Four-Star Films : ‘Anna’

This is the best kind of surprise--a small, frequently funny, fine-boned film set in the worlds of the theater and the movies that unexpectedly becomes a consummate study of love, alienation and loss. In a blazing comet of a performance, Oscar-nominated Sally Kirkland (pictured, right, with Paulina Porizkova) plays a one-time Czech movie star in this New York-made film about the irreconcilable pangs of exile. Directed by Yurek Bogayevicz and written by Polish film maker Agnieszka Holland (Bravo Monday at 5 a.m., 5 and 11 p.m.).

Other four-star films airing this week:

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid / Disney, Sunday, 10:10 p.m.

The Best Years of Their Lives / AMC, Monday, 6:30 a.m.

Laura / Disney, Monday, 9 p.m. and early Tuesday, 4:05 a.m.

Sounder / Disney, Tuesday, 10:15 p.m.

The Killers / AMC, Friday, 7 and 10:30 p.m.

Lives of a Bengal Lancer / AMC, Saturday, 10:05 a.m.