After viewing Costa-Gavras' "Couperet" (Arcadia) screened at the opening ceremony as the festival curtain-raiser, (out of competition), I am still holding my breath trying to decide what to think of it. Yes, it did have certain Hitchcockian echoes of "black humor", and yes, it was a thriller of sorts, and yes, there were certain socio-political overtones, and the performances by Jose García (the harried serial killer) and Karin Viard (the harried wife of the harried serial killer) were good an...

The Valladolid Film Festival --"SEMINCI" -- ("Semana Internacional de Cine", or International Film Week), which was launched in 1956 and has been held every year since without interruption, this year celebrates its Golden half-century Anniversary. As usual the emphasis will be on non-mainstream features, auteur directors, and a wide variety of shorts and documentaries. The opening film tonight at the elegant Teatro Calderon will be the latest offering from Constantine Costa-Gavras, "Couperet",...