Sturla Gunnarsson (Canada)
Brace yourself, Newfoundland: You're about to become trendy. Between fall's high-minded CBC miniseries Random Passage and Christmas's splashy Hollywood adaptation, The Shipping News, the world is going to try to pin down your humour, your eccentricity, and your harsh beauty. So be happy that Rare Birds, Sturla Gunnarsson's (Such a Long Journey) film of Edward Richie's novel, gets a lot of it right. The plot sounds like a particularly wacky episode of Three's Company: Dave Purcell's (William Hurt) elegant restaurant is failing, so his genial neighbour Alphonse Murphy (Andy Jones) proposes a scam to lure customers. He fabricates the sighting of a rare duck, then throws in a sultry sister-in-law (Molly Parker), an underwater recreational vehicle, mysterious lights and 26 pounds of pure cocaine. What makes it work is consistently wry dialogue, underplyaed by a cast that seems to be having a blast. Parker, Canada's reigning sexpot, raises some steam from Hurt, while Jones delights without being cloying. - J.S.

(Sun., Sept. 9, 6:30 p.m., Isabel Bader Theatre; Tues., Sept. 11, 3:30 p.m., Uptown)