It's Day 4 of the Mostra Internacional de Cinema de São Paulo and I'm sad to say that I haven't been in love with anything I've seen (and yes, I saw Volver) -- until I saw Be With Me today. I thought the wordless romances of the first act were interesting and at times amusing, but it was the emergence of Theresa Chan -- a real-life woman who became blind and deaf as a teenager -- who framed the movie's sentimentality in an utterly profound way. Her story alone would be more than enough material for a compelling documentary, yet I found the fictional content provided a rewarding counterpoint to Theresa's story. Theresa, with all her handicaps, communicates better than the world around her.

I'm looking forward to seeing Pan's Labyrinth tonight, though I have to admit that the movie I'm most excited to see, out of the hundreds of films that will play until November 2, is definitely Syndromes and a Century...