Augustine, movingly played by Soko, who works as a kitchen maid, suffers from seizures. At the psychiatric hospital to which she has been sent, Dr. Charcot, played by the excellent Vincent Lindon, notices the physical pleasure she gets from one of her seizures, which results in partial paralysis. The doctor is fascinated by the sexual connection. In the course of his fund-raising efforts for his work, he callously uses Augustine as his example before groups of doctors to demonstrate what happens to her under hypnosis.

The patient, kept in the dark about how the doctor intends to cure her, becomes enamored of the doctor and he, while attempting to keep his distance, cannot help but be intrigued and sexually aroused by her.

The film is impressive in the way it carries us along in its grasp, including by the various experimentations and results. A climactic ending, perhaps inevitable given the circumstances, is likely to arouse controversy and discussion, making the film especially provocative in terms of its doctor-patient relationship and ethical considerations.

It is the height of wrong-headedness to provide a hip-hop score to a story that takes place in the jazz age, with the imposed music in opposition to what is happening on screen. In the Wall Street Journal, in a piece by Will Friedwald about music cited in the writing of F. Scott Fitzgerald, he observes how Fitzgerald made very specific references to jazz. This renders the use of hip-hop by Luhrmann all the more absurd. But let’s face it—this film version is more about Luhrmann than Fitzgerald.

And what’s with the 3-D? Apart from enabling higher admission charges at the box office, 3-D makes no artistic sense in terms of added effects. There are no tigers roaring at us—just actors, fast cars and bacchanal scenes that we could take in quite normally without having to endure the uncomfortable ritual of special glasses.

The performances, when freed from Luhrmann’s warped vision, can be quite effective. Leonardo DiCaprio is fine delineating the mystique of Gatsby and his love for Daisy, whose allure is captured by the attractive Carey Mulligan. Tobey Maguire does well as Nick Carraway, carrying the film’s perspective via his memories, as written in the screenplay adaptation credited to Craig Pearce. Joel Edgerton makes a strong possessive and unpleasant Tom Buchanan, resisting Gatsby’s efforts to take Daisy away from him.

There is not much sense in having Nick reflect during treatment at a mental institution, where he manages to write what in effect is Fitzgerald’s novel. But why expect sense in a film that will substitute hip-hop for the jazz of the period? Visually there are some striking scenes, and I have encountered women, subjected to the promotional hype, who say they are eager to see the clothes worn in the film. I suppose that’s as good a reason as any to go.

The focus of the film is Polley’s mother, Diane, an actress who died when the director-to-be was 11 years old. She recalls her mother from her childhood memories, family photographs, home movies and film clips. She also enlists family members, key acquaintances and actors to fill out details. The film is exciting, never static.

Everything is so convincing that only at the end, when the credits roll, will you be able to discern who the actors were as opposed to the real people fleshing out the stories. On the one hand, you may feel a twinge of having been taken, but on the other, you are likely to admire how convincing all of the story-tellers are.

Polley also appears in the film as the director and instigator of the project. The effect is seamless, and we are quickly immersed in the Polley family, its history and the magnetism that Polley’s mother possessed. As the portrait gets more and more fleshed out, we see Diane as a spirited, talented woman carving out her own life independently of what others may have expected of her.

The joint direction by Scott McGehee and David Siegel, from a screenplay by Nancy Doyne and Carroll Cartwright, adheres to Maisie’s perspective, which makes the film especially powerful. Maisie’s parents living in New York are played by Julianne Moore as Susanna, a musician, and Steve Coogan as Beale, an art dealer. They have bitter arguments, and the result is competition for custody of Maise when they split.

Although each professes love for Maisie, their own self-involvements make their protestations hollow. They are completely incapable of decent parenting, given their own problems. Maisie is caught in the middle, and we get a portrait of her instincts for self-preservation in the face of the adult world with which she is saddled.

Beale develops a relationship with Margo, nicely played by Joanna Vanderham, who was Maisie’s nanny. But Beale is no more a good match for Margo than he was for Susanna. Margo develops an attraction for a decent chap, Lincoln, portrayed forthrightly by Alexander Skarsgard. Maisie, of course, watches all of this.

But there is potential salvation for her in the genuine affection that Margo has for her. And Lincoln also treats her kindly. Will Maisie ultimately find a home with this promising couple?

Romantic juxtapositions and entanglements fuel the plotline. Trine Dyrholm as Ida gets the distressing news in Denmark that she has cancer. She also finds her boorish, insensitive husband in an affair with his young but vacuous accountant. All this comes at a time when Ida’s daughter Astrid, played by Molly Blixt Egeland, is about to get married to someone she has known for a short time--Patrick, portrayed by Sebastian Jessen. Patrick’s father, Philip, is played by the ever-appealing Pierce Brosnan, whose wife’s tragic death in an accident has left him bereft and in a state of repressed bitterness. The wedding is to take place at Philip’s huge home in Sorrento.

Unknown to each other, Ida and Philip happen to meet in Denmark in a fender-bender. Turns out they have being mother of the bride and father of the groom in common. You can guess where all this is going, but the fun lies in getting there, with all of the permutations and family angst exploding in the course of the wedding plans. Ida’s creep of a husband has the nerve to show up with his new love. Also, there is the presence of over-the-top Benedikte, Philip’s former sister-in law, played flamboyantly by Paprika Steen, who has long had the hots for Philip and isn’t ready to give up. Philip’s son adds to the complications with a surprise of his own.

