AFI Fest A to Z: Hey Man, Yeah

I WILL FOLLOW As a grieving woman (Salli Richardson-Whitfield) packs up the house of her late aunt in a single day, she's visited by a dozen different people — movers, family, friends — who trigger tears, comic relief and life-changing realizations. Aptly described by writer-director Ava Duvernay as a "mood piece," the film is deceptively simple as it gracefully cycles through its palette of emotions. (The aunt's backstory serves subtle commentary on the limits imposed by race and gender; she was a session musician renowned for disco work while dreaming of being in a rock band.) The entire ensemble is solid, but Michole White as the angrily grieving daughter is exceptional. (EH) (Nov. 5, 9 p.m. Egyptian)

THE KING'S SPEECH The common fear of public speaking and the uncommon circumstance of being the king of England come together in this delightful example of just how enjoyable the biopic genre can be. Colin Firth breathes charm as George VI, who won the title after his spoiled-rotten brother Edward VIII (Guy Pearce) abdicated to marry the woman he loved. As Hitler had invaded Poland, George was required to speak, but was paralyzed by a stammer he'd had since youth. Enter the very unorthodox speech teacher Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). Rush hams soulfully. Helena Bonham Carter likewise has a fine old time as George's wife, later known and much-beloved as the Queen Mum. (DE) (Nov. 5, 7:30 p.m., Chinese)

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

Putty Hill

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LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS Anne Hathaway bares her breasts in Edward Zwick's rom-dramedy, frequently and casually and with the confidence of a one-time Oscar nominee who knows that a role in which her romantic viability is undercut by a debilitating disease is a pretty sure shot at nomination No. 2. Should you decide that you cannot wait for the screen grabs to make it to Mr. Skin, be forewarned that Love and Other Drugs, an unfunny sex farce and a relationship study without a shred of genuine human behavior, also includes the following: period-defining montages set to both Spin Doctors and "Macarena"; an Inconvenient Boner set piece forcing Jake Gyllenhaal to scamper across several frames holding a pillow in front of his pelvis; a pull-over-on-the-highway make-up-cute; and a sex scene in which an orgasm evolves into a Parkinson's tremor — or maybe, even more tastelessly, vice versa? Ask yourself: Is it worth it? (KL) (Nov. 4, 7:30 p.m., Chinese)

MADE IN DAGENHAM The 187 female machinists at Dagenham's Ford factory plant assembled car-seat upholstery by hand without a template; Nigel Cole's blandly inspirational recap of their 1968 strike, though, is strictly prefab. Thrill to the preordained beats as Rita O'Grady (Sally Hawkins) overcomes her natural timidity and unfortunate haircut to demand equal pay. She also teaches her husband (Daniel Mays) that it's her right not to get beaten; he gratefully agrees and sexism is eradicated forever. You've seen this before: After an initial euphoric burst, the strike gets rough and everyone hates Rita until she wins everything. Both dour and lazy, the fictionalized saga is undercut by grainy archival footage of the actual plant and the real ladies, shamefully relegated to a token minute's reminiscence over the end credits. (VR) (Nov. 8, 8 p.m., Chinese)

CRITIC'S PICK  THE MYTH OF THE AMERICAN SLEEPOVER First-time director David Robert Mitchell has collected a remarkable group of kids for his slightly clumsy but hugely endearing high school nostalgia piece, which plays like a gentler, sweeter, essentially timeless version of Dazed and Confused. Scattered across a neighborhood's worth of summer parties, hangouts and, yes, sleepovers, various Michigan teens bounce from one awkward flirtation to the next, constantly mindful of their place in the hierarchy and forever uncertain whether to choose caution or adventure. That tenuous sense of push-pull is the heart of the movie, which starts off ungainly but slowly grows into a modest, gossamer joy. (MD) (Nov. 9, 7 p.m., Chinese)

NOTHING'S ALL BAD A neurotic exhibitionist pervert and his gorgeous gigolo son; a lonely, sexually repressed widow and her mastectomied daughter. Around these four begging-for-analysis individuals, writer-director Mikkel Munch-Fals crafts his first feature, Nothing's All Bad, a yarn of depravity, dysfunction and absurd coincidences. Munch-Fals is a major critic in the Danish film community, but his writing here would suggest that his viewing is limited to works from the ongoing cycle of melodramas wallowing in the seedy underbelly of suburban America (Solondz, Field, Jenkins, Mendes), but his directing brings in ideas about space from Antonioni and color from Fassbinder's reading of Sirk and shows a true critic's sensibility by playing out the incredibly silly climax exclusively in knowing looks — at once a triumph of physical performance and an acknowledgment of his film's failure. (PC) (Nov. 9, 9:45 p.m., Chinese)

CRITIC'S PICK  OKI'S MOVIE It's a pity that Hong Sang-soo's movies come and go in the States so swiftly, especially since his latest might be his most accomplished yet. Set at a film school seemingly plagued by bad ideas — romantic and professional — four nested stories play out affairs of the heart that unexpectedly cut to the quick, among them the comic misadventures of a pompous young director. His off-balance, Rohmeresque encounters and another student's musings on two boyfriends of very different ages are the highlights of the film, which also delivers Hong's comic specialty: scenes of drunken mortification that feel like one's most bumbling what-if daydreams thrown on-screen. (This time it's the young director's post-screening Q&A, which hilariously falls under the category of "worst-case scenario.") The abrupt daisy-chaining of the characters' lives and their personal films keeps you on your toes, but it's all in the service of drawing out intimately felt insights. (NR) (Nov. 6, 4:15 p.m., Chinese)