by MATTHEW HAYS and SARAH ROWLAND

Along with our critics’ picks, the last four days of FNC has plenty to offer. Aspiring (and desperately broke) filmmakers should consider signing up for Don McKellar’s master class on how to make short films for, and with, cell phones (Thursday, Oct. 20). And fans of historical biopics might want to check out the ongoing retrospective of Russian great Alexandre Sokourov, in particular his latest The Sun. This Emperor Hirohito epic is the third installment of Sokourov’s series on political figures who held “ultimate power.” The first was the controversial humanized portrait of Hitler (1999’s Moloch), followed by his tribute to Lenin (2000’s Taurus).

There are also a number of noteworthy documentaries unreeling this year. If you have the stomach for self-inflicted mutilation, there’s a screening of Greg Jacobson and Jason Gary’s Modify Thursday, Oct. 20. Don’t expect any sexy little nipple piercings here. This is a serious look at America’s extreme body modifiers—think tongue splitting, elective amputation and the like.

Water

The third and final in Deepa Mehta’s trilogy is perhaps the most powerful. Set in 1939, the film tells the story of one widow (Lisa Ray) as she attempts to deal with her third-class status in India. Ray is forced into a life of prostitution, until she meets a young idealist (John Abraham) who is a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi. Mehta’s critique of Indian tradition has seen massive protest, with the film’s set being burned down in India, a move that halted production until the shoot was resurrected clandestinely in Sri Lanka. Gorgeously shot, Water was well worth the wait. (MH) At the Impérial on Friday, Oct. 21, 7 p.m.

Tideland

Okay, so Monty Python alum Terry Gilliam has gone completely off the rails. Tideland is one of the looniest films I’ve seen—ever. Here, a young girl (Jodelle Ferland) helps mommy and daddy (Jennifer Tilly and Jeff Bridges) to shoot up, feeding their heroin habit. When mom kicks off, dad and daughter head off to grandma’s place, a dilapidated house on the prairies. Things keep getting stranger from there. There were numerous walkouts when this entry screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, but I’ve gotta say, Tideland is an entirely unforgettable experience, if a not entirely pleasant one. Tilly delivers a particularly hilarious, overwrought performance as an addict, apparently channelling Courtney Love. (MH) At the Impérial on Thursday, Oct. 20, 9:30 p.m.

Breakfast on Pluto

Proving that he has a lot more to offer as an actor than playing stock Hollywood villains, Cillian Murphy returns to his Irish roots in Neil Jordan’s latest. Here, Cillian delivers the performance of a lifetime as Kitten, a naïve cross-dressing orphan who leaves Ireland for London in search of his biological mother. Though it’s set in the ’70s during the peak of IRA hysteria, and Stephen Rea has a substantial role as Kitten’s love interest, this is not The Crying Game 2. It’s more like a feel-good Butcher Boy. (SR) At Concordia 2 on Saturday, Oct. 22, 9 p.m., and at Ex-Centris on Sunday, Oct. 23, 7:10 p.m.

Romance & Cigarettes

In John Turturro musical comedy, Susan Sarandon proves she can’t carry a note to save her life, and James Gandolfini proves that he’s surprisingly light in his loafers. Trading in his Mafioso persona for a hard hat, the Soprano star plays a working-class New Yorker whose family turns on him after they find out about his extramarital affair with a red-headed harlot (Kate Winslet). Perhaps not as funny as they’re intended to be, the song and dance numbers are highly entertaining just the same. And despite both leads giving strong performances, it’s Winslet that steals every scene as the foul-mouthed temptress. (SR) At Ex-Centris on Saturday, Oct. 22, 5:45 p.m.

Yaji and Kita: The Midnight Pilgrims

Two gay lovers from early 19th-century Japan set out on a road-trip to find a cure for Kita’s drug addiction. Along the way, they spill in and out of different historical eras, parody cult classics and switch genres from scene to scene. Yes, it’s beyond ridiculous, but there’s not a single frame of predictability here—the kind of film that makes you laugh out loud despite your better judgment. So if you’re thinking this is what Bill & Ted would be like if they were Japanese homos on heroin, you’d be right. (SR) At Ex-Centris on Thursday, Oct. 20, 5:20 p.m.

FESTIVAL DU NOUVEAU CINÉMA runS UNTIL SUNDAY, OCT. 23. FOR MORE INFO, CALL 844-2172 OR go to WWW.NOUVEAUCINEMA.CA

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