AFI FESTIVAL : Works by De Oliveira, Leigh

Following are The Times’ recommendations for today’s schedule of the American Film Institute International Film Festival, with commentary by the film-reviewing staff. All screenings, except where noted, are at Laemmle’s Monica 4-Plex, 1332 2nd St., Santa Monica. Information: (213) 466-1767.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:

“NO! OR THE VAIN GLORY OF COMMAND”(Portugal; director Manoel de Oliveira; 1 and 6:15 p.m.). De Oliveira--the phenomenal octogenarian--directed this stately and beautiful pacifist parable at 79. A Portuguese lieutenant cites the foolishness and pomp of wars and colonialism throughout history, as his troops speed toward battle in Angola. The style, magisterial and whimsical, flamboyant and chaste, full of deliberately “stagy” reproductions, has the effortless form and serenity of late Bunuel. (Michael Wilmington)

“HARD LABOUR”(Great Britain, 1973; Mike Leigh; 4:15 and 9:30 p.m.). One of the bleakest, most downbeat portraits of English working-class life you would ever hope to see, this film is rougher and more naturalistic than Leigh’s later work, though the heedless humor that would soon fully assert itself is visible in embryonic form. With Ben Kingsley as an Indian who runs a lethargic taxi service, and Alison Steadman as a domestic tyrant of a daughter-in-law. Preceded by Leigh’s series of five-minute films (1975). (Kenneth Turan)

“BOB ROBERTS”(United States; Tim Robbins; Academy Theater; 7:30 p.m.). In Tim Robbins’ sharp, stunning and absolutely hilarious writer-directorial debut, a reactionary folk/pop singer rises to political prominence, bringing corn-pone fascism to America. Is it “Face in the Crowd” reprised? Only superficially. This dazzling, Altmanesque mock documentary, in which the subjects constantly conceal the truth, unveils the ‘90s as “Crowd” did the ‘50s, or “Citizen Kane” did the ‘40s. Robbins’ main targets--the media hucksters and professional image peddlers who now control American elections--have never been more effectively skewered. A killer comedy and an important statement for our times. (M. W.)

“A RESPECTABLE LIFE”(Sweden, 1979; Stefan Jarl; AFI Warner, 9 p.m.). Kenta and Stoffe, the two protagonists of Jarl’s 1968 “They Call Us Misfits”--then carefree “mod” teen-agers, now drug addicts in their late 20s--are reunited for a documentary of devastating power. Using a mix of interviews and partially “staged” scenes--without moralizing, but with immense clarity and compassion--we see two wasted lives: their women, children and the dead-end subculture of crime and prostitution to which they belong. The reunion is brief; before the climax, one of them will die of an overdose. There have been many movie portrayals of heroin addiction. This is the one with guts, artistry and passion: a true neglected classic. (M. W.)

RECOMMENDED:

“IN SEARCH OF OUR FATHERS”(United States; Marco Williams; 1:30 and 6:45 p.m.). Marco Williams’ seven-years-plus quest for the father he never knew takes us through an African-American family with four generations of unwed mothers. This single-minded search gives way, over the years, to greater understanding and acceptance of his matriarchal family. There’s a remarkable portrait of his mother, for many years a chef at a top Paris restaurant, who blossoms before our eyes. Also: “Without a Pass,” a Williams’ short. (Kevin Thomas)

“LOVE ON THE RUN”(France; Francois Truffaut; 1:45 and 7 p.m.). Unfortunately, the last of Truffaut’s Antoine Doinel series, with Antoine (Jean-Pierre Leaud) once again a man in flight, in transit, unsettled, reviewing his past life--through clips from the four previous films--as his present seems to whirl by him, heedlessly. Marie-France Pisier and Claude Jade, reprising their previous series roles, co-star. Though the film doesn’t satisfactorily conclude one of the cinema’s best-loved chronicles--as, of course, wasn’t intended--there’s something fitting about the way we leave Antoine: in uncertainty. (M. W.).

“TROUBLED PARADISE”(United States; Steven Okazaki; AFI Warner, 7 p.m.). An incisive, illuminating documentary on the efforts of native Hawaiians to reclaim and preserve their heritage. (K. T.)