New Latin American Cinema // BOSTON HASSLE

More of a relaxed sampling than an exhaustive inventory, the MFA’s annual excursion south of the border reliably delivers a choice selection of intriguing, beautiful, or otherwise fine films; so it will surprise no one and please everyone (who cares about international film, anyway) to hear that they’ve done it again with this year’s installment of New Latin American Cinema, which started a couple of days ago and runs through March 18.

As for what’s on offer, well, with the exception of Chilean director Cristian Jimenez’s Voice Over—a gimlet-eyed look at one woman’s attempt to live unplugged for a year—this latest slender but salutary survey consists entirely of films from Argentina and Brazil. Besides the new Piñeiro (The Princess of France), promising titles include Benjamín Naishtat’s brooding environmental thriller History of Fear and Gregorio Graziosi’s Obra, in which the discovery of a secret cemetery disinters dirty laundry from Brazil’s recent past. Plus: more.

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