(Andrey Zvyagintsev, Russia 2011, 109 min., Russian w/subtitles)

Rochester Premiere! Winner of Cannes’ Un Certain Regard Special Jury Prize, Elena is a gripping, modern twist on the classic noir thriller. Sixty-ish spouses Vladimir and Elena uneasily share his palatial Moscow apartment — he’s a still-virile, wealthy businessman; she’s his dowdy former nurse who has clearly “married up.” Estranged from his own wild-child daughter, Vladimir openly despises his wife’s freeloading son and family. But when a sudden illness and an unexpected reunion threaten the dutiful housewife’s potential inheritance, she must hatch a desperate plan.

(Kenneth Lonergan, US 2011, 150 min.)

Rochester Premiere! As life continues around her, a spoiled Upper West Side teenager (Anna Paquin) drowns in grief and guilt after she’s involved in a terrible bus accident. Lonergan’s long-awaited follow-up to his acclaimed You Can Count on Me is both an intimate chronicle of its protagonist’s emotional journey and a sprawling portrait of post-9/11 New York City.

(Melvin Van Peebles, US 1971, 97 min.)

Rated X. Forty years after its initial release, this independently produced feature has lost none of its controversial edge. Though routinely considered mere exploitation fare, Van Peebles cri de coeur is instead a raw and innovative expose of a racially divided nation. Preserved by The Museum of Modern Art with support from The Celeste Bartos Fund for Film Preservation, The Film Foundation, and The Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

(Kiseki, Hirokazu Koreeda, Japan 2011, 127 min., Japanese w/subtitles)

Rochester Premiere! Separated by their parents’ divorce, 12-year old Koichi lives with his mother in southern Japan while his younger brother lives with their father in the north. When Koichi learns of a new bullet train line linking the two towns, he starts to believe his family will be miraculously reunited place when the trains pass each other at top speed.

(Terrence Davies, UK 2011, 92 min.)

New Release! Free spirit Hester Collyer (Rachel Weisz) is a trapped in a loveless marriage with an older man. She finds escape in an affair with RAF pilot Freddie Page (Tom Hiddleston), but his callowness and her instability eventually send Hester deeper into isolation. Adapted from Terence Rattigan’s renowned play, Davies’s first fiction film in 12 years shows him at the top of his game.

(Alexander Mackendrick, UK 1951, 85 min.)

Happy Birthday, Gene Kelly! A bittersweet look back and a satirical postwar commentary, Donen and Kelly’s musical goodbye to MGM was conceived as a loose sequel to On the Town. Estranged Army buddies Gene Kelly, Dan Dailey, and Michael Kidd are reunited by TV coordinator Cyd Charisse. Kelly’s performance — and his celebrated roller skating sequence — shine.

(Alexander Mackendrick, UK 1951, 85 min.)

Mackendrick. Alec Guinness is flawless as the titular inventor whose formula for a gleaming white (and radioactive) miracle fabric makes him the target of textile manufacturers and his fellow workers. A stinging, often hilarious satire on big business and consumerism.

(Trois Couleurs: Rouge, Krzysztof Kieslowski 1994, France/Poland/Switzerland, 99 min., French w/subtitles)

A Trilogy of Trilogies. A Swiss model (Irène Jacob) meets a retired judge (Jean-Louis Trintignant) with a penchant for telephone tapping. Their meeting will affect not only their own lives but — unbeknownst to them both — the lives of a neighboring couple. Kieslowski wrapped up the Three Colors trilogy — and his career — with this powerful look at fate and fraternity.

(Athina Rachel Tsangari, Greece 2010, 93 min., Greek w/subtitles)

Rochester Premiere! A naive twentysomething, whose knowledge of human nature is taken from David Attenborough documentaries and ’70s punk, discovers her own developing sexuality while preparing for her ailing father’s death. An offbeat new entry in the Greek New Wave from the producer of the acclaimed film Dogtooth.

(Athina Rachel Tsangari, Greece 2010, 93 min., Greek w/subtitles)

Rochester Premiere!Dogtooth.