But first, a few words about other film critics. Many people – including you – may judge a film’s merits by what your local movie critic says on the day the picture is released. Here is why you shouldn’t: I attended about 35 screenings for press members all over the world and was appalled at what I saw. An alarming number of press members arrive late. I’m not talking about two or three minutes late – which would be bad enough – but some were 30 and 40 minutes late and more (despite the festival rule of not admitting people after the fifteen-minute mark). And as many left early as came late.

My reason for mentioning this is two-fold. First, to let you know that your seemingly friendly newspaper/radio/television critic may have only actually seen the middle twenty minutes of a particular film and is now passing judgment on it. Secondly, they were continually in my way, blocking subtitles and important descriptions at the beginning of some films.

After screenings, the hallways of the theater were blocked with these cell-phone-toting dunderheads, making exiting near impossible. They also seemed unsure whether to like or dislike a film until they discussed it at length (and at the top of their lungs) with other critics. It’s almost like they’re afraid to form an opinion of their own and would be embarrassed to praise a film that others did not. And don’t get me started on the ones that don’t wash their hands after making Number 2. I don’t think one guy even wiped.

Mind you, this refers to a small portion of critics (about 15-20 percent). I show up 30 minutes early and stay through the closing credits. If a film is so bad that I get up and leave, you can bet that I’m going to tell you about it. If I leave the theater for any reason (like to take a phone call from a hair-plug clinic, which I think may have been happening a lot in Toronto), it will be in my review. And I always wash my hands and wipe. In fact, my doctor says I may wipe too much. Thank you.

Now on to the films…

FILMS FEATURING YOUNG, UNMARRIED, PREGNANT GIRLS:

Felicia’s Journey – Atom Egoyan’s follow-up to the double Oscar nominee The Sweet Hereafter is another adaptation of a dark novel. Here, a naïve, young, unmarried, pregnant Irish girl tries to track down her boyfriend/father of her child in England. She meets a kindly, older gentleman (Bob Hoskins) with a bit of a sinister side. I expected more after the praise heaped on this film at the Cannes festival.

Ride With the Devil – Ang Lee (The Ice Storm) takes us back to the Civil War in this gorgeous drama about Missouri Bushwhackers fighting against the Union-supporting Jayhawks. Tobey Maguire and Skeet Ulrich star alongside pop-superstar Jewel, who plays a young, unmarried, pregnant girl. The film will be the cinematic equivalent of a nocturnal emission for both those creepy guys that reenact the war on weekends and those that might enjoy watching Jewel breastfeed an infant.

Sunshine – This lovely film tells the story of a family of Hungarian Jews from the late 1800s through the 1960s. Ralph Fiennes plays three different characters in the three generations, each of which last one hour - making this film three hours long. Whoops, I almost forgot – Ralph’s first character knocks up his cousin, creating yet another young, unmarried, pregnant girl.

julien donkey-boy – Dogme 6 – The combination of director Harmony Korine (Gummo) and the strict film aesthetic of Dogme result in a hodgepodge of grainy images that make little sense and seem calculated only to disturb. Ewan Bremner (Trainspotting) stars as a retarded kid in a very messed up German family, featuring his young, unmarried, pregnant sister (Chloe Sevigny).

The Cider House Rules – Lasse Hallstrom directed this beautiful big-screen version of John Irving’s novel (Irving wrote the screenplay, too). The film focuses on a boy named Homer (Tobey Maguire), raised in an orphanage by its doctor (Michael Caine), who illegally performs abortions on young, unmarried, pregnant girls. Even when Homer leaves the orphanage to find his fortune, he encounters a young, unmarried, pregnant Erykah Badu.

Splendor – Having completed his "Teen Apocalypse" trilogy, director Gregg Araki describes his latest as "a screwball ‘30s comedy" that features a young, unmarried, pregnant girl with two live-in boyfriends. It’s basically a reversed ‘90s version of Three’s Company, which I think makes it Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place. The film stars Araki’s new squeeze, Kathleen Robertson (Claire from Beverly Hills 90210). And speaking of 90210…

FILMS WITH TIES TO BEVERLY HILLS, 90210:

Boys Don’t Cry – Hilary Swank (remember Carly – Steve’s single-mom girlfriend?) plays Teena Marie Brandon in this true story about the Lincoln, Nebraska teenager. She’s a girl that wants to be a boy, so she Ace-bandages down her boobs, jams a sock down her jeans and moves to a new town as Brandon Teena.

