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Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes, this latest feature from Belgian filmmakers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne centers on Cyril, a restless 11-year-old boy (played with terrific intensity by newcomer Thomas Doret) placed in a children's home after being abandoned by his father. Unwilling to accept this betrayal, Cyril runs away to his former apartment in search of both dad and his abandoned bicycle. Instead, he meets Samantha (Cécile de France), a kind hairdresser who helps him retrieve his bike and eventually agrees to become his weekend guardian. But Cyril doesn't recognize the love Samantha feels for him, a love he desperately needs to calm his rage and steer him away from dangerous temptation. With suspense and grace, this poetic, universally resonant drama about parents, children, and moral responsibility shows us life in all its messy dimensions. (Belgium, 87 min., Not yet rated, Print courtesy of Sundance Selects)

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Silent-film matinee idol George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is a square-jawed, double-breasted Douglas Fairbanks type who stubbornly resists adapting to the modern era of filmmaking. This sublimely funny, visually enthralling homage to early cinema—an audience favorite at Aspen Filmfest 2011—contrasts Valentin's falling star with the meteoric rise of new It Girl, Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo), who wholeheartedly embraces film’s new frontiers. John Goodman, James Cromwell, Penelope Ann Miller, Malcolm McDowell, and a charismatic Jack Russell terrier make up the strong supporting cast. In sumptuous black-and-white and with no spoken dialogue, The Artist tips its top hat to the late-1920s Hollywood conventions rendered obsolete by the rise of the talkie. Endlessly inventive, packed with clever sight gags, and rich in stunningly achieved detail, the film is director Michel Hazanavicius's passionate love letter to the silent age. (France, 100 min., PG-13, Print courtesy of The Weinstein Co.)

See the film's Official Website and our The Artist CineFile for more information on film.

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In his first film since Sideways, writer-director Alexander Payne again proves himself a master of smart, sharp, and surprisingly tender storytelling. Matt King (George Clooney), the heir of a prominent Hawaiian landowning family, seems to lead a charmed life. But when his wife suffers a boating accident, he’s faced with a massive wake-up call. Accustomed to being the "backup parent," King suddenly finds himself center stage in the lives of his two young daughters (excellent newcomers Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller), while also having to decide the fate of a vast plot of unspoiled land his family has owned since the 1860s. Rooted in Clooney's beautifully understated performance, Payne's film is an uncommonly perceptive portrait of marriage, family, and community, suffused with humor and tragedy, and wrapped in a warm human glow. (U.S., 115 min., R, Print courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures)

See the film's Official Website to view trailer and more information on film.