24 Seattle International Film Festival -- Film Titles I Through M

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`I AM CUBA' Cuba/USSR, 1964. Director: Mikhail Kalatozov. Cast: Luz Maria Collazo, Jose Gallardo. 114 minutes.

Made at the height of the Cold War in 1964, "I Am Cuba" is a time capsule celebrating the idealism of the young Cuban Revolution of the 1950s. May 28, 6:30 p.m., Egyptian, $7.

`I JUST WASN'T MADE FOR THESE TIMES' U.S., 1995. Director: Don Was. Cast: ??. 70 minutes.

Don Was, in his directorial debut, deftly blends interviews, old home-movie footage and a recent recording session to create a portrait of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson. Also on the program: "The Shaper" (8 minutes). May 31, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian, $7; June 2, 7:15 p.m., Varsity, $7.

`THE INCREDIBLY TRUE ADVENTURES OF TWO GIRLS IN LOVE' U.S., 1995. Director: Maria Maggenti. Cast: Laurel Hollomon, Nicole Ari Parker, Maggie Moore. 93 minutes.

This girl-meets-girl story is a romantic romp about a tomboy from the wrong side of the tracks who gets involved with one of the most popular girls in her class during their last year of high school. June 6, 7:15 p.m., Harvard Exit I, $7; June 7, 5 p.m., Varsity, $5.

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`JOE'S ROTTEN WORLD' U.S., 1995. Director: Richard LaBrie. Cast: Ramsay Midwood, Jessica Hecht, Blair Shannon, Ricky Dean Logan. 100 minutes.

This raucus, inventive film follows the fortunes of Joe, who has driven himself to the brink of insanity while writing a 3,000-page dissertation on the collapse of America. His curious obsession alienates his wife, Annie, who leaves her husband for the desert, where she encounters a fertility cult comprised of 13 pregnant women. June 11, 6:30 p.m., Harvard Exit II, $7.

`JUPITER'S WIFE' U.S., 1994. Director: Michael Negroponte. Documentary. 87 minutes.

A portrait of a spirited and articulate homeless woman whose stomping ground is New York's Central Park. It's a suspenseful and heartening account of a fractured and partially mended life. May 19, 5 p.m., Egyptian, $5; May 24, 9:30 p.m., Varsity, $7.

`JUST YOU AND ME' Sweden, 1994. Director: Suzanne Osten. Cast: Francesca Quartey, Etienne Glaser, Lena Hansson. U.S. premiere, 98 minutes.

Twenty-five-year-old Flore, a black woman born and raised in Sweden, is made minister of schools and at once becomes a media darling. She sees this as a chance to implement her ideas for change in the educational system - until she falls for Eliel, a 50-year-old teacher with five kids. June 5, 7:15 p.m., Seven Gables, $7; June 7, 9:30 p.m., Harvard Exit II, $7.

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`THE KINGDOM' Denmark, 1995. Director: Lars von Trier. Cast: Ernst-Hugo Jaregaard, Kirsten Rollfes, Soren Pilgaard. 279 minutes.

There's something eerie, darkly comic and more than a little rotten in the state of Denmark in this perverse soap opera, set in a huge medical center built upon a Medieval burial ground. May 22, 7:15 p.m., Egyptian, $10.

`KISSES AND SCRATCHES' Hungary, 1995. Director: Gyorgy Szomjas. Cast: Beata Papp, Ildiko Bakos, Bea Kaman. U.S. premiere, 71 minutes.

This film is a curious combination of amateur actors and heartfelt personal revelations, about an independent, no-nonsense social worker who works part time caring for the children of Ildiko, who becomes her lover. June 6, 9:30 p.m., Seven Gables, $7; June 9, 5 p.m., Harvard Exit II, $5.

`KOREA' Ireland, 1995. Director: Cathal Black. Cast: Donal Donnelly, Andrew Scott, World premiere. 75 minutes.