Barenaked in America – Jason Priestley (Brandon) directed this concert film about Canada’s Barenaked Ladies. Again, I didn’t see it. Did I mention it was about the Barenaked Ladies?

The Big Kahuna – A film version of Roger Rueff’s play Hospitality Suite starring L.A. Confidential alumni Kevin Spacey and Danny DeVito as two salesmen (a la David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross). Why am I mentioning it? Because co-star Peter Facinelli is married to Jennie Garth (Kelly) in real life.

Anywhere But Here – Wayne Wang’s latest doesn’t star anyone from 90210, but it is about a mother (Susan Sarandon) and daughter (Natalie Portman) that loaded up the car and moved to Beverly…Hills, that is …from Bay City, Wisconsin. Mom wears her tops too low and her pants too tight, while an embarrassed daughter attends – you guessed it – West Beverly High.

FILMS FEATURING CHARACTERS THAT PRETEND TO BE SOMEONE THEY ARE NOT:

Mumford – This uneven comedy features Loren Dean playing a guy pretending to be a psychiatrist in the small town of Mumford. The strange thing is that the nutjobs in Mumford prefer him to the other two shrinks (David Paymer and Jane Adams). Among his quirky patients are a young lady with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (Hope Davis) and a billionaire with no friends (Jason Lee).

Happy, Texas – Two escaped convicts (Steve Zahn and Jeremy Northam) hijack an RV and pretend to be its real owners. What they don’t know – until it’s too late – is that the real owners are a gay couple on their way to organize the Little Miss Fresh-Squeezed Beauty Pageant. Hilarity ensues, albeit predictably. Tries too hard to be Fargo, isn’t, but is still pretty funny.

The Big Brass Ring – Based on an Orson Welles script, this film focuses on the gubernatorial race in Missouri, which is making headlines because the two front-runners are both Independents. William Hurt stars as one politician with both Presidential ambitions and a very dark past, which includes a flaming Nigel Hawthorne. If this ever makes it to theaters, you should be able to figure the surprise out pretty easily.

Me Myself I – Aussie Rachel Griffiths plays a successful but lonely single journalist that often wonders how different her life would have been if she had accepted Mr. Right’s marriage proposal thirteen years back. One day, she gets hit by a car and is transported to a parallel universe, where she is a married housewife with three kids and must pretend to be a mother and wife. Cute, but further enhanced by Oscar nominee Griffiths performance.

Black & White – James Toback’s (Two Girls and a Guy) latest features Upper East Side New York teens that embrace the whole gangsta rap/hip-hop community. Did I mention that they were rich white kids? Features a surprisingly strong performance from Claudia Schiffer as a brainy college student, and a funny scene between potential future cellmates Robert Downey, Jr. and Mike Tyson, who is also remarkably able.

FILMS WITH CRAZY OLD PEOPLE:

Judy Berlin – The film is about the effects of a total eclipse on the inhabitants of Babylon, Long Island, especially on an aspiring actress (Edie Falco) about to leave for Hollywood and a failed director (Aaron Harnick) just returned from Tinseltown. There is also a crazy old woman who used to be a schoolteacher that returns to her classroom for the eclipse.

1999 Madeleine – A grandiose device from French director Laurent Bouhnik, who calls this film the first in a series of ten (titled 10 ANS/10 FILMS) that he plans on releasing in the next decade. And you thought Dogme sounded crazy. The story focuses on a miserable single woman who, tired of unsuccessful endeavors in personal ads, goes after a married vacuum cleaner salesman. Oh, yeah – and her crazy old mother has Alzheimer’s.

Bullets Over Summer – A hysterical Hong Kong cop caper where a two officers commandeer the apartment of a crazy old woman because she lives directly across the street from an armed robbery suspect. They spend several weeks with the woman, who believes that they are her grandchildren returning home to visit. The cops get caught up in "Granny’s" life and one falls for a young, unmarried, pregnant laundromat employee. Hey, this is in the wrong category!

