AFI FILM FEST: WEEK 2

L istings and commentary for Week 2 of the American Film Institute Film Festival of Los Angeles, which runs through March 26:

TUESDAY

“A Time to Die” (Colombia/Cuba, 1985, 7:30 p.m.). The memory of murder, twisted honor, a vendetta in the sunlight, doom in the sweaty heat of a mountain village, machismo that knows no season, an absurd path to damnation: These are the subjects of Gabrial Garcia Marquez’ original screenplay, which he wrote in collaboration with Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes. It’s a fine, strong, ironic script, a melodrama with soul, a tragedy in cemeteries, gardens, arenas and brothels--and director Jorge Ali Triana gives it full-bodied treatment. Even the setting, ironically, reeks of doom: It’s the village of Armero, leveled in an earthquake last year. Recommended.