The story of a relationship between father and son in rural Ireland. American emigration and the long shadow of the Korean conflict haunts a small community with ominous consequences for two young lovers. June 8, 7:15 p.m., Seven Gables, $7; June 10, 3:30 p.m., Harvard Exit II, $5.

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`THE LAST DANCE' Sweden, 1993. Director: Colin Nutley. Cast: Helena Bergstrom, Reine Brynolfsson, Ewa Froling, Peter Anderson. 114 minutes.

Colin Nutley ("House of Angels," SIFF '93) breaks new ground in this tale of the roller-coaster friendship between two big-city Swedish couples. The film opens with one of the women falling to her death and then shows the series of events in the couples' lives that lead to that disaster. May 28, 6:30 p.m., Harvard Exit II, $7; May 31, 5 p.m., Varsity, $5.

`LIBERATION' U.S., 1995. Director: Arnold Schwartzman. U.S. premiere. 100 minutes.

Nrrated by Ben Kingsley, Miriam Margoyles, Patrick Stewart and Whoopi Goldberg,"Liberation" addresses two issues of World War II- the Allied campaign to liberate Europe and Hitler's genocidal war against the Jews. June 5, 7:15 p.m., Harvard Exit I, $7; June 7, 5 p.m., Seven Gables, $5.

`LIFE AND DEATH OF THE HOLLYWOOD KID' South Korea, 1994. Director: Chung Jiyoung. Cast: Choe Minsu, Toko Yongjae, Shin Hyesu. 114 minute.

An attempt to interpret the aftermath of the influx of Hollywood celluloid culture into an Asian country, this film traces the friendship of two kids. June 4, 6:30 p.m., Harvard Exit II, $7; June 7, 9:30 p.m., Seven Gables, $5.

`LIKE TWO CROCODILES' Italy, 1994. Director: Giacomo Campiotti. Cast: Fabrizio Bentivoglio, Ignazio Oliva, Giancarlo Giannini. U.S. premiere, 100 minutes.

Gabriele is successful at business but less than a whiz at romance. When a brochure comes in to his Parisian office informing him of a sale of antiques at his family home in Italy, he leaps at the opportunity to return to the scene of his childhood. June 8, 7:15 p.m., Varsity, $7; June 11, 9:15 p.m., Varsity, $7.

`LINNEA IN MONET'S GARDEN' Sweden, 1994. Directors: Christina Bjork, Lena Anderson. 30 minutes.

From the author and illustrator of the best-selling book "Linnea in Monet's Garden" is a charming tale of a little girl's exploration of Impressionist artist Claude Monet's paintings and life. Also on the program: "Prince Cinders" (Australia, 1995, 30 minutes), an outrageously funny twist on the classic fairy tale"Cinderella"; and "The Strange Legend of St. Desmond & the Dragon" (U.S., 1994, 10 minutes). June 3, 12:30 p.m., Varsity, $5.

`LITTLE ODESSA' U.S./Great Britain, 1994. Director: James Gray. Cast: Tim Roth, Edward Furlong, Vanessa Redgrave, Maximilian Schell. 98 minutes.

Joshua (Roth) is a hired hitman sent back to his family neighborhood in the Russian emigre section of Brooklyn for an unsavory job, despite the fact that local Mafia are after him to even a previous score. Scorned by his father, who threw him out years before, he is drawn back by news from his younger brother (Furlong) that his mother has little time left to live. May 27, 9:15 p.m., Harvard Exit I, $7; May 29, 6:30 p.m., Varsity, $7.

`LIVE, NUDE GIRLS' U.S., 1995. Director: Julianna Lavin. Cast: Dana Delany, Kim Cattrall, Olivia d'Abo, Cynthia Stevenson, Lora Zane. World premiere, 93 minutes.

Seven lifelong girlfriends come to a slumber party that is thrown in honor of their friend, Jamie, a well-known soap star who is about to embark on her third marriage. As the evening progresses, several secrets come out of the closet about each woman that will ultimately test the limits of the friendship. June 9, 7:15 p.m., Egyptian, $7; June 10, 9:15 p.m., Varsity, $7.

