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Fans of Quentin Dupieux should rejoice because I haven’t seen a film this absurdly hilarious since Wrong. Petr Václav‘s We Are Never Alone is definitely bleaker, darker, and strangely realist, but it has that same sense of subtle humor to give you pause about the meaning of what’s thus far been viewed. The story concerns two families with certifiably insane patriarchs, a local pimp searching for escape, and the whore he deludes himself into thinking loves him despite her pining over the father of her daughter in jail. They each have their own personal problems that should be uniquely particular to their individual psychological imperfections and yet when they converge they’re insanely revealed to be kindred spirits spinning around atop this cesspool we call Earth.

Václav includes political commentary about the current state of affairs in Czech Republic (don’t tell Miroslav Hanus‘ prison guard he’s a communist,...

★★☆☆☆ For those with prior knowledge of his work, Petr Václav's latest film We Are Never Alone may represent his career thus far in microcosm. It folds in the Roma subject matter of his lauded debut Marian; Karel Roden and Lenka Vlasáková star as a despairing couple, much like in Parallel Worlds; and Klaudia Dudová, the lead actress from recent hit The Way Out, appears. He brings all of this together with undeniable flare and an eye for mundane absurdity, but the result is an uneven curio as much as a cumulative masterwork.

The Los Angeles Film Festival has announced the world premiere of Richard Linklater's Bernie as the opening night film for the 2011 festival.

The film will kick off the festival on June 16 at Regal Cinemas Stadium 14 at L.A. Live. It is written by Skip Hollandsworth and director Linklater and stars Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, and Matthew McConaughey.

The film follows a beloved mortician (Black) from a small Texas town, even winning over the town's richest, meanest widow (MacLaine). Even after Bernie commits a horrible crime, people still will not utter a bad word against him.

"We're thrilled to be opening the Festival with the world premiere of this delicious black comedy - a treat from one of the most original and exciting voices in independent film, Richard Linklater," said Festival director Rebecca Yeldham. "With its fabulous all-star cast, Bernie is a perfect stage setter for the incredible line-up of...