Francois Girard’s SILK is a beautifully shot period epic that involves travel to different lands – the kind that made his previous film, THE RED VIOLIN so captivating. In SILK, ex-military man, Hervé Joncour (Michael Pitt) is hired by a wealthy merchant (Alfred Molino) to save the French silk industry to travel to the far reaches of Japan to bring back disease-free silkworms. As whites are not allowed in feudal Japan, Herve disguises himself and is successful up to a point.

The feature film SHAKE HANDS WITH THE DEVIL, based on the book by Lt. General Dallaire, arrives rather late after the filmgoers have been saturated with information about the genocide in Rwanda in films like HOTEL RWANDA (2004), UN DIMANCHE A KIGALI (2006) and others.  The film itself begins with a brief 2 minute history lesson. 

Terrorists in Saudi Arabia (a.k.a. THE KINGDOM) attack U.S. citizens there and the FBI sends a team made of Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman and Chris Cooper to investigate and pick up the pieces.  Needless to say, more of the same ensues.  As expected, there is no solution and no peace in sight.

It had to happen – a film about members of a book club where the characters in the book reflect the love lives of the members.  In the romantic comedy THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB members fall in and out of love according to Jane Austen’s characters in her books from ‘Pride and Prejudice’ to ‘Persuasion’.  Director Swicord assumes that viewers are familiar with all the Austen novels, and if not insults them (as one character is in the film).  That said, this reviewer had not read any, though familiar with the books through movies. 

IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH finds Oscar winning scriptwriter/director Paul Haggis (CRASH) in dead serious message delivering mode.  Though not apparent till three quarters through, the film shifts themes from father/son redemption, melodrama, detective mystery solving and sorting out ones fears before settling down to making a statement on the Iraqi war.