`LIVING IN OBLIVION' U.S., 1994. Director: Tom DiCillo. Cast: Steve Buscemi, Catherine Keener, Dermot Mulroney, Danielle von Zerneck, James LeGros. 91 minutes.

Murphy's Law thrives on movie sets as this delicious send up of the world of low-budget filmmaking illustrates. Steve Buscemi is a frustrated auteur in charge of creatingart- on time and within budget - despite preening, sensitive stars, endless distractions and a crew without a brain among the lot of them. Winner: Best Screenplay, Sundance Film Festival. June 3, 6:30 p.m., Varsity, $7; June 8, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian, $7.

`LOTTO LAND' U.S., 1995. Director: John Rubino. Cast: Larry Gilliard, Wendell Holmes. 87 minutes.

Set in a Brooklyn mixed-race neighborhood in the grip of lotto fever, "Lotto Land" interweaves two love stories: one full of the raging hormones and innocence of a black boy and his Latino girlfriend on prom night; the other a tender middle-age romance between their single parents on the fire escape. June 2, 9:30 p.m., Harvard Exit II, $7; June 7, 5 p.m., Harvard Exit II, $7.

`LOUIS 19 - KING OF THE AIRWAVES' Canada, 1994. Director: Michael Poulette. Cast: Martin Drainville, Agathe de La Fontaine, Dominique Michel. U.S. Premiere, 93 minutes.

Louis is the winner of a competition, launched by Channel 19 in Montreal, to find a viewer whose life will be broadcast live, 24 hours a day, for three months. His crushing ordinariness makes him incredibly appealing to all sectors of the viewing public. May 27, 6:30 p.m., Harvard Exit I, $7; May 29, 12:30 p.m., Seven Gables, $5.

`THE LOW LIFE' U.S., 1995. Director: Georgre Hickenlooper. Cast: Rory Cochrane, Kyra Sedgwick, Ron Livingston, James Legros, Sean Astin. 99 minutes.

A young college grad (Rory Cochrane) moves to L.A. to become a writer, armed only with his uncle's advice not to feel anything for anyone in his life. When he temps for a shady slum lord (James LeGros) and meets a modern-day Tennessee Williams heroine (Kyra Sedgewick), his mandate is put to the test. "The Low Life" is a low-key, bittersweet and funny slice of life in failing Los Angeles. June 3, 6:30 p.m., Harvard Exit I, $7; June 5, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian, $7.

`LUCKY BREAK' Australia, 1994. Director: Ben Levin. Cast: Gia Carides, Anthony La Paglia. U.S. premiere, 94 minutes.

"Lucky Break" introduces us to two strong-willed characters: Sophie is an attractive author of bodice-ripping romance novels, while Eddie is a slick jeweller and full-time womanizer with an overbearing fiance. A chance meeting in a library leaves Eddie instantly smitten. May 26, 7:15 p.m., Varsity, $7; May 29, 12:30 p.m., Harvard Exit I, $5.

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`MAGIC IN THE WATER' U.S., 1995. Director: Rick Stevenson. Cast: Mark Harmon, Harley Jane Kozak, Joshua Jackson, Sarah Wayne.. 90 minutes.

A family film about the adventures of 10-year-old Ashley Black and her teenage brother, Josh, who have accompanied their divorced father, Jack, on vacation to Glenorky,a deep freshwater lake known for the legendary creature lurking beneath its surface. May 27, 6:30 p.m., Harvard Exit II, $7; June 10, 12:30 p.m., Varsity, $5.

`MORE SOCIAL GUIDANCE CLASSICS' U.S., 1950-1962. From the Prelinger Archives. 92 minutes. Presented in person by Prelinger.

These films, patiently collected by Rick Prelinger, were designed to educate children during the '40s and '50s. Seen together, they are eight of the funniest (and scariest) films you're ever likely to see on dating, behavior, etiquette and relationships. May 25, 7:15 p.m., Egyptian, $7; May 27, 3:30 p.m., Varsity, $5.

