by MATTHEW HAYS

In a perfect bit of Oscar serendipity, this week of the awards is marked by the big-screen re-release of The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz. That '74 film scored an Oscar nomination for best adapted screenplay, and was seen as a landmark.

Indeed, the movie, an adaptation of Mordecai Richler's semi-autobiographical novel about coming of age Jewish in Montreal, stands the test of time. Director Ted Kotcheff allows Richard Dreyfuss to go crazy in a manic performance; his turn allows for a cool mix of audience disdain and sympathy. (In other noteworthy performances, look for Micheline Lanctôt, Randy Quaid, Denholm Elliott and Joe Silver.) Like the book, this film is hilarious and evocative of the time and place it came from. Don't miss the opportunity to see this classic on the big screen again. Kudos to the Cinematheque Ontario, which arranged for this film to be distributed once more across Canada. The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz opens Saturday, Feb. 28, at the Cinéma du Parc, but only screens for four nights, until Tuesday, March 2. Also well worth seeing is the '85 Kotcheff-Richler follow-up collaboration, Joshua Then and Now, a film that didn't do nearly as well at the box office but is a lively soap-opera-esque feature, full of fantastic performances by the likes of James Woods, Alan Arkin, Linda Sorensen and Michael Sarrazin.

Another note on the Oscar front: I know we're all supposed to cheer for the home team, and this Sunday we're supposed to have our fingers and toes crossed for Barbarian Invasions director Denys Arcand. (This is his third nomination, so for the record, we are rooting for him.) But hey, what the hell happened with Osama? The film won a Golden Globe for best foreign-language film and didn't even manage to snag an Oscar nomination. Having seen the film - now playing at Ex-Centris with French sub-titles and opening this Friday, Feb. 27 at the Parc with English sub-titles - I can attest to the fact that it's incredibly moving. It recounts the tale of a desperate woman and her daughter who, under Taliban law, cannot leave their home without a male escort. They face a choice: either starve, or the little girl can pose as a young boy so she can go out and get food for them (her new name becomes Osama). It's heartwrenching, and the filmmakers certainly use every manipulative tool in the book, but it does feel accurate. The very fact that the Taliban regime was this repressive lends the film a sense of realism, making it all the more shocking and disturbing. Brace yourself, but don't miss Osama.

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