The 15th European Union Film Festival continues Friday, March 16, through Thursday, March 29, at Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State, 312-846-2800. Tickets are $11, $7 for students, and $6 for Film Center members. Following are selected films screening through Thursday, March 22; for a full schedule see siskelfilmcenter.org.
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The Christening The hood trying to go straight has been a staple of the gangster movie almost since its inception, but the premise still resonates in this first-rate crime thriller from Poland (2010). In the opening scene, Michal (Wojciech Zielinski) rescues his friend Janek (Tomasz Schuchardt) from drowning; a few years later Janek gets a chance to repay the favor when Michael—now married and preparing to christen his first child—enrages the merciless crime lord who once employed both men. Director Marcin Wrona paces this beautifully, and the movie is full of small pleasures both visual (widescreen framing that makes geometric use of the rail yards and rooftops of Warsaw) and aural (a spare soundtrack with jarring cuts between noise and quiet). I once swore I’d never sit through another Catholic-themed mob movie, but just when I think I’m out they pull me back in. In Polish with subtitles. —J.R. Jones 87 min. Sun 3/18, 7 PM, and Thu 3/22, 8:30 PM
The Graveyard Keeper’s Daughter Rural Estonia looks gorgeous in this well-intentioned hokum (2011) about an adorable eight-year-old girl and her negligent parents. Her father is a small-town grave digger constantly leaving home in search of work; her mother is a hard-partying alcoholic. With the help of a social worker and a compassionate female pastor, the girl comes to escape her parents’ bad influence. Writer-director Katrin Laur wants to tell an uplifting story about the good work performed by church and state in the lives of children; unfortunately she isn’t interesting enough as a storyteller to convey her sentiments persuasively. To make matters more embarrassing, the little girl playing the lead, Kertu-Killu Grenman, seems unable to grasp the demands of her difficult role. In subtitled Estonian, Finnish, and Russian. —Ben Sachs 98 min. Sat 3/17, 9:15 PM, and Mon 3/19, 8:15 PM
