After the Lights Go Down

*THE RABBIT ON THE MOON (Mexico/U.K.)

When a young husband and father attempts to better life for his family by investing in some prime real estate, he’s unwittingly drawn into a web of political intrigue that stretches from Mexico to England and will rip his family apart. Writer-director Jorge Ramirez-Suarez has crafted a sleek and effective thriller in which the ever-twisting plot ratchets up the tension to near unbearable levels. His is a Mexico that is simultaneously ultra-cosmopolitan yet deeply in the grip of age-old but still vital government corruption. A top-notch cast and taut screenplay are the foundation for this sure-footed Rabbit. (ArcLight 14, Sun., Nov. 7, 10 p.m.; Mon., Nov. 8, 4:30 p.m.) (EH)

THE HEART IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS (U.K.)

One of the bolder strokes of this year’s AFI Fest is its inclusion of Asia Argento’s sophomore feature, about a young boy, his white-trash mother (a blond Argento, channeling Courtney Love) and her series of abusive boyfriends (played by the likes of Jeremy Sisto and Marilyn Manson). Adapted from the cult novel by JT LeRoy, the movie is nothing if not a provocation — a phantasmagorical orgy of child abuse, incest and gender transmutation that makes Tarnationlook like something the whole family can enjoy. As with Argento’s infamous debut, Scarlet Diva, many viewers will simply be repulsed. But I’d be lying if I called the film boring, or denied that some of its crudely lyrical images stick in your head for days afterward. (ArcLight 10, Mon., Nov. 8, 9:30 p.m.) (SF)

OMAGH (Ireland/U.K.)

A violent terrorist attack occurs, and the ensuing investigation reveals a rat’s nest of suppressed intelligence and miscommunication between government agencies. Though the story sounds familiar, the date in question in director Pete Travis’ unnerving docudrama isn’t September 11, 2001, but rather August 15, 1998, when a car bomb claimed the lives of some 29 victims in the Northern Ireland town of Omagh. Co-scripted and produced by Paul Greengrass, Omagh functions as a companion piece of sorts to Greengrass’ own Bloody Sunday, but Travis shifts his emphasis from the tragic event itself to the aftermath, as surviving parents, spouses and friends struggle to reassemble their own lives out of so much emotional and physical shrapnel. (ArcLight 14, Mon., Nov. 8, 9:45 p.m.; Wed., Nov. 10, 4 p.m.) (SF)

LET’S ROCK AGAIN! (USA)

Given that insufferable frauds like Avril Lavigne and countless indie boy bands are now considered “punk,” a documentary on the late Joe Strummer is most timely. Unfortunately, as the camera follows the former Clash member on a tour that took him and his last band, the Mescaleros, from Japan to America, director Dick Rude’s documentary is often a slight, unsatisfying affair. (The opening credits, though, are pure adrenaline.) And while footage of Strummer passing out handmade fliers on the Atlantic City boardwalk in order to drum up a crowd for the night’s show will jab at your heart, scenes of him performing, or explaining to an interviewer why he (Strummer) is a hack, remind you what a golden man he was. (ArcLight 13, Mon., Nov. 8, 10 p.m.; Wed., Nov. 10, 3:30 p.m.) (EH)

IMAGINARY WITNESS: HOLLYWOOD AND THE HOLOCAUST(USA)

This skillfully assembled collection of talking-head interviews and film clips tracks the evolution of depictions of the Holocaust in mainstream movies, confirming the truism that the unimaginable can only be confronted at an oblique angle. The most effective sequences here, notably the title ordeal from Sophie’s Choice, find microcosmic moments that resonate with a historical horror too enormous ever to be depicted. Even at its best, though, fiction fails: The single most powerful scene in Daniel Anker’s film is the reunion between a brother and sister separated in the camps, staged in the 1950s on the original reality TV series This Is Your Life. The eloquent body language of their embrace is something no actor could ever hope to duplicate. (ArcLight 10, Tues., Nov. 9, 7 p.m) (DC)

ASTRONAUTS (Spain)

A surly, middle-aged loner, seemingly the sole occupant of the dilapidated building he’s fixing up, awakens one day to find a mysterious teenage girl sitting on the stairs outside his apartment. After a protracted, antagonistic standoff, he reluctantly invites her to take refuge in his home. Writer-director Santi Amodeo slowly develops their relationship, laying out a tale of addictions and isolation. But despite some tricked-out fantasy sequences and fine performances by the leads, it doesn’t really add up to much. The film ends just when the plot turns interesting, making for a conclusion that is both frustratingly open-ended and perfectly fitting. (ArcLight 13, Tues., Nov. 9, 7:15 p.m.; ArcLight 11, Thurs., Nov. 11, 3 p.m.) (EH)

*MACHUCA(Chile/Spain/France)

You don’t need to know a thing about Chile’s political history to be deeply moved by Andres Wood’s powerful remembrance (based on his own childhood) of the turbulent era in which, controversially, Salvador Allende was president and then “committed suicide.” The country’s social upheaval is seen through the eyes of a privileged young schoolboy whose private school takes in poor children from a nearby shantytown. The political unrest around the children plays out in class and classroom skirmishes between them, building toward a devastating climax. By delicately juxtaposing and balancing the minutiae of the boy’s life with greater social issues, the film essays its political critique without didacticism or shrillness. (ArcLight 10, Tues., Nov. 9, 9:30 p.m.; ArcLight 13, Thurs., Nov. 11, 12:15 p.m.) (EH)