Sundance's foreign offerings tackle global issues, themes

Once again, a wide variety of films from around the world give Sundance a rich international flavor it didn't have at the beginning.

And even many of the American films this year, such as "Incendiary," "Towelhead" and "Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?" — as well as the stunning 3-D concert film by the Irish band U2 — have unmistakable international roots and concerns.

At the top of my list is "Stranded," a documentary from France but in Spanish with subtitles, concerning the gripping story of the handful of passengers who, after two horrifying months, managed to survive after their plane crashed in the Andes mountains in 1972.

What kept them alive? As a last resort, they were forced to eat the flesh of the friends or relatives who died in the crash. Actual photos recovered from the crash, excellent re-enactments and heartfelt interviews with the survivors make this a definite standout at Sundance '08.

Also high on my list is the powerful German documentary "Alone in Four Walls" about a Russian facility for juvenile delinquents, all younger than 14. Through the revealing — and sometimes tearful — comments of these young boys, we get a chilling glimpse of why life within these four walls