To Walk with Lions – The true story of two crazy old men (Richard Harris and Ian Bannen) that own and operate Kora, a 500-mile Kenyan reserve used to "rehabilitate" lions from zoos and circuses as they fight off political changes and poachers. Harris is wonderful, as are both Bannen and the beautiful animals, but the film is unfortunately knocked down a peg or two because of the acting styling of John Michie, who plays a tough North Londoner that has recently become employed by the old coots.

The Annihilation of Fish – Lynn Redgrave plays a woman that thinks she’s dating the dead composer Giacomo Puccini. James Earl Jones plays a Jamaican man that occasionally wrestles an invisible demon named Hank. Margot Kidder plays a white-haired landlord obsessed with a weed in her garden. You can take your pick of the old wackos here.

FILMS THAT FEATURE THE BIRTHDAY OF A CENTRAL CHARACTER:

Guinevere – Audrey Wells (The Truth About Cats & Dogs) wrote and directed this sweet story of a May (Sarah Polley) – December (Stephen Rea) romance. She comes from a family of Harvard-educated lawyers and he is a grimy photographer looking for the next in his long line of young, beautiful conquests. Polley’s character ditches her family for the artist when her 21^st birthday goes largely unnoticed.

Breakfast of Champions – Bruce Willis stars in the latest adaptation of the Kurt Vonnegut novel. He plays a used-car salesman and the film opens on his birthday. He’s paranoid, his wife is a lush and then Nick Nolte was in drag. I got up and left. Quickly.

Fever – Alex Winter (the other guy from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure) wrote and directed this dark tale starring Henry Thomas (the kid from E.T.) as a struggling artist with a perpetually high temperature that lives in a seedy building where two murders have taken place. In a pivotal scene during his father’s birthday celebration, H.T. gets up and flees the house only to discover the truth about himself…which I think is that he’s in a silly movie.

FILMS THAT START WITH THE LETTER "A":

American Beauty – Likely to draw comparisons to both The Ice Storm and Happiness (all three are interweaving tales of whacked-out suburban families with major sexual issues), this picture is nothing short of perfection. Kevin Spacey has never been better and Thora Birch is completely amazing. Sam Mendes’ bold direction is technically brilliant, recalling early efforts of Tarantino or P.T. Anderson. Look for this at Oscar time.

Away with Words – I didn’t see much of this film – the directorial debut of Christopher Doyle, the talented cinematographer on Wong Kar-Wai’s pictures. – because the film burned up about 15 minutes into it. It did take place in a dive bar that had a big blue couch which smelled of peacock.

American Movie – A laugh-out-loud documentary that follows an aspiring filmmaker named Mark Borchardt while he attempts to make a slasher-flick called Coven in rural Wisconsin. Mark is one of the most driven people that I have ever witnessed, but watching his life, his friends and his family are enough to make you bust a gut. I sort of felt bad laughing because he was there in the theater. Luckily, you probably won’t have that problem if you see it. This film could not be funnier if it were fiction.

FILMS FEATURING A BIG MUSICAL ELEMENT:

The Legend of 1900 – Giuseppe Tornatore’s (Cinema Paradiso) latest stars Tim Roth who, as a newborn, was left onboard a luxury ship in the Atlantic Ocean. He never set foot off the ship and also learned how to play the piano like a crack fiend on payday. Full of fantastic jazz music, the film is sweet and touching. Chopped down from its original running time of four hours.

Music of the Heart – Horrormeister Wes Craven (Scream) steers his career down a different path with this Meryl Streep vehicle based on the true story of a Harlem music teacher that created a violin program for the school’s youth. The film pushed all of the right buttons, culminating in a big teary-eyed fundraiser to save the program from budget cuts. Just call it Mr. Craven’s Opus.

Sweet and Lowdown – Sean Penn is wonderful as Emmett Ray, a fictional jazz guitarist, in Woody Allen’s latest offering. The pompous Ray, also a pimp and a kleptomaniac, thinks he hung the moon and walks all over everyone he meets, including romantic interests Samantha Morton and Uma Thurman. The film is shot like a documentary and includes interviews with Allen and other jazz aficionados.

FILMS WITH REALLY BAD FATHER FIGURES:

Joe the King – The writing/directorial debut of Frank Whaley (Swimming with Sharks) is a flat story of a young boy growing up in a small Upstate New York town. Much to his embarrassment, Joe’s drunk dad (Val Kilmer) is the janitor at his school, which leads to unending ridicule. It sort of reminded me of a ‘70s version of The Outsiders, only more boring.

