Frequent-flier miles via film

THE AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival -- generally known by the more accessible handle AFI Fest -- opens its 11-day run tonight with James Mangold’s Johnny Cash drama “Walk the Line,” starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. In addition to highlighting some of the more anticipated upcoming releases, the festival enhances its reputation as the first L.A. stop for the best of global cinema, including several films that are their country’s official submission for the Academy Awards.

From Hungary comes the quietly remarkable Holocaust drama “Fateless.” The directing debut of Oscar-nominated cinematographer Lajos Koltai (“Malena”), the film is based on Nobel laureate Imre Kertesz’s 1975 novel “Sorstalansag,” which details the experiences of a 14-year-old Hungarian Jew named Gyuri (Marcell Nagy) in the German concentration camps. The key to Gyuri’s survival is his Buddha-like detachment in the face of even the worst circumstances. Acceptance has its price, however, as evoked by Koltai’s gradual draining of color from the film’s bronzed images. The newly crowned James Bond, Daniel Craig, turns up in a rugged cameo.

“Tsotsi,” based on the Athol Fugard novel, is South Africa’s Oscar entry. The prolific Fugard says it is “far and away” the best screen adaptation of one of his works. Set in the grim townships of Johannesburg, the film tracks the transcendent conversion of the violent, young title character (Presley Chweneyagae), whose name literally means “thug.” A bravura opening sequence shows us Tsotsi’s rage, disregard for life and inability to open up even to the members of his gang. During an impulsive carjacking, Tsotsi kills a woman for her BMW and discovers the 3-month-old baby in the back seat only after he drives off. Screenwriter-director Gavin Hood skillfully handles the young man’s decision to try to care for the child and the surprising effect it has on his fate. Whether it be in his music or editing choices, Hood avoids the obvious in this powerful tale that turns the traditional gangster film on its ear.

A richly evocative soundtrack and standout performances highlight “C.R.A.Z.Y.,” Canada’s submission for the Academy Awards. A French Canadian coming-of-age story covering 1960 to 1980, Jean-Marc Vallee’s charming melodrama stars Marc-Andre Grondin as Zachary, the fourth of five sons in the Beaulieu family, as he struggles with his sexual identity. His dad (Michel Cote) likes Patsy Cline and croons along with Charles Aznavour, but Zac’s sensitivity and fondness for David Bowie soon stoke a conflict between the two. Danielle Proulx is also excellent as Zac’s long-suffering, gentle mother. Vallee uses pop to exceptional dramatic effect in covering the two decades with meticulous period detail that perfectly blends nostalgia with cleareyed assuredness.

The sharp U.K. satire “The Gigolos” may not be a foreign-language film, but director Richard Bracewell and writer-performers Sacha Tarter and Trevor Sather have created an improvised world of their own. Sacha is a top-of-the-line male escort in London’s West End and Trevor is his gent, a combination valet and business manager who lines up “dates” and hotels and writes impeccably worded notes. Together, they service the wealthy but lonely ladies over 50 with old-school style and charm. The filmmakers have their tongues planted so firmly in cheek, some may think they’ve stumbled into some type of pseudo-documentary. One of the only clues that we’re being put on is the presence of four noted British actresses -- Sian Phillips, Anna Massey, Angela Pleasence and Susannah York -- as the men’s clients. A subtly delightful film.

In the realm of actual documentaries, “The Refugee All Stars” chronicles the peripatetic sounds of a group of musicians from Sierra Leone. As their West African country reels from a decade-long civil war, the six artists -- five men and one woman -- see themselves as the voice of the people of Sierra Leone, singing boldly political lyrics against the vivid beats of their music, a mix of folk, reggae, and rhythm and blues. Filmmakers Zach Niles and Banker White contrast the uplifting spirit of the band against the brutality of war and the seemingly endless images of children missing limbs.

A bracingly different kind of music documentary is Ari Alexander and Ergis Magnusson’s “Screaming Masterpiece,” a refreshing blast of Icelandic pop music. The film traces the Nordic nation’s musical roots 1,000 years back to the Vikings and sprinkles a liberal amount of spectacular footage of its wintry landscapes and black beaches among the interviews and performances. It goes beyond the mainstream success of the always hypnotic Bjork and the serious sounds of Sigur Ros to delve into the thriving Reykjavik music scene and the less well-known Mugison, Minus, Slowblow, Mum and Bang Gang. Even the eclectic Apparat Organ Quartet -- that would be four guys pounding out fuzzy electronic rock on synthesizers and pump organs -- gets equal time with the bigger names. A worthwhile trek into a quirky niche of global music -- and besides, where else are you going to see an interview with the head pagan of Iceland?

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Tangled feelings

Director Naruse Mikio (1905-69) was a master at transforming the traditional “woman’s picture” into an enduring expression of the human spirit under siege. With compassion but detachment, the generally pessimistic Naruse viewed people’s tangled lives and deepest longings straight on, and his steadfast vision and simplicity of style could bring dignity and meaning to even the most melodramatic soap opera plots.

The UCLA Film and Television Archive begins its retrospective of the Japanese filmmaker with one of Naruse’s finest films, “Floating Clouds” (1955). It packs such an emotional wallop that it’s worth adjusting to its measured pacing, ample hand-wringing and full-blown score. It is in glorious black-and-white, features some of Japan’s greatest stars of the era and is based on a famous novel by Hayashi Fumiko. It’s an epic-scale romantic love story set against the morally bankrupt postwar era. Takamine Hideko and Mori Masayuki are the star-crossed lovers whose ill-fated affair is bathed in ineffable poignancy.

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Kevin Thomas

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Screenings

AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival

* “Walk the Line”: 7:30 tonight, Cinerama Dome

* “Screaming Masterpiece”: 9 p.m. Saturday, 3:45 p.m. Sunday

* “The Gigolos”: 6:30 p.m. Sunday, 4:15 p.m. Monday

* “Fateless”: 6:45 p.m. Monday, 12;30 p.m. Wednesday

* “C.R.A.Z.Y.”: 7 p.m. Monday, 3:30 p.m. Tuesday

* “Tsotsi”: 7 p.m. Tuesday, 4:15 p.m.; Wednesday

* “The Refugee All Stars”: 7:15 p.m. Wednesday, 4:15 p.m. Nov. 11

Where: ArcLight Cinemas, 6360 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood

Info: (866) AFI-FEST, www.afi.com

Naruse Mikio series

* “Floating Clouds”: 7:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: James Bridges Theater, Melnitz Hall, UCLA campus

Info: (310) 206-FILM, www.cinema.ucla.edu