Palindromes was my introduction to the very particular world of Todd Solondz and I came away much impressed by both the man and his film. He's a brilliant writer, interested in unpacking what makes some of the most unlikable people on the face of the planet tick. He's not at all interested in making moral judgements on any of his characters or situations - a fact that will undoubtedly trouble some - but in putting a full, proper human face on them all. Palindromes is an excellent film but one that I will be very, very surprised to see clearing the ratings board and being allowed to screen in commercial theaters - at least here in Ontario - thanks to some very difficult content.

Palindromes is the story of Aviva, a twelve year old girl with enormous self esteem problems who wants nothing more in life than to have something safe and cute to love. Thus she decides to have a baby and becomes pregnant by the son of some of her parents' friends. Aviva's parents find out about the pregnancy, essentially force an abortion on her and Aviva runs away, falling in with a pedophilic truck driver, fundamentalist Christian family and an abortion-doctor murder plot before she is eventually found and returned home.

Solondz is no stranger to difficult material and what makes it work is his even, balanced hand. Those who come into the film hoping he will take a firm stand on any of the issues presented will leave wildly frustrated as he just has no interest in getting drawn into any of these debates but those who come trying to understand the world around them will find a lot to like. He makes the interesting stylistic choice of having several actors portraying Aviva to convey the universality of her situation and the move pays off large with all of the actors doing a stellar job. The supporting cast - in particular Ellen Barkin as Aviva's mother and the actor playing Joe / Earl / Bob the pedophile (sorry, roles aren't credited on the IMDB) - deliver stellar performances laced with subtle quirks and tics that bring them all into the here and now. There's a surprising amount of satirical humor throughout - Barken delivers a ferocious riff on status obsessed America - and you get the genuine sense that Solondz, while not condoning behavior, has found something to love in each of his characters. This will very likely be about the best film nobody sees this year.

Up next was Sideways, the latest from Alexander Payne of Election and About Schmidt fame. Sideways is the story of depressed struggling writer Miles (Paul Giamatti), whose life has been utterly shattered by his divorce and the knowledge that it was his own behavior that brought the split on, and Jack (Thomas Haden Church aka the dumb guy on Wings) his actor friend who is about to get married. Jack has asked Miles to be his best man and the two head out for a week long getaway before the wedding - a week Miles plans to spend touring wine country and playing golf while Jack simply wants to get laid as often as humanly possible before settling down.

Once the basic setup is in place the film travels a fairly conventional path. There are not a lot of surprises or unexpected turns. What we do have is a solid performance from Church and a simply stellar one from Giamatti. Giamatti is a perfect choice as Miles and he is absolutely flawless and fearless in capturing Miles' depression, drunken burst of anger, artistic frustration, paralyzing fear of relationships and even the sparkling, funny, younger version of himself that still lies buried and nearly forgotten within. I'd say Giamatti is a revelation in this film but he's been this strong before without ever making a serious impression on the public at large. Will this be the film that does it for him? I doubt he's the type of actor that will ever break out as a true 'movie star' - he's just not the physical type - but as character actors go they don't come much better than Giamatti these days and he's already got the respect of his peers and artistic community. Yes, there are other reasons to see the film - the script and direction are uniformly strong - but really, this is all about Giamatti.

Up next was Hou Hsiao-hsien's Cafe Lumiere, an excellent film, but probably not the best choice for the third viewing of the day.

Cafe Lumiere was created as an homage to revered Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of his birth. As such I was expecting a film with minimal dialogue, long static shots, slow pans, and a plot centered around family dynamics. That's what I got, but it was possibly even more minimalist than I expected.

Beautifully shot by Lee Ping-ping, who also worked on Wong Kar Wai's In the Mood For Love, Cafe Lumiere tells the story of Yoko (Yo Hitoto), a young female writer currently research a piece on a Taiwanese composer, and Hijame (Tadanobu Asano), a quiet bookshop owner who is obviously in love with Yoko but, equally obviously, is never going to tell her so. The film starts with Yoko returning home from a research trip to Taiwan and announcing to her family and friends that she is pregnant with the child of her Taiwanese boyfriend who she has no intention of marrying. As far as plot goes that's pretty much it. The film is all about space and rhythm, about simply allowing the viewer to experience the world that Yoko inhabits, and it accomplishes that goal admirably. You have to be prepared to give it time and attention but it will reward those who put in the effort. Not a film for casual viewing, but good nonetheless.

Film number four, in the lovely Elgin Theater, was The Sea Inside - the latest from Alejandro Almenabar who is best known on these shores for The Others. I can see how it might be theoretically possible to make a film more unlike The Others than The Sea Inside but it would require a lot of dedication and hard work.

The Sea Inside stars Javier Bardem as Ramon, a quadripelegic man who is fighting for the right to die after more than twnety years of utter dependency on his brother's family. The supporting cast of characters includes a worker with a death rights advocacy group; Ramon's lawyer, who has a terminal degenerative disease herself; a local factory worker and DJ who falls in love with Ramon after seeing him on television; and assorted members of Ramon's family.

A touch on the melodramatic and over simplistic side for my tastes - there is absolutely no doubt the film makers had an agenda with this film - The Sea Inside is without a doubt a well crafted and well acted film of the sort that awards voters tend to lap up. Actually, they already have ... The Sea Inside has already won best acting and directing awards at the Venice Film Festival. I fully expect that this will be in the running for the best foreign film Oscar, and probably will win it, for all of the same reasons that Tom Hanks won for Philadelphia. I wouldn't say it's actually the best foreign film that I've seen this year - far from it - but it has that combination of large scale acting, tugs on the heartstrings and 'serious issues' that voters just can't get enough of.

And finally we come to Kontroll, Wednesday's Midnight Madness entry, my final film of the day, and one that had actually become one of my more anticipated titles in the festival.

Thanks to the trailer and music video I found online here I fully expected that Kontroll would be littered with quality visual flourishes, snappy editing, a solid soundtrack and a slate of immediately engaging characters. I was not disappointed on this front. Director Antal has a fantastic visual sense which he puts to great use. His characters are rich, layered, immediately gripping and often very, very funny. These are all pointers to a great film experience and Kontroll was shaping up to be the big winner of what has been a largely disappointing Madness program thus far until one fact became apparent: there was no plot. The subway killer angle that was introduced as the film's big hook went nowhere in particular, ideas were constantly introduced and abandoned, key aspects of the character's lives - i.e. why is Bulscu living underground - are acknowledged but never actually addressed and, ultimately, when the film ends you're left wondering "That was it?"

Don't get me wrong, Kontroll is a ride - and a fun one - but you just can't help but be let down when the ride ends up going nowhere in particular. It's worth a look, and I fully expect to see great things from Antal in the future, but Kontroll just isn't quite ready for prime time.