The War Zone – Tim Roth’s directorial debut is so disturbing that a guy at my screening completely lost it and started screaming all the way into the lobby where Roth himself tried several times to calm him down. Based on Alexander Stuart's novel, the film tells the story of a British family that is being torn apart by incest. The teens in the film had no acting experience prior to this and are simply amazing – as is the film.

Tumbleweeds – A poor man’s version of Anywhere But Here, but I liked it even more. British thespian Janet McTeer is the mom (capably handling a Southern accent) that runs from bad relationship to worse relationship while her daughter (Kimberly J. Brown) seeks some kind of stability in her life. Tender, funny and more realistic than the Sarandon/Portman flick.

Kikujiro – If this film was about the Holocaust and distributed by Miramax, it would be a sure-fire Oscar contender. Written, directed, edited by and starring Beat Takeshi Kitano (Fireworks), the film is both funnier and more touching than Life is Beautiful. Here, a grouchy middle-aged man must accompany a young boy on a trip to see his mother. When he finds out that the mother abandoned the kid and started a new family, he goes out of his way to make the boy’s life better.

FILMS WITH LOTS OF GUNPLAY:

The Limey – Stephen Soderbergh must have liked the gunplay in Out of Sight because his latest offers just as much. It stars Terence Stamp (Episode One) as the father of a young woman named Jenny that has recently died in a crash on Mulholland Drive. Suspecting foul play - and just released from prison - he heads to La-La Land to represent. His target? Jenny’s last boyfriend, played by Peter Fonda. Great film. Great acting. Good God, let’s eat.

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai – Another director that hadn’t really explored gunplay until his last (real) film is Jim Jarmusch. Here, he weaves the legend of the samurai into the tale of a modern day hit-man, played magnificently by Forest Whitaker. He’s an odd bird, living in a shack on top of an apartment building. He receives orders via carrier pigeon and insists on being paid annually on the 1st of August for the previous year’s work. Did I mention that he kicks ass? Not typical Jarmusch, but still enjoyable.

All the Rage – Probably intended to be a timely film showing the dangers of handguns, but instead it’s just a great cast in a bad film. Andre Braugher, Jeff Daniels, Gary Sinise, Joan Allen, Robert Forster, Josh Brolin and David Schimmer are all wasted in this directorial debut from James D. Stern. Well, maybe not Schwimmer.

Love and Action in Chicago – Another pic about a black hit-man (Courtney B. Vance), but this one makes Dolemite look like an Oscar winner. He’s religious and chooses to abstain from sex as penance for all the killin’ – until he meets Regina King. Co-stars Kathleen Turner, Jason Alexander and Ed Asner, which generally is not a sign of quality. I guess you’ve got to expect an action film starring somebody named "Courtney" to be pretty weak.

Bullets Over Summer – It’s a Hong Kong action film with two cops as the main characters. Of course it’s going to have gunplay.

FILMS FEATURING THE MURDER OF ANIMALS:

Princess Mononoke – This animated hit from Japan has been dubbed into English by the likes of Billy Crudup, Minnie Driver, Claire Danes and Billy Bob Thornton. It’s a 135-minute violent cartoon, which means it can’t attract kids, but it also has a strong pro-environment message, which will bore adults. I guess that leaves a theater full of Dungeons & Dragons zealots. Oh yeah, and a huge wild boar is killed, among other things.

Simpatico – A horse buys the farm in this dark, interesting tale of three people that did something sinister as young adults. Jeff Bridges is a rich businessman, Sharon Stone is his drunk wife and Nick Nolte is practically a vagrant when the film opens. But as the audience finds out their big secret, their roles begin to change. Moody and atmospheric, the film co-stars Albert Finney and features many flashbacks that reveal the true nature of the film’s characters.

Wonderland – Disappointing fare from the usually capable Michael Winterbottom (Jude). The film is a meandering look at the lives of about a dozen South Londoners that criss-cross though each others’ lives. One poisons an incessantly barking dog. Shot on grainy 16mm with bad lighting, the film looks like Dogme fare, but isn’t interesting enough to be.

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai – A mafioso shoots one of Ghost Dog’s pigeons.

All the Rage – Gary Sinise kills his pet, a cyber-dog.

Sweet and Lowdown – Sean Penn shoots rats down at the dump.

