by MATTHEW HAYS, KEVIN LAFOREST and MARK SLUTSKY

My Architect: A Son's Journey Don't be put off by the basic one-line description of this documentary, which sounds rather grim. In fact, this is one of the best movies of the year. Director Nathaniel Kahn explores the life of his father, the famous architect Louis I. Kahn, who died in '74. At poppa's funeral, his son would learn that the elder architect had three families going at once, none of which knew about the others. My Architect left me emotionally shattered; it is, at once, a stunning tribute to Nathaniel's father and an indictment of him and his negligence and dishonesty as a father and spouse. But meanwhile, Nathaniel also goes to great lengths to tour his father's buildings. This is the other astonishing aspect of the film, as the man confronts many of his father's most vehement critics, as well as those who worked with him and found him too ambitious and success obsessed. My Architect draws us into the inescapably emotionally wrenching territory of strained child-parent relations, while also managing to reflect on issues like art, the creative process and humanity. Standouts include the tour of Bangladesh's parliament building (which makes for the film's climax) as well as a tour of a boat that Kahn designed as a floating concert hall. Anyone remotely interested in architecture must see this film - it includes interviews with such icons as Moshe Safdie and Frank Gehry - but that recommendation goes for anyone at all. A fascinating and beautiful achievement, My Architect was a hit at the Montreal Jewish Film Fest where it premiered earlier this month. (MH)

Nói Albinói Set in a small, desolate village in Iceland's West Fjords country, Nói Albinói is a story of teen alienation, though it avoids a lot of the clichés of the genre. For one, the title character (played by Tómas Lemarquis) is hardly the only alienated character in the movie. Pretty much everybody else in his village, from his drunk, despairing father to his cryptically silent grandmother to the exasperated staff at his school, seems to be suffering in wintry isolation. Shot on digital video, the movie captures the empty beauty of the country very well, with tiny, homey interiors contrasting with the blindingly white snow-blown mountain terrain that seem to completely dwarf the characters. Lemarquis, bald and skinny, is an obviously bright teen who frustrates everyone around him with his seeming apathy - meeting a pretty city girl, Íris (Elín Hansdóttir), his aloofness seems to melt away, but what next? Funny and moving, Nói is a quiet charmer. (MS)

Le bonheur c'est une chanson triste Our heroine Anne-Marie is a successful thirtysomething publicist who drops everything on a whim to wander through a hot Montreal summer with a mini DV camera asking passers-by what happiness means to them. Some people willingly open up to her, others clam up, but in every case Anne-Marie feels she's connecting with them in a way she didn't in her previous life and she's inspired to pursue her survey.

One could make an interesting film out of this simple premise, but writer-producer-director François Delisle fails to do so. This is obviously a personal project, inspired by his own experience of asking random people on the street what makes them happy, but the final product is a pretentious movie full of empty film school flourishes and existential self-indulgences.

Thankfully, the extraordinary actress Anne-Marie Cadieux and the haunting music of Ève Cournoyer provide moments of true vulnerability and emotion, culminating in a wonderful scene in which Cadieux sings along to Cournoyer's "Aujourd'hui." Overall, though, Le bonheur c'est une chanson triste is a self-indulgent bore. (KL)

Women and the Silent Screen Concordia University is hosting this congress, the very first of its kind, in which the roles of women in silent movies will be explored in depth. Film studies profs Catherine Russell and Rosanna Maule have assembled a broad range of speakers from around the world, including Zhang Zhen, Giuliana Muscio and Kay Armatage. History buffs will also appreciate the screening lineup, which includes a projection of A Fool and His Money (1912), the first ever American fiction film that starred an all-African-American cast. (And notably, directed by a woman, Alice Guy Blaché). The film stars vaudeville and minstrel star James Russell, aka. the Cakewalk King, and involves one young woman who is courted by two men, one rich, the other poor. Women and the Silent Screen will also show Piccadilly (1929), which stars the first internationally acclaimed Asian-American female movie star, Anna May Wong. The congress takes place from June 2-6. A full programme can be found at http://cinema.concordia.ca/wscreen/ (MH)

The Rage in Placid Lake Here's another little Aussie oddity, but before you get your hopes up - and any film from Down Under is usually worth its weight in gold - I've got to burst your bubble and say this one doesn't really work. It's entirely quirky, and here's to that, but the film meanders along in a manner that's less pleasing then just flat out irritating. In writer-director Tony McNamara's feature, Ben Lee stars as Placid Lake, a high school student who is brutally beaten up for being an outsider by class bullies. After graduating, he decides to become a complete conformist in order to deflect any future criticism, much to the horror of his artsy parents. Aussies often have a knack for this sort of thing, from the sublime The Year My Voice Broke and its sequel Flirting to the magnificent Muriel's Wedding - you know, films where young people find their place in a cruel, often intensely oppressive world. But where those films felt natural, The Rage in Placid Lake feels forced. A real pity. (MH)

My Architect: A Son's Journey, NÓi AlbinÓi, Le bonheur c'est une chanson triste and The Rage in Placid Lake open Friday, May 28

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