Seattle International Film Festival ends Sunday

Movies listed without capsule descriptions did not screen in advance for critics.

Cinerama, 2100 Fourth Ave., Seattle

Noon — "North Face": Spectacularly filmed and uncompromising in its take on the hazards of mountaineering, this Austrian film depicts a 1936 attempt to scale the north face of the Eiger by two Austrians (big Hitler supporters) and two Germans (in it just for the challenge). A cynical Berlin reporter schemes to make the victors into "German heroes," if possible, and there's a romantic subplot thrown in as well. But it's the mountain that's the star here. — Michael Upchurch

3 p.m. — "Forever Enthralled"

6:30 p.m. — "Hachi: A Dog's Story": If you loved "Marley & Me," get in line; if you didn't, run. Because you will cry — quarts, at least — at this heartstring-plucking tale of a Japanese Akita dog who deeply loves his master (Richard Gere). Lots of cute puppy scenes at the beginning; lots of close-ups of a sad-eyed old dog (accompanied by soupy violins, no less) at the end. Effective, yet shameless — but that's how dog movies roll, isn't it? — Moira Macdonald

9:15 p.m. — "Il Divo"

The Egyptian, 801 E. Pine St., Seattle

11 a.m. — "The Spy and the Sparrow": Though described as a thriller, Garrett Bennett's made-in-Seattle film is more of a character drama with thriller elements: A retired spy (David Rasche) returns home in the hopes of reuniting with his daughter (Elisabeth Rohm), whom he hasn't seen in two decades. As always, Bennett ("Farewell to Harry," "A Relative Thing") has a keen eye, finding beauty in every Seattle corner, and though the genre-melding is at times a little bumpy, the actors create a genuine, moving connection. — M.M.

1:30 p.m. — "Sweet Crude"

4:30 p.m. — "American Primitive":

7 p.m. — "Every Little Step": Sorry, it has to be said: James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo's documentary about the making of the 2006 revival of "A Chorus Line" — interspersed with an intriguing history of the show — is a singular sensation. Mirroring the show's famous structure, we watch auditions for the revival, get to know the dancers desperately hoping for a big break, and see the occasional bit of magic as a performer perfectly clicks with a role. Great fun. — M.M.

9:30 p.m. — "The Clone Returns Home"

Midnight — "Sexykiller"

Harvard Exit, 807 E. Roy St., Seattle

11 a.m. — "The Other Bank"

1:30 p.m. — "Once Upon a Time in the West"

5 p.m. — "Everyone Else"

7:45 p.m. — "Unmistaken Child": Nati Baratz's fantastic documentary follows the journey of a Buddhist monk whose lifelong service to a high lama in Nepal continues after the old, spiritual leader dies and the quest for his reincarnation begins. Beautiful, painful, enlightening in more than one way, this is a cultural and spiritual treasure. — Tom Keogh

10 p.m. — "Kaifeck Murder": Photographer Marc Barenberg (Benno Fürmann) stumbles into a remote German village where his cloudy past dovetails with the taboo subject of an old mass murder. Meanwhile, locals prepare for one of those annual, id-releasing festivals that seem to happen in these places. A bit of a howler, but an atmospheric potboiler. — T.K.

Pacific Place, 600 Pine St., fourth floor, Seattle

11 a.m. — "What's on Your Plate": Safiyah and Sadie, two 11-year-old New Yorkers, walk us through Catherine Gund's cheerful if occasionally lecture-y documentary about food and where it comes from. Kids watching may learn a few things about nutrition and sustainable farming; adults won't find much that's new (unless you didn't know that it's important to eat food that's good for you), but will enjoy the film's creative animation and the girls' high spirits. — M.M.

1:30 p.m. — "Kimjongilia": N.C. Heikin's urgent, compelling documentary, which creatively mingles talking-head interviews with interpretive dance, tells the stories of a handful of former North Koreans who have escaped Kim Jong-il's violent regime. Their memories are devastating, but their remarkable courage shines through. "The world has to save North Korea," says one woman through tears. "We have to speak." — M.M.

