OPENING NIGHT:

The Darjeeling Limited – Wes Anderson, US, 2007; 91m (Fox Searchlight)

Screening with: Hotel Chevalier – Wes Anderson, US, 2007; 12m (Fox Searchlight)

CLOSING NIGHT:

Persepolis – Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud, France, 2007; 95m (Sony Pictures Classics)

CENTERPIECE:

No Country for Old Men – Joel and Ethan Coen, US, 2007; 122m (Miramax)

LINE-UP:

4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days – Cristian Mungiu, Romania, 2007; 113m (IFC First Take)

Actresses – Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, France, 2007; 110m

Alexandra – Alexander Sokurov, Russia, 92m (Rezo Films)

The Axe in the Attic – Ed Pincus & Lucia Small, US, 2007; 110m

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead – Sidney Lumet, USA, 117m (ThinkFilm)

Calle Santa Fe – Carmen Castillo, France, 2007; 163m

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly – Julian Schnabel, France/U.S., 2007; 112m (Miramax)

The Flight of the Red Balloon – Hou Hsiao-hsien, France, 2007; 113m (IFC First Take)

A Girl Cut In Two – Claude Chabrol, France, 2007; 115m

Go Go Tales – Abel Ferrara, Italy/US, 2007; 96m

I Just Didn’t Do It – Masayuki Suo, Japan, 2007; 143m

I’m Not There – Todd Haynes, US, 2007; 136m (The Weinstein Company)

In the City of Sylvia – José Luis Guerín, Spain/France, 2007; 90m

The Last Mistress – Catherine Breillat, France, 2007; 114m (IFC First Take)

The Man From London РB̩la Tarr, Hungary/France/Germany, 2007; 132m

Margot at the Wedding – Noah Baumbach, US, 2007; 93m (Paramount Vantage)

Married Life – Ira Sachs, USA, 2007; 90m

Mr. Warmth, The Don Rickles Project – John Landis, US, 2007; 90m

The Orphanage – Juan Antonio Bayona, Spain, 100m (Picturehouse)

Paranoid Park – Gus Van Sant, US, 2007; 85m (IFC First Take)

Redacted – Brian De Palma, US, 2007; 90m (Magnolia)

The Romance of Astrea and Celadon – Eric Rohmer, France, 2007; 109m (Rezo Films)

Secret Sunshine – Lee Chang-dong, Korea, 2007; 142m

Silent Light – Carlos Reygadas, Mexico, 2007; 142m

Useless – Jia Zhang-ke, Hong Kong, 2007; 80m

RETROSPECTIVES:

Blade Runner: The Definitive Cut – Ridley Scott, US, 1982/2007; 118m (Warner Brothers)

Hamlet – Sven Gade & Heinz Schall, Germany, 1920-21; 110m
Piano accompaniment by Donald Sosin

The Iron Horse – John Ford, US, 1924; 132m (20th Century Fox)

Leave Her to Heaven – John M. Stahl, US, 1945; 110m

Underworld – Josef von Sternberg, US, 1927; 80m
Accompaniment by the Alloy Orchestra

SPECIAL EVENTS:

Fados – Carlos Saura, Spain/Portugal, 2007; 92m

The Other Side of the Mirror: Bob Dylan Live at the Newport Folk Festival, 1963-1965 – Murray Lerner, US, 2007; 80m

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin’ Down a Dream – Peter Bogdanovich, US, 2007; 238m

SXSW and the New York Film Festival are our two favorite film events of the year, the first because it’s young, fun and genuinely indie, and the second because it’s not at all young (though it does offer Sylvia Miles holding court) and it’s so unabashedly about Serious Cinema. This year’s line-up is a strong one that’s notably heavy on Cannes holdovers like the Tarr film, the Sokurov and the Hou Hsiao-hsien. We’re surprised to see Haynes’ "I’m Not There" on the list, given that it’s also at Venice and Toronto, though we’re not complaining, and we half expected "There Will Be Blood" to show up, though perhaps it’s just not finished.

We’re most looking forward to…well, to be honest, still "The Darjeeling Limited," but also Guillermo del Toro protégé Bayona’s Spanish horror film "The Orphanage" and De Palma’s "Redacted." De Palma!

+ The 45th New York Film Festival (Film Society of Lincoln Center)