The film list is up at last, with three weeks to spare until the festival begins.

I haven't gone through the list yet, but as with years past, if anyone has any recommendations, I'll all ears (and eyes).

I would like to see Egg, Silent Light, Timecrimes, and You - The Living from that list. But I have not kept up enough to recognize many more titles. Looks like you have a decent year.

Some that I can comment on:
Children of Glory - highly recommended
Edge of Heaven - also a pretty good story
Mongol - outstanding cinematography. Interesting story of overcoming and learning from failures

A little lower level of recommendation (worth seeing, but maybe not worth messing up a schedule to see) for In the Name of God and Takva: A Man's Fear of God. The latter is probably a bit better. Also at this level is Tuya's Marriage.

I didn't see The Pope's Toilet, but it had some decent buzz at Palm Springs.

From what I've seen (skipping Silent Light, Ploy, and Edge of Heaven, which are probably already on your radar):

Highly Recommended

Calle Santa Fe - One of the better documentaries out there on the Chilean coup and the fall of Allende, definitely more sympathetic to the left, but in a more personal, idealistic way than a political one.

I Just Didn't Do It - This is a court procedural on the Japanese justice system, and a pretty bracing one at that. It essentially looks at how the idea of "innocent until proven guilty" doesn't really mesh with the Japanese mindset of conformity, where it's easier not to make waves than to actually fight to clear your name.

A Secret - This film grew on me quite a bit, the story itself is somewhat epic, about a boy born after the war whose Jewish parents lived through the German occupation of Alsace. There's a lot of interesting ideas being raised in the film, like growing up being denied of his heritage, and how the Holocaust continues to haunt the family, even though they never discuss it.

Tell No One - This is a very well done thriller, a little more intricate than your average fare, but all the pieces fall together ingeniously.


Good

Fados - I'd say more like an acquired taste if you like watching performances on film. It's very sensual, like his Flamenco films.

Mon Colonel - This one lists Laurent Herbiet as the director, but it's actually Costa-Gavras, and it has all the ingredients of a Costa-Gavras film: political intrigue, tension, modern day allegory. This one is about the torture of suspected insurgents during the Algerian War, so the allegory is pretty obvious.

Shall We Kiss? - Smart, romantic comedy fare, Mouret's sense of humor is a bit like Woody Allen...neurotic, a bit self effacing, and endearing. The premise is a bit convoluted, but it's basically about the repercussions of a kiss on a platonic friendship.


Skip

The Contestant - This is one of those films that tries way too much to be clever, this one, about financial systems and how it fosters insoluble debt. That itself wouldn't be so bad if the director didn't also run through the gamut of Film School Workshop 101 clichés.

Oh, I missed seeing Tell No One on the list. Must see.

Thanks for the recommendations. I decided to go with my gut, and picked up a ticket for Saturday night's screening of "Silent Light."

Has anyone seen the French animated shorts that comprise 1, 2, 3 ... Leon? It's a freebie, and I'm thinking of taking my 5-year-old.