To Walk with Lions – Poachers kill elephants and rhinos.

Dogma – Silent Bob does away with a giant poop monster in Kevin Smith’s brilliantly sharp film that mocks organized religion. Sure, there are two murdering fallen angels (Matt Damon and Ben Affleck), a 13^th Apostle named Rufus (Chris Rock), and a descendant of Jesus that works in an abortion clinic (Linda Fiorentino). The film is actually very pro-God, but will still draw ire from religious groups that won’t take the time to see the film. They’ll be too busy gunning down doctors.

OTHER FILMS THAT DEAL WITH RELIGIOUS SUBJECT MATTER:

Top of the Food Chain – This very funny and long awaited follow-up to director John Paizs’ Crime Wave is centered in a town named Exceptional Vista that is about to be overtaken by aliens. It mocks every cheesy B-movie that I can remember, but doesn’t get biblical at the end when "that little guy nailed to the wall" saves the day. You won’t see any protesters at this film, tho.

Possessed – Another Dutch horror/medical thriller in the vein of Nightwatch and The Kingdom, but this is probably closer match to Outbreak and Fallen. A Copenhagen doctor fears that a deadly virus could wipe out the world, the city suffers a black-out, and then religion get medieval on his ass. Co-stars the diabolical Udo Kier as a German baddie.

Jesus’ Son – I’m not so sure that this film deals with religious subject matter, but the title alone is enough to guarantee inclusion on this list. Billy Crudup stars as a heroin-addicted guy that looks a lot like Kurt Cobain and wanders around like Kane. He knows the names of every raindrop and hitchhikes with a family even though he knows they’re going to be in a big wreck. And he falls for an equally drugged-out Samantha Morton. Interesting in a Henry Fool sort of way.

Bloody Angels – Scandinavia pumps out horror flicks like nobody’s business and this one is downright creepy. An Oslo murder investigator is sent to a small town to work the case of a dead man believed to be responsible for the brutal rape/murder of a local girl with Downs syndrome. His brother and cohort is missing. The townsfolk claim to have seen angels committing the crime. Is it supernatural forces or mob justice? I ain’t tellin’.

FILMS WITH THE WORD "AND" IN THE TITLE:

Goat on Fire and Smiling Fish – This low-budget film about brothers and their endeavors in love is very reminiscent of The Brothers McMullen, but not quite as good. Real-life brothers Steven and Derick Martini (the former co-wrote the script, too) star as big-screen brothers that have recently lost both parents in a car wreck. They had a native American grandmother that nicknamed one "Goat on Fire" on account of his seriousness, and one "Smiling Fish" because he was always so damn happy. Co-stars Christa Miller from The Drew Carey Show.

The Emperor and the Assassin – Chen Kaige (Farewell My Concubine) directed this fantastic historical picture that focuses on the attempted unification of Chinese territories 2000 years ago. It’s really long, but well worth it if you stick around and stay awake. Plus, it’s got the incomparable Gong Li, and who is going to complain about looking at her for three hours?

Black and White – See title and previous description.

Sweet and Lowdown – See title and previous description.

Love and Action in Chicago – See title and previous description.

FROCKY PERIOD PIECES:

Onegin – Aleksander Pushkin’s narrative poem is directed by Martha Fiennes, scored by Magnus Fiennes and stars Ralph Fiennes. It turns out that too many Fiennes can ruin the batter. Ralph plays the titular role, a smarmy St. Petersburg bachelor that inherits a huge estate, shuns the advances of his voluptuous neighbor Tatyana (played by Liv Tyler) and skips town for six years, only to realize that he loves her. Take out the dancing scenes and you’ve got a half-hour film.

Mansfield Park – Based on both Jane Austen’s novel of the same name as well as her personal letters, this picture stars Frances O’Connor as a poor girl relocated from grimy Portsmouth to the posh confines of her relatives’ estate. She is often neglected and seen as an unequal in the house, but slowly begins to be accepted after years of being a wallflower. Predictable, but cute and well done. Like a burnt Bambi steak.

Sunshine – Did I mention that the story was about a family of Hungarian Jews from the late 1800s through the 1960s? There wasn’t anything unfrocky to wear. They couldn’t help it.

