After the Lights Go Down

*DAYS AND HOURS (Bosnia-Herzegovina)

After war, life goes on, even for the grief-stricken Bosnian family of this lovely film from director Pjer Zalica (Fuse). Seven years after his cousin died in the conflict, Fuke (Senad Basic) visits his aunt and uncle in their tiny, close-knit village, and at first their talk is banal, mostly about food and broken furnaces. These conversations never grow intensely dramatic — the film requires patience — yet, in the way of family talks, old and new pains find their way into the mix, and gradually, with little fuss, the family’s grip on sadness eases. This is politics made human. (ArcLight 11, Tues., Nov. 9, 9:30 p.m.; ArcLight 14, Thurs., Nov. 11, 12:30 p.m.) (CW)

*SOUNDLESS (Germany)

In this moody, taut thriller, co-produced by director Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run), Viktor (Joachim Krol), a German hit man, falls in love with the girlfriend of his latest victim. Worried, his bosses mark him for death, even as a fascinated police inspector investigates Viktor’s past and discovers that he first killed at the age of 9. This is a complex tale, wrapped by director Mennan Yapo in a veneer that’s as elegant and cool as Viktor’s preparations for his next hit. While the final confrontation between cop and killer is anticlimactic, the film’s melancholy, secretly romantic undertones linger on. (ArcLight 12, Tues., Nov. 9, 9:45 p.m.; ArcLight 14, Thurs., Nov. 11, 4 p.m.) (CW)

I AM STAMOS (USA)

This recent darling of the film-festival circuit, directed by Rob Meltzer from a screenplay by Meltzer and Alex Eastburg, has proven itself a surefire crowd-pleaser. Credit for that goes to a very good John Stamos, who launched his acting career with a role on TV soap General Hospital but achieved his biggest success on the cheesy sitcom Full House, and here gamely pokes fun at himself. The script’s inspiration lies more in concept than execution. When homely character actor Andy Shrub becomes fed up playing Stamos’ goofy sidekick, fate intercedes and grants him a wish: Through the camera lens, the shlubby guy looks like Stamos, a fact that wreaks havoc on Shrub’s career. Wackiness ensues. (Los Angeles Film School, Wed., Nov. 10, 7 p.m.; Sat., Nov. 13, 1 p.m.) (EH)

*GUERRILLA: THE TAKING OF PATTY HEARST (USA)

Better served by its original, Miramax-vetoed title Neverland, Robert Stone’s scintillating chronicle of the rise and fall of the Symbionese Liberation Army dwells less on the abduction of Patty Hearst than it does on the counterculture that gave rise to her abductors. Through terrific archival footage and compelling new interviews with former SLA members Russ Little and Mike Bortin, Stone expresses clear nostalgia for a moment at which a real revolution seemed possible in America’s streets. But he also acknowledges how quickly those charged with the revolution’s execution OD’ed on their own lost-boy fantasies. (ArcLight 11, Wed., Nov. 10, 7:15 p.m.; ArcLight 12, Thurs., Nov. 11, 1 p.m.) (SF)

*RHYTHM IS IT!(Germany)

This superb documentary tracks an unlikely collaboration between the Berlin Philharmonic and 250 area schoolchildren, mostly teenagers with little concept of classical music. The plan is for the kids to train for and develop a dance to accompany the orchestra’s rendition of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. Focusing on a few key kids, co-directors Thomas Grube and Enrique Sanchez Lausch capture the bravery with which they move into uncharted territory — particularly Martin, a naturally gifted dancer with a fear of being touched. Watching him and his newfound colleagues awaken not only to the music but the unexpected grace of their own bodies is a beautiful thing. (ArcLight 13, Wed., Nov. 10, 7:15 p.m.; ArcLight 13, Fri., Nov. 12, 1 p.m.) (CW)

ETHAN MAO (USA/Canada)

After being kicked out of his suburban home for being gay, Ethan hits the streets, turning to drugs and selling his ass to survive. A fateful return home escalates into a violent standoff between the boy and his family: hardened father, bitchy stepmom, mild-mannered younger brother and spoiled jock stepbrother. Director Quentin Lee’s script is filled with leaden dialogue while his characters (almost all badly performed) range from half-baked to shrilly over-the-top. Like many contemporary American filmmakers, Lee mistakes arming his underdog with a gun for radical, subversive cultural representation. The imagery might sizzle for a moment, but it fizzes without substantive insights to back it up. (ArcLight 12, Wed., Nov. 10, 9:30 p.m.; ArcLight 13, Sat., Nov. 13, 12:30 p.m.) (EH)

HOTEL RWANDA (U.K./South Africa/Italy)

A prime example of what Pauline Kael meant when she suggested that “The subject of a movie should not place it beyond criticism.” Writer-director Terry George and co-screenwriter Keir Pearson labor so excruciatingly to turn the 1994 Rwandan genocide into an uplifting, inspirational story — by focusing on the mild-mannered hotel manager (Don Cheadle) whose heroic efforts saved the lives of some 1,200 people — that they end up cauterizing it. The movie feels counterfeit through and through, with the major exception of Cheadle’s performance, which is extraordinary. (ArcLight 10, Thurs., Nov. 11, 7 p.m.) (SF)

*DUCK SEASON (Mexico)

Set largely in a middle-class apartment over a span of 12 hours, Fernando Eimbcke’s Duck Season is a compressed, gilded coming-of-age tale. Fourteen-year-old best friends Flama and Mok Pablo are typically vacuous teenagers — bodies filled with sugary, greasy junk food, brains consumed by Xbox. But when the 16-year-old girl next door and a beleaguered pizza delivery guy enter the picture, the vacuum-sealed world becomes one in which burgeoning sexualities, disintegrating families and the crushing blows of life are grappled with through gently comedic touches and observations. Shot in black-and-white with cool visual flourishes. (ArcLight 14, Thurs., Nov. 11, 7:15 p.m.; Sat., Nov. 13, 1:30 p.m.) (EH)