Also this issue:

Piano Forte
Roman Polanski's The Pianist finds strength in quiet.
-Cindy Fuchs

Playing His Part
Adrien Brody tunes up.
-Cindy Fuchs

Almost Perfect
In Talk to Her, Javier Cémara's attentive nurse seems like the perfect guy -- with just one huge catch.
-Sam Adams

Screen Picks
-Sam Adams

new

continuing

Showtimes

January 2- 8, 2003

repertory film

Send repertory film listings to lori@citypaper.net.

ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES 19th St. and the Parkway, 215-299-1000 Lost Dinosaurs of Egypt (2002, U.S., 100 min.) Documentary chronicling the Bahariya Dinosaur Project in the Sahara Desert, led by a group of University of Pennsylvania paleontologists. Sat., Jan. 4 and Sun., Jan. 5, 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., $5-$10. Panel discussion and book signing to follow.

THE BALCONY 1003 Arch St., 215-922-LIVE XXX (2002, U.S., 124 min.) Vin Diesel plays a badass special agent on a secret government mission. Mon., Jan. 6, 8 p.m., free.

COUNTY THEATER 20 E. State St., Doylestown, 215-345-6789, www.countytheater.com Babe (1995, Australia/U.S., 89 min.) An orphaned pig forges meaningful relationships with the other animals on a farm. Sat., Jan. 4, 1:30 p.m., free.

GERSHMAN Y 401 S. Broad St., 215-446-3033 Unfair Competition (2001, France/Italy, 110 min.) Ettore Scola's tragic/comedic look at the racial laws passed against Jews in Italy in 1938 and its impact on daily life. Stars Gerard Depardieu. Guest speaker Millicent Marcus, University of Pennsylvania professor of Italian studies. Sat., Jan. 4, 8 p.m.; Sun., Jan. 5, 2 p.m.; Mon., Jan. 6, 7:30 p.m., $7-$10.

INTERNATIONAL HOUSE 3701 Chestnut St., 215-895-6542 War Isé : Films of Conflict, Resistance and Hope. The first film in the series, The Big Parade (1925, U.S., 130 min.), is a silent film about an American soldier fighting in France in WWI. Fri., Jan. 3, 8 p.m., $5-$6. Les Carabiniers (1963, France/Italy, 80 min.) Jean-Luc Godard's anti-war film focuses on the journeys of Ulysses and Michelangelo, a pair of peasants who leave their families to fight in a war. Preceded by Campaign in Poland (1940, Germany, 37 min.), a German government documentary film produced for German minorities overseas. Sat., Jan. 4, 8 p.m., $5-$6. Come and See (1985, Russia, 140 min.) WWII film that follows a young boy during the Nazi occupation of Byelorussia. Thu., Jan. 9, 8 p.m., $5-$6. (See Screenpicks p. 23)

MARATHON GRILL 1839 Spruce St., 215-731-0800 American Beauty (1999, U.S., 122 min.) Bored middle-aged suburbanite Kevin Spacey has a very erotic, very consequential midlife crisis. Wed., Jan. 8, 9 p.m., free.

PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART 26th St. and the Parkway, 215-684-7506 Sambizanga (1972, Angola, 102 min.) Sarah Maldoror's film about black resistance, set just before the 1961 uprising against Portugeuse colonialists in Angola. Wed., Jan. 8, 7:10 p.m., free with museum admission.