MIAMI – The Miami International Film Festival will be screening 129 films from 40 countries through March 13.
Organizers said it is the longest film lineup the festival has ever had. Navigating their program -- with 100 feature films and documentaries and 29 short films -- will not be easy this year. These are some of the MIFF films with the best reviews worldwide.
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LOCAL 10 TOP 10
1. TALE OF TALES (2015): France, Italy and UK
SOIREE SERIES: Salma Hayek plays a selfish queen and Vincent Cassel plays a lascivious king in this "wild" imagery leap into medieval fantasy. It plays at 7 p.m. Thursday and at 1 p.m., Saturday (March 12) at Regal 17, 1100 Lincoln Road in South Beach. Tickets range from $40 to $13.
2. PALM TREES IN THE SNOW (2015): Spain
CINEDWNTWN GALA: Mario Casas stars as the passionate Kilian in a "sweeping" romance about a family secret in Equatorial Guinea. It plays at 8:30 p.m., Saturday at The Olympica Theater, 174 E. Flagler St., in downtown Miami. Tickets are $16.
3. EYE IN THE SKY (2015): UK
MARQUEE SERIES: Oscar-winner Hele Mirren plays Col. Katherine Powell in this "relevant" war on terror film about making decisions from a high-tech control room. It plays at 6:30 p.m., Saturday at the Tower Theater, 1508 SW 8th St., in Miami's Little Havana and at 9:30 p.m., Sunday at Cinepolis, 3015 Grand Ave., in Miami's Coconut Grove. Tickets are $13.
4. THE LOBSTER (2015): France, Greece, Ireland
KNIGHT COMPETITION: Colin Farrell plays David, a divorcee that ends up in prison. The film is a "delirious love letter to human nature" in a world of "brilliantly bizarre speculation." The "dream" cast also includes Rachel Weisz, John C. Reilly and Ben Whiteshaw. It plays at 7 p.m. Tuesday, at the Tower Theater, 1508 SW 8th St., in Miami's Little Havana and at 9:15 p.m., Friday at Regal 18, 1100 Lincoln Road, in South Beach.Tickets are $13.
5. THE WAIT (2016): Italy
SCREENWRITING COMPETITION: Juliette Binoche plays a mom waiting for her son with his girlfriend in a "gorgeously photographed travelogue-drama" set in Sicily. It plays at 7 p.m., Monday, at the O Cinema, 500 71 St., in Miami Beach and at 9 p.m., Tuesday, at Regal 17, 1100 Lincoln Road in South Beach. Tickets are $13.
6. MOUNTAINS MAY DEPART (2015): China, France and Japan
KNIGHT COMPETITION: Tao marries a gas station proprietor and has a son named Dollar in a "hugely entertaining" film that explores the conflicts between love, freedom and obligation. It plays at 1 p.m., Sunday at the Tower Theater, 1508 SW 8th St., in Miami's Little Havana and at 6:45 p.m., March 13, at Regal 18, 1100 Lincoln Rd., in South Beach. Tickets are $13.
7. BEEBA BOYS (2015): Canada
MARQUEE SERIES: The "dandy comic crime thriller" reminiscent of The Sopranos is inspired by the real-life story of the Punjabi gangster wars in Vancouver, Canada. It plays at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, at O Cinema, 500 71 St., in Miami Beach. Tickets are $25.
8. GOLD COAST (2015): Denmark, Ghana and Sweden
CINEMA 360: Danish novelist Daniel Dencik spent years working with Ghanan producer Kwame Boadi on the "amazing true story of botanist" Wulff in a "hallucinatory epic" and an effort to officially ban the slave trade. It plays at 5 p.m., Sunday, at the Coral Gables Art Cinema, 260 Aragon Ave., and at 7 p.m., March 12, at Cinepolis, 3015 Grand Ave., in Miami's Coconut Grove. Tickets are $13.
9. SIEMBRA (2015): Colombia
IBERO AMERICAN FEATURE FILM COMPETITION: Afro-Colombians' suffering during the ongoing civil war is showcased in a film that portrays a story about a fisherman's grief through hip-hop, salsa, marimba and the "haunting" cappella funeral songs. It plays at 9 p.m., Tuesday, at the Coral Gables Art Cinema, 260 Aragon Ave., and at 9:30 p.m., Sunday at Cinepolis, 3015 Grand Ave., in Coconut Grove. Tickets are $13.
10. MA MA (2015): Spain and France
IBERO AMERICAN FEATURE FILM COMPETITION: Penelope Cruz gives the performance "of a lifetime" in the "sophisticated melodrama" by Julio Medem, the director of "Sex and Lucia." It plays at 9:45 p.m., Saturday, at Regal 17, 1100 Lincoln Rd., in South Beach, and at 7 p.m., Monday at Cinepolis, 3015 Grand Ave., in Miami's Coconut Grove. Tickets are $13.