FILMS FROM SPOTLIGHT DIRECTOR KIYOSHI KUROSAWA:

Barren Illusion – Before this screening, Kurosawa explained that this film was never intended to be seen on the big screen. A collaboration between him and film students at the University of Tokyo, the picture features a handful of asocial Japanese youths that hardly ever speak dialogue. One filches packages from her post office job, one is suicidal and another actually believes that he is disappearing. Unique and beautiful.

Serpent’s Path – Shoh Aikawa stars as a man named Niijima (which is cool because it has four dots in it), a math professor aiding a yakuza who finds, tortures and murders the man that abducted his daughter to make a snuff film. They kidnap and torment suspects in a giant warehouse (a la Reservoir Dogs) until each victim fingers a higher-up in their organization. The ending is a whopper and further evidence that revenge is a dish best served cold.

Eyes of the Spider – Shown as a double feature with Serpent’s Path, this picture also stars Shoh Aikawa as a man named Niijima who, as the film opens, has just kidnapped and executed his only daughter’s killer. Having lost his kid and offed her killer, he seems to have no purpose in life, despising both his job and domestic life. But then he takes a job with a high school buddy whose business is a front for gang of upbeat, roller-skating assassins.

DOCUMENTARY FILMS:

The Humiliated – It was kind of weird to program a documentary about the making of a film that hasn’t been released in most of the world, but the festival folks must have thought that Jesper Jargil’s pic about the making of Lars von Trier’s The Idiots would still be interesting. And it is – especially when he plays von Trier’s daily dictaphone ramblings about the imaginary onset of testicular cancer. It is pretty confusing to follow (even for me, and I’ve seen The Idiots), especially when you try to distinguish the documentary from actual pieces of the film (both were shot on video).

American Movie – See previous description, but add that Mark is a burnt-out, long-haired greaseball with thick glasses, bad facial hair, three kids and a paper route. He also pronounces the name of his own film incorrectly. In other words, don’t miss this film!

Black & White – Two of the film's characters (Brooke Shields and Robert Downey, Jr.) wander about with a video camera, making a documentary about white kids that think they’re black.

FILMS FEATURING A NAKED IRENE JACOB:

History is Made at Night – Bill Pullman plays a CIA agent. Irene Jacob plays an SVR (former KGB) agent. They’re dating. They’re also investigating each other, as well as a porno film that is encrypted with important satellite codes. Did I mention the condom convention? Ten years ago, a naked Irene Jacob would have been the best part about this film, but she’s getting old. Steer clear of this mess from Finland.

The Big Brass Ring – See previous description.

SHORTS:

Coven – Mark Borchardt’s end product from the documentary American Movie is reminiscent of the work of the late, great Ed Wood. Shot in black-and-white 16mm, the film is an amateur fright flick full of killer zombies. And it’s pronounced with a long o.

George Lucas in Love – A hysterical nine-minute piece that postulates George Lucas’ college inspiration for the Star Wars script. Packing in as many laughs as some 90-minute films, the short is quick, witty and boisterously entertaining. Like Nell Carter.

FILMS THAT ARE UNCLASSIFIABLE:

Pas de Scandale – The programming notes for Benoit Jacquot’s latest states that his films generally leave "absences in emotion, story and narrative" while his characters are "underdeveloped" with "unclear motives." The film sort of reminded me of Regarding Henry except the main character has recently been released from prison instead of a coma. All I can say is that the French are some weird people.

Lies – Based on the banned Korean novel "Tell Me a Lie" by Jang Jung II, this film is about an 18-year-old girl that wants to lose her virginity before graduation. She hooks up with a married, older man that uses every orifice for a sperm receptacle shortly before introducing severe beatings to her rear end. And she likes it. I don’t know if the sex in this picture was real, but it was very, VERY graphic and was almost hard to watch. If they weren’t really screwing, they may as well have been. The beatings are also a little too convincing.

MY FAVORITE FILM:

Snow Falling on Cedars – Scott Hicks’ Shine follow-up is the breathtaking big-screen version of David Guterson’s popular novel. It stars Ethan Hawke as a reporter covering the murder trial of a Japanese fisherman in post-WWII Pacific northwest. The wife of the accused also happens to be Hawke’s childhood sweetheart. Full of expertly edited flashbacks and some of the loveliest cinematography that I have ever seen, Hicks has crafted a jaw-in-your-lap masterpiece.