Series/Festivals

Behind Enemy Lines. (Not Rated) This riveting documentary follows Israeli police officer Benny Herness and Palestinian journalist Adnan Joulani for four days in August 2003. The men first met in 1999, when the Japanese ministry hosted twenty Israelis and Palestinians for two weeks' discussion; a year later, the second Intifada begins. At producer/director Dov Gil-Har's urging, Benny and Adnan reunite, each choosing places to visit that accentuate the continuing conflict. Benny takes Adnan to the Western Wall, the Holocaust Museum, central Jerusalem and the Café Moment, the site of a bombing that killed 21 Israelis. Adnan takes Benny to the East Jerusalem café where his cousin was killed, to Benny's home in a settlement where Palestinians live confined, to the Jenin refugee camp under curfew after three days of bulldozing. They debate differing perspectives passionately, informatively and thoughtfully, illuminating their profound differences but also offering hope. Leonard Suransky, Des Lee Visiting Lecturer in Global Awareness, introduces the film and leads a Q&A Thursday, April 28, at 7 p.m. in the Moore Auditorium on the campus of Webster University, 470 East Lockwood Ave. Call 314-968-7487 for more information. (Diane Carson)

Untold Scandal. (R) In his beautifully photographed, superbly acted film, South Korean writer/director E J-Yong adapts the plot of Les Liaisons Dangereuses to early-eighteenth-century Korea. Strictly prescribed manners and behavior dictate that, for social acceptance, men must behave as virtuous gentlemen and women as modest ladies. This rigorous Chosun Dynasty code, founded on Confucianism, intensifies the enthralling tale of erotic seduction and cruel revenge, of secretive trysts and attendance at forbidden Catholic services. Lavishly presented with elaborate, museum-quality costumes and outstanding music, Untold Scandal immerses the viewer in a world of betrayal and treachery as compelling as it is instructive, with a pace that never rushes but never releases its tension either. In Korean with English subtitles. Screens at 7 p.m. Friday, April 29, through Sunday, May 1, in the Moore Auditorium on the campus of Webster University, 470 East Lockwood Ave. Call 314-968-7487 for more information. (Carson)