Manoel de Oliveira (Portugal/France)
Manoel de Oliveira, now in his nineties, explores the pain of aging and loss through the story of an aging actor, who loses his family in a car accident but determinedly keeps on with his career. A terrific, dignified but gently humourous performance by Michel Piccoli in the lead is a huge benefit. There's a disconnectedness to the narrative (one moment he's worrying about Ionesco, the next to his new shoes) and an eccentric literary humour throughout. The actor, refusing to do anything that smacks of cheap exploitation, rejects a movie of the week. Instead, he is cast in a ill-fated French/American co-production of James Joyce's Ulysses - in which the 60-plus man is a last-minute choice for the role of the strapping young Buck Mulligan, with predictably awkward results. (John Malkovich, as the American director, has a funny turn). The casting in Ulysses points to the title - that the actor's journey is over and it's time for him to set sails back home. - L.L.

(Fri. Sept. 7, 3:30 p.m. Uptown; Fri., Sept. 14, 5:30 p.m., Varsity)