an intriguing pay-off for the most patient of viewers and a subtly harrowing message about man’s inhumanity. 2009TOR. RATING: 5.

Blancanieves

Pablo Berger's Blancanieves (Spain, 2012) - 2012SANSic Jury Prize and Best Actress (Macaraena Garcia) winner. a mute black and white new version of the tale of Snow White set in the Andalusia of the 20s with Maribel Verdú, Angela Molina and Daniel Giménez Cacho. / This year's crowded field of Snow White movies has a winner, at least in terms of quality, in Pablo Berger's delightful "Blancanieves." Conceived as an homage to silent cinema, with black-and-white lensing and no spoken dialogue, the film may strike some as having a tad more emotional heft than the similarly constructed "The Artist." The success of that French charmer may whet the appetites of niche auds for more of the same, making this very Spanish take on the fairy tale a strong contender for specialty distribution worldwide. 2012SANSic, 2012TOR, 2013OE. RATING: 7.

Taken 2

Olivier Megaton's Taken 2 (US, 2012) - The “Hey - wait a minute’s” set in well before the closing credits roll, but while it’s unspooling, Taken 2 hangs together slickly enough to provide an entertaining, action-packed slice of distraction. Working with co-screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen, Luc Besson reinforces his supremacy as filmdom’s leading employer of actors who look like non-Western thugs, while director Olivier Megaton puts a preternaturally assured yet feeling-his-age Liam Neeson through his mellow-yet-lethal paces as Bryan Mills, the guy whose “skill set” is bad news for bad guys. RATING: 7.

Pluto (1912)

MUST SEE: Shin Suwon's Pluto (South Korea, 2012) - Arguably one of the strongest films at this year’s Busan Film Festival thus far, Pluto, is a stupendous feature that is likely to make its impression felt on the festival market, while it also has some potential for further distribution. After winning an award in Cannes this year for her short Circle Line where she received the Canal+ Prize, Shin Suwon has established a name in the industry for her talent, which is now further strengthened by this excellent feature. Shin who was a middle school teacher before she became a filmmaker explores the competitive nature of the Korean education system through a compelling narrative that weaves between past and present as it tells the story of a student who is forced to conduct a number of cruel tasks in order to enter an exclusive club at a prestigious school. 2012BUS, 2013BERg. RATING: 8. 

The Assassins (2012)

COMING SOON: Zhao Linshan's The Assassins (China, 2012) - Chow Yun-fat has been ageing gracefully in the past decade, and the Hong Kong star once again lends his bearded imperial impression to the generically titled The Assassins, the latest in a long line of movies that took a chapter out of the transitional period (around 220 AD) between China’s Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era, which is known throughout the Chinese-speaking world with its romanticised version, the classic novel Romance of the Three Kingdom, and its countless screen adaptations, with John Woo’s two-part Red Cliff among the most notable.

Almost 18

Maarit Lalli's Almost 18 (Finland, 2012) - There were five of us guys. We stuck together through thick and thin—most of the time. I think we all had normal families. Normal problems. Normal feelings. Nothing we couldn't overcome. And then one year, for some reason, everything started going really wrong. RATING: 7.