`THE MOST TERRIBLE TIME OF MY LIFE' Japan/Taiwan, 1994. Director: Kaizo Hayashi. Cast: Masatoshi Nagese, Kiyotaka Nambara, Shiro Sano, Yang Haitin. 92 minutes.

The first in a three-part series on the adventures of Japanese private eye Maiku (Mike) Hama (played with infinite grace by Nagase), this is a striking mix of hip humor and sly genre nods. Hama means well and has the right look, but is somewhat out of his element when his sleuthing leads him to the center of Japanese/Chinese mob rivalry. May 27, 9:15 p.m., Seven Gables, $7; May 29, 3:30 p.m., Varsity, $5.

`MOVIE DAYS' Iceland, 1994. Director: Fredrik Thor Fridriksson. Cast: Orvar Jens Arnarsson, Rurik Haraldsson. 90 minutes.

A coming-of-age story of a boy growing up in Iceland, circa 1960. It's a time of transition on this isolated island in the North Atlantic, and the influx of foreign culture through the American air base threatens old cultural values. June 1, 7:15 p.m., Seven Gables, $7; June 5, 5 p.m., Harvard Exit II, $5.

`THE MOVIES BEGIN' U.S., 1995.

In commemoration of the centennial of the motion picture is this presentation of "The Movies Begin," a new 35mm compilation of shorts from the first two decades of cinema. Highlights of this treasure trove of cinematic rarities are: Georges Melies' "A Trip to the Moon," D.W. Griffith's "Those Awful Hats," works from Thomas Edison, Max Linder and the hand-tinted "The Golden Beetle." May 24, 7:15 p.m., Egyptian, $7.

`MUSHROOMS' Australia, 1995. Director: Alan Madden. Cast: Julia Blake, Simon Chilvers, Lyneete Curran, Brandon Burke. U.S. premiere, 93 minutes.

How do you get rid of an unwanted visitor,particularly when he is dead? Leave it to elderly pals Minnie and Flo to cook up an outrageous solution in "Mushrooms,"a madcap comedy with a delicously wicked twist from from first-time filmmaker Alan Madden. May 28, 12:30 p.m., Seven Gables, $5; May 30, 7:15 p.m., Seven Gables, $7.

`MUTE WITNESS' Great Britain, 1994. Director: Anthony Waller. Cast: Marina Sudina, Evan Richards. 90 minutes.

A dizzying thriller about three unsuspecting Americans making a movie in Moscow who get thrown into a situation beyond their frame of knowledge. The central character is a resourceful mute woman who stumbles upon a murder perpetrated by the Russian Mafia. June 3, 9:15 p.m., Egyptian, $7; June 6, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian, $7.

`MY FAMILY' U.S., 1995. Director: Gregory Nava. Cast: Jimmy Smits, Esai Morales, Eduardo Lopez Rojas, Jenny Gago, Edward James Olmos. 125 minutes.

The courageous and oftentimes comic odyssey of Jose Sanchez, an innocent, ingenuous young man who sets out on what he thinks will be a short trip to find his only remaining relative. As the Sanchez family's tales, triumphs and tragedies are revealed over six decades, they define the immigrant experience in the United States. May 21, 6:30 p.m., Harvard Exit I, $7; May 24, 5 p.m., Harvard Exit I, $5.

`THE MYSTERY OF RAMPO' Japan, 1995. Director: Kazuyoshi Okuyama . Cast: Motoki Masahiro, Takenaka naoto, Hada Michiko. 93 minutes.

A Gothic tale of lust and intrigue, "Rampo" is based on the work of Edogawa Rampo, whose erotic thrillers were sporadically banned in Japan during the '30s. The film begins as Japan is preparing for war and the author's latest tome is under scrutiny by the authorities. May 26, 9:30 p.m., Harvard Exit II, $7; May 28, 3:30 p.m., Seven Gables, $5.