White Material

Claire Denis returns to colonial Africa with the story of Maria (Isabelle Huppert), a fearless French settler who refuses to flee as civil war erupts. Evoking an almost palpable suspense as chaos encroaches, this alluring yet disorienting film says as much with images as it does with dialogue. “Simultaneously poetic, dramatic and realistic … altogether stunning” (Los Angeles Times). In French with English subtitles. 2009, new 35mm print, 106 minutes.