by MATTHEW HAYS and SARAH ROWLAND

L’Enfant

Belgium bros Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne more than earn their opening slot at this year’s fest. Their gripping masterpiece follows a young street-entrenched couple, who have very different ideas about child-rearing. Beautiful newcomer Déborah François (think Bridget Hall meets Julie Delpy) gives a stellar debut performance as a kid with a kid. Jérémie Renier is equally impressive as a dumb and desperate hustler who sells his newborn on the black market, thinking he and his girlfriend can simply pump out another baby. He learns the hard way how wrong he is. (SR) At the Impérial, Thursday, Oct. 13, 9:45 p.m. and at Ex-Centris Friday, Oct. 14, 9:40 p.m.

Capote

The main reason people are talking about this film is the singular performance of Philip Seymour Hoffman. But the entire feature, directed by newcomer Bennett Miller, deserves praise. Shot in Winnipeg, Capote captures, in delicious, devastating detail, how the late, flamboyant scribe Truman Capote used his charms to manipulate the full story of the 1959 brutal murder of a rural family out of townsfolk and, ultimately, one of the murderers himself. Captivating and disturbing, the film theorizes that Capote’s own exploitation of this murderer haunted the author of In Cold Blood—and that in turn triggered his descent into fatal alcoholism. (MH) At Ex-Centris Saturday, Oct. 15, 9 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 16, 3:30 p.m.

Montreal Main

In a tribute to the 100th birthday of our beloved St-Laurent, the festival is sensibly screening Frank Vitale’s landmark 1974 film Montreal Main. A truly unique achievement, this ensemble film has a number of characters navigate their way through a delightfully seedy boulevard of dreams. The central relationship is between a young gay man and an older photographer. Co-written by Allan Moyle, who would bring us the equally important independent feature The Rubber Gun in 1978. (MH) Frank Vitale will present at Ex-Centris Friday, Oct. 21, 9:20 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 23, 3:20 p.m.

05/06: The Sixth of May

This is the last film that Theo van Gogh (yes, there is a relation) completed before he was stabbed and shot to death by an Islamic extremist for making Submission, a TV movie that explores violence against women in Muslim communities. Although somewhat muddled, The Sixth of May is an intriguing political thriller that recounts the assassination of Pim Fortuyn, an openly racist Dutch presidential hopeful. It may not be perfect viewing, but it’s full of the kind of irony that only a posthumous release can possess. (SR) At the Impérial Sunday, Oct. 16, 3:15 p.m., and at Ex-Centris Wednesday, Oct. 19, 3:20 p.m.

Manderlay

Shot like a video-taped stage play, Lars von Trier’s latest U.S. challenge is about a gangster princess who wants to right the wrongs of the Southern man by taking over a plantation at gunpoint. Her heroic efforts to emancipate the misguided slaves are, not surprisingly, overshadowed by her all-American ignorance and hypocrisy. Dogma fans will not be disappointed: The great Dane is truly on top of his game here. (SR) At Impérial Monday, Oct. 17, 9:10 p.m., at Ex-Centris Tuesday, Oct. 18, 9:40 p.m., and at Concordia 1 Saturday, Oct. 22, 9 p.m.

Sisters in Law

Directors Kim Longinotto and Florence Ayisi take us inside the justice system of the Kumba, Cameroon family court, where prosecutor Vera Ngassa and judge Beatrice Ntuba show no mercy toward dated misogynistic traditions. In two landmark cases, we see the first men in the history of Kumba to be charged, convicted and punished for domestic violence. We also see a heartbreaking child-abuse case, in which a six-year-old girl is left with a multitude of physical and emotional scars. But don’t let that scare you off—this is a truly inspiring documentary. (SR) At Ex-Centris Friday, Oct. 14, 7:20 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 15, 3:40 p.m.

Mila From Mars

Mila is a fully preggers goth punk on the lam from her wife-beating old man. With nowhere else to go, she takes shelter in a bombed-out Bulgarian village where only a handful of senior citizen potheads remain. Since most of them are dying to share their war stories with a fresh pair of ears, they eagerly take her in. Yes, these bluehairs are feisty, bull-headed and overly opinionated, but director Zornitsa Sophia avoids any Estelle Getty clichés by imbuing unexpected dimensions to every one of these lonely semi-senile souls. (SR) At Ex-Centris Thursday, Oct. 20, 7 p.m., and Friday, Oct. 21, 5 p.m.

>> Movie Listings