News

Some directors burst out of the gate with fully formed visions and debuts that set Sundance aflame. Others take longer to firm up their perspectives and filmmaking identity. (And, of course, many, many others don't get going at all.) "Your Early Work" is an occasional feature in which we'll take a look at an established auteur's first movie and how it fits in with or foreshadows the ones he or she made down the line.

First up, Todd Solondz, whose new film "Life During Wartime" opened on Friday.

"Fear, Anxiety & Depression" (1989)

Directed by Todd Solondz

These days, it's almost inconceivable to picture Todd Solondz, the premiere '90s maestro of deadpan misery, putting himself front and center on screen. For Solondz to subject himself to the same unflinching (if non-judgmental) gaze he's centered on countless characters, not to mention the humiliations, awkwardness and despair which make up their day-to-day, would...

This week in theaters finds some late-to-the-party summertime silliness lining up alongside a couple of titles arriving three weeks early for Halloween. Elsewhere the arthouse scene provides a strong showing with Chilean maids, Filipino mothers and some good ol' New York psychos.

Download this in audio form (MP3: 15:25 minutes, 14.1 Mb)

Subscribe to the In Theaters podcast: [Xml] [iTunes]

"Adela"

The only person who's worked harder in the Filipino film industry over the past three years than director Adolfo Alix Jr., who's made 11 features since 2006, is his leading lady Anita Linda, who has made 13 in the same time and plays the title role in this minimalist mood piece as stand-in for an entire nation's embittered resilience. Captured in a series of long takes, the film follows our eponymous heroine on a mostly silent odyssey, casually aiding neighbors and strangers alike as she wistfully celebrates her 80th birthday in the shantytown where she lives.