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BEST OF THE FESTIVAL Here are some best bets from this year’s slate of movies at the Cleveland International Film Festival:
“3”: The latest film by Tom (“Run Lola Run,” “Perfume: The Story of a Murderer”) Tykwer is a love triangle about a husband and wife who fall for the same man. It’s also the favorite to sweep this year’s German Film Awards where it received six nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress (Sophie Rois).
“Copacabana”: Legendary French actress Isabelle Huppert stars as a free-spirited mother whose Yuppie daughter announces that she’s getting married — and that mom isn’t invited to the wedding.
“Insidious”: A haunted- house spooker with a surprisingly classy cast (including Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne and Barbara Hershey), it was directed by James Wan who helmed the first “Saw” movie back in 2004.
“Meek’s Cutoff”: Indie stalwart Kelly (“Wendy and Lucy,” “Old Joy”) Reichardt’s acclaimed revisionist western is set against the backdrop of the Oregon Trail in 1845. Starring is two-time Oscar nominee Michelle Williams.
“Route Irish”: The title of veteran British director Ken (“The Wind That Shakes the Barley,” “Sweet Sixteen”) Loach’s new movie refers to the highway connecting the Green Zone — the fortresslike government, military and diplomatic quarter at the heart of Baghdad — with the Baghdad International Airport and U.S. military headquarters.
“Rubber”: Cultish French horror flick about a serial killer who makes his victims’ heads explode via telepathic powers.
“Special Treatment”: Isabelle Huppert’s second CIFF film is about the unlikely relationship that develops between a high-rent prostitute (Huppert) and an obsessive-compulsive psychoanalyst (Bouli Lanners) whose wife has just kicked him out.
“Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives”: The latest whatzit? from critics’ darling Apichatpong Weerasethakul (“Tropical Malady,” “Blissfully Yours”) won the Palme d’Or from a Tim Burton-led jury at last year’s Cannes Film Festival.