I have two new (relatively new) movies to recommend.

[Demoiselle]

Humor me. I'm not likely to see two great movies in a one week span ever again in my life, and I really feel they should be seen by everyone.

1. "Farewell" . A French movie about the Soviet KGB Colonel Sergei Grigoriev, who, in the early eighties, decided that he needed to save his beloved country by breaking it. He gave up the entire Russian spy network to a French agent...and with their spy system blown, the powers in the Kremlin decided to change. Drastically. Extraordinary movie..about the utter ordinariness of spying...and the utter terror. And the man who plays Grigoriev is the Serbian movie director Emir Kustirica. His performance alone is worth the price of admission.

2. "Cairo Time." Patricia Clarkson, playing the wife of a UN official, goes to Cairo for the first time to meet her husband for some time together and is marooned alone in the city when he must stay in Gaza to deal with a crisis. She is shown the city by a gentle young man, a Cairo native and friend of her husband. The culture clash/shock/resolution, the two wonderful actors, the cinematography are all incredible. I really felt opened up by this movie. It is quite a beautiful experience.