4 p.m. — "talhotblond":cq Chat rooms are not the most natural cinematic forums for ideas. Nevertheless, some of the most dramatic moments in this documentary come from written exchanges between a mystery woman and a 47-year-old failure who has taken on a more youthful, vigorous identity for the Iinternet. His "Tommy" has an online-only affair with a tall blond teenager, "Jessica," who flirts with him and encourages his jealous and violent reactions to a romantic rival. This is one of those tawdry car-wreck movies you can't stop watching, even if, as one close observer puts it, the entire affair seems "frivolous and stupid." — John Hartl

6:30 p.m. — "Amreeka": Nisreen Faour gives a lovely, vulnerable performance as Muna, a single mother from the West Bank who travels to the U.S. to start a new life with her teenage son. The film, written and directed by Cherien Dabis, is often predictable, and its feel-good ending feels abrupt and a little false. But the actors create a genuine, believable family on screen, and the details of life as an Arab immigrant in post-9/11 are vivid and real. — M.M.

9:30 p.m. — "Live and Remember": This sweeping exercise in Siberian Gothic has a great premise: A Russian soldier in 1945 ditches the army to go home to his wife, who has to keep his return a secret if he isn't to be shot as a deserter. The film zeros in acutely on village loneliness, lust and claustrophobia. But what some viewers take to be expressionistic flourishes might strike others as overwrought bombast. — M.U.

SIFF Cinema, McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer St., Seattle

11 a.m. — "Afghan Star": In this informative documentary, decades of war and years of Taliban repression (including bans on dancing, music and TV) drop to the wayside as "Afghan Star" — Kabul's answer to "American Idol" — seduces a violence-weary country. Fame brings risks, especially for female contestants. But the show's fans (one third of the country) are clearly determined to keep watching and voting for their favorites. This is history with a beat to it. — M.U.

1:30 p.m. — "The One-Handed Trick"

4 p.m. — "In Your Absence": Writer-director Iván Noel's creepy, mirage-like drama is an oddly pointless story about various kinds of childhood exploitation outside a small Spanish village. Noel's head games with the audience — constantly stoking largely unwarranted fears — are all the more dubious for his disconcerting visual fetish for the flesh of kids. — T.K.

7 p.m. — "Rain": CCH Pounder, playing the dedicated track coach of talented teenager Rain, provides the much-needed heart of this minor-league AIDS drama from the Bahamas. Unfortunately, she looked like she'd put on about 50 pounds at a botched press-screening presentation last week that made the entire cast look bloated. Here's hoping this hall-of-mirrors distortion effect is eliminated for the next showing. — J.H.

9:30 p.m. — "Breathless": Beatings, kicks, slaps, spitting and nonstop verbal abuse fuel this South Korean flick about a gangster/debt-collector who falls for a sassy high-school girl. Some twisted humor and sticky sentiment can't save this one from being a brutal ordeal. — M.U.

Uptown Cinemas, 511 Queen Anne Ave. N., Seattle

11 a.m. — "North": Norway has produced some odd comedies. This could be the oddest, though it has its moments, including one of the funniest sight gags in recent memory. The central character, a one-time skiing star named Jomar, has a special talent for creating messes; before the movie is half an hour old, he's responsible for what can only be called "accidental arson" — two incidences, no less. Unhappy with his job, he sets out for the North to find the son he fathered with an ex-girlfriend. On the way, he meets a philosophical old man, longing for death, and a very nervous teenager who eventually reveals the fears and loneliness that feed his homophobia. — J.H.

1:15 p.m. — "Adam"

3:45 p.m. — "Lovely Loneliness": Inés Efron, an irresistibly wide-eyed waif (she's sort of an Argentine spin on Audrey Tautou), gives a sweet, vulnerable performance in this wispy tale of a brokenhearted, hypochondriac Buenos Aires 20-something. Not much happens, and the character's fragility gets a little tiresome, but the charming Efron has a face made for the camera, and a ravishing close-up of a slow smile at the end will send the audience home happy. — M.M.

6:30 p.m. — "Fifty Dead Men Walking": This edge-of-your-seat drama is based on the true story of Martin McGartland (Jim Sturgess of "21"), a young Belfast slacker who simultaneously catches the eye of IRA recruiters and British intelligence in the 1980s. A Brit handler (wonderful work by Ben Kingsley) wins his loyalty, monitoring McGartland as he works undercover. Brutal and obvious — yet subtly moving. — T.K.

9:30 p.m. — "Flame & Citron"