人性实验室

　　巴迪（Homayoun Ershadi 饰）驾驶着自己的汽车，在遍布工地的郊外漫无目的的行驶，他搭载了一名入伍不久的新兵，和他讲述当年从军的经历，而后提出了自己的要求：出钱要新兵掩埋自己自杀后的尸体，新兵惊慌失措，跑掉了。巴迪继续寻找埋尸人，可工地上的流浪汉、神学院的学生，全部拒绝了他的请求。一位在博物馆工作的老人巴格里（Abdolrahman Bagheri 饰）登上了巴迪的车，巴格里曾经自杀，但最终为樱桃的甜美滋味所挽留，巴格里为了治疗儿子的病，应承下了巴迪的请托。巴迪在博物馆外踯躅，心中似乎产生了动摇……
　　本片获1997年戛纳电影节金棕榈奖，1998年波士顿影评人协会最佳外语片奖。

　　儒勒·费雷中学的高中毕业会考只有12%的通过率，是法国最差的学校。绝望的督学已经用尽了所有传统的方法，依赖于助手的建议。这位助手向他提出招聘一批教师，而招聘将依据一个新方法：要教最差的学生，要招最差的老师来以差治差……这是他最后挽救学校的机会，前提是毕业会考要超过50%的通过率。督学不管是好是坏接受了这个建议……

　　Fraught with over obvious symbolism, Hartley's early feature is nonetheless a joy to watch. Hal here shows us his uncanny ability to cast his characters perfectly came early in his career.
　　Adrienne Shelley is a near perfect foil to herself, equal parts annoying teen burgeoning in her sexuality (though using sex for several years); obsessed with doom and inspired by idealism gone wrong she is deceptively – and simultaneously – complex and simple. Her Audrey inspires so many levels of symbolism it is almost embarrassingly rich (e.g., her modeling career beginning with photos of her foot – culminating her doing nude (but unseen) work; Manhattan move; Europe trip; her stealing, then sleeping with the mechanics wrench, etc.)
　　As Josh, Robert Burke gives an absolutely masterful performance. A reformed prisoner/penitent he returns to his home town to face down past demons, accept his lot and begin a new life. Dressed in black, and repeatedly mistaken for a priest, he corrects everyone ("I'm a mechanic"), yet the symbolism is rich: he abstains from alcohol, he practices celibacy (is, in fact a virgin), and seemingly has taken on vows of poverty, and humility as well. The humility seems hardest to swallow seeming, at times, almost false, a pretense. Yet, as we learn more of Josh we see genuineness in his modesty, that his humility is indeed earnest and believable. What seems ironic is the character is fairly forthright in his simplicity, yet so richly drawn it becomes the viewer who wants to make him out as more than what he actually is. A fascinatingly written character, perfectly played.
　　The scene between Josh and Jane (a wonderful, young Edie Falco . . . "You need a woman not a girl") is hilarious . . . real. But Hartley can't leave it as such and his trick, having the actors repeat the dialogue over-and-over becomes frustratingly "arty" and annoying . . . until again it becomes hilarious. What a terrific sense of bizarre reality this lends the film (like kids in a perpetual "am not"/"are too" argument).
　　Hartley's weaves all of a small neighborhood's idiosyncrasies into a tapestry of seeming stereotypes but which delves far beneath the surface, the catalyst being that everyone believes they know what the "unbelievable truth" of the title is, yet no two people can agree (including our hero) on what exactly that truth is. A wonderful little movie with some big ideas.

　　1898年，银矿工丹尼尔·普莱恩惟尤（丹尼尔·戴·刘易斯 Daniel Day Lewis 饰）因井下作业事故摔断了腿，但他因祸得福了解到秘密的石油信息。他利用领养的孤儿HW（狄龙·弗雷泽尔 Dillon Freasier 饰）欺骗乡民赢得了石油地盘，从此飞黄腾达。但是， 成为 石油大亨的他并不快乐，在一次意外事故中H.W不幸失聪， HW对他的怨恨与日俱增，他唯一认亲的兄弟居然也是冒牌货。传教士伊莱·桑迪不过是个借宗教蛊惑人心的小人。在一次采矿事故中，丹尼尔的工人不幸丧生。正当他希望伊莱（保罗·达诺 Paul Dano 饰）施以援手时，对方羞辱了他，两人从此开始明争暗斗……

　　故事发生在捷克，诺娜（迪娜·霍瓦索瓦 Deana Horváthová 饰）是一个平凡的女人，一次偶然中，诺娜解释了名为艾斯特（达格玛·维斯科莫娃 Dagmar Veskrnová 饰）的护士，艾斯特告诉诺娜，她曾经的恋人是一名党员，在革命失败之后，心灰意冷的他选择了自杀。
　　诺娜怀孕了，可是，当她把这一喜讯告诉男友时，男友却选择了逃避和退缩，此时是艾斯特向诺娜伸出了援手，收留了无处可去的她。两个女人想要生存下去第一件事情就是要想方设法的赚钱，她们想了很多损招，最后还是靠卖掉了艾斯特已故的恋人的画作而赚了一大笔钱。就这样，两朵末路狂花走上了不归路。