Capsule Reviews of AFI Film Festival

Following are capsule reviews of a selection of the screenings today and Sunday at the American Film Institute Los Angeles International Film Festival at the Cineplex Odeon Cenutry Plaza Cinemas.

SATURDAY

‘Birdwatcher’

Soviet Union, 1988, 89 minutes Noon Director Arvo Iho and writer Marina Shatunova wring a wide range of implications in this austere, stylized film set in a remote natural preserve and involving only two characters, a hardy, mature forest ranger (Svetlana Tormakhova), at once Mother Russia both sexually and politically, and a young, idealistic Estonian ornithologist (Eric Ruus). Original, sophisticated--there’s great moody jazz score, but also a bit heavy going.