What keeps the film affably afloat, apart from the location's seductiveness, is the acting by Dyrholm as Ida and Brosnan as Philip. Dyrholm has a freshness and forthrightness in delineating her character, who is facing her illness with candor. Brosnan projects his typical screen charm as he builds Philip’s character convincingly. One, of course, roots for them to find happiness with each other.

His main characters include Juan, an architect played by Adolfo Jiménez Castro, his wife Natalia, portrayed by Nathalia Acevedo and Seven, a worker, played by Willebaldo Torres, whose marriage has been messed up and who is engaged in renovating Juan’s village house. There is an undercurrent of violence in Reygadas’s scheme of things.

One scene that stands out especially in my mind is a bathhouse orgy, filmed explicitly. Juan and his wife participate, first as voyeurs, but then getting into the swing of things—or shall we say swinger of things. There are various rooms, the idea being that each participant choose one’s favorite. Reygadas is deft at getting the atmosphere right and showing how pleasure is achieved.

There is also the depiction of the devil turning up at home, probably via the vision of a child. Other scenes that stick involve desecration of trees for personal purposes, a lethal confrontation and Seven’s encounter with his estranged wife, whom he has mistreated

If you know Nair’s work, you can reliably expect that her film will be packed with atmosphere and impressive visuals wherever she is filming. This tale begins in Lahore, where an American journalist (Liev Schreiber), also secretly functioning as a CIA operative, is listening to the story by a Pakistani man named Changez, portrayed by Riz Ahmed. The film flashes back a decade to the United States and Changez’s life in America.

Changez is pursuing the American dream. After university, he has begun working his way up on Wall Street. He has a girlfriend, Erica, played by the attractive Kate Hudson. The future looks bright indeed. But with the attack on the Trade Towers on 9/11, Changez’s dreams start to fall apart.

Nair boldly follows what has happened in America as paranoia set in following the attack on American soil. People begin to look with suspicion on those with a background like that of Changez. Thus perceived, he is humiliated and questioned as if he were a terrorist lurking in the country and perhaps connected with 9/11 or planned assaults. His plight illustrates what civil libertarians have been crying out against, the unjust treatment of totally innocent individuals.

Friends of hers are also there for the sex tourism. The ritual begins with women on the beach who venture toward the water being surrounded by the Africans aggressively trying to sell souvenirs. But the real action follows with the locals leading the willing women into having sex.

Teresa is rather pathetic. She is chunky and physically unappealing, and also plagued by being pitifully naïve. She is looking for the pickups to express genuine affection for her and is disappointed when, after not demanding any quid pro quo price, they wind up with stories of money needed for sick relatives. Despite her disillusionment, Teresa keeps going back for more. Her sex scenes aren’t exactly pretty to look at.

There is one long, explicit encounter when her women friends decide to give her a birthday gift—a young African male, who strips totally and is supposed to service Teresa. The women play at trying to arouse him, which fails to happen. They tie a ribbon around his private part and do everything they can think of to achieve his readiness. There is something downgrading to see someone used as a toy this way, but then again, he is earning money for his efforts.

Claude insinuates himself into the household of another student, Rapha (Bastien Ughetto), and while at first welcomed, he becomes a nuisance as he abuses the hospitality and more and more takes advantage of the situation.

For one thing, Claude becomes attracted to Rapha’s mother, played by Emmanuelle Seigner. She is attractive, and we begin to see the sexual feelings building up in Claude. Making a move would be daring and risk his acceptance in the household. But Claude is a risk-taker.

Claude’s written work, continuing to impress Germain, is a mix of fiction and fact reflecting his bizarre experiences. Which is true and which stems from his imagination? The teacher makes a serious ethical mistake, and one wonders if a teacher in such circumstances would really do what he does in the film. In any event, the act will later have dire results.

The film starts with a group of Glascow misfits in court being sentenced to community service for their assorted deeds. One of them, Robbie (Paul Brannigan), has perpetrated a vicious beating. He has a pregnant girlfriend, Leonie, (Siobhan Reilly), whose family wants to get rid of him and doesn’t even want him to see his newborn son after Leonie gives birth. But Leonie is willing to stick by Robbie if he mends his ways.

Robbie and the others under court sentence become the charge of supervisor Harry (John Henshaw), who dispenses tough love and guidance. Scenes in which Robbie and the others have to do manual labor involving plastering and painting are amusing, but not as funny as when they try to disguise themselves as casual tourists by wearing kilts in connection with the caper they later plan.

On an educational trip Harry takes them to view a malt whisky distillery, where they learn some interesting things about booze, such as two percent of whisky at the bottom of the barrel disappears in the aging process. It’s known as the angels’s share. They hear talk about the value of a very rare special whisky that can bring big bucks at an auction. Robbie gets an idea of siphoning off two percent to sell to a wheeler-dealer—a victimless crime because nobody will miss the stolen whisky.

The film has plenty of enjoyable atmosphere, with all the talk about the nose for good liquor and the world of expertise. But the ingenuity of the film lies in watching the lives of the group change for the better in a demonstration that there is hope for those with a rotten start in life if they are given the opportunity. Harry becomes an anchor for them and there is a touching moment when he is gently repaid with a token of appreciation.