AFI FILM FEST: THE FINAL WEEK

T he following are capsule reviews of this week’s screenings at the AFI Film Festival of Los Angeles. Screenings take place at the Los Feliz Theater, 1822 N. Vermont Ave., Hollywood, except where noted. Tickets and information: (213) 520-2000 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. MONDAY

“The Poet’s Silence” (West Germany, 1986, 9:30 p.m.). Peter Lilienthal’s portrait of an aging poet, living reclusively in Tel Aviv with his young, retarded son has great potential, sensitive scenes and lovely, gone-to-seed locations--but it somehow lacks organic growth. It gets too subtle, too inverted, static and closed-in. As the father, Jakov Lind (the famous author of “Soul of Wood”) has a leonine presence; Len Damras, as his son, sometimes seems too quick, bushy-tailed and bright-eyed. Lilienthal does get a sense of sadness, alienation, waste, heartfelt pain here. But in the end, there’s too much silence and not enough poetry.