AFI FILM FEST: A WINDOW ON SOME FAR SHORES : SATURDAY

“Fatherland” (Great Britain, 1986, 7:30 p.m.). Directed by Ken Loach, with photography by Chris Menges, the marvelously well-acted “Fatherland” traces the odyssey of an East Berlin singer of protest songs who moves to the West. Part political thriller, part razor-keen depiction of high-life in the record business in today’s divided Berlin, the film moves from Germany to England as its hero searches for his father, a political emigre from Berlin 30 years before him. If Gerulf Pannach (whose own, excellent songs are used) seems an unlikely leading man at first, give him time; he becomes utterly mesmerizing by the film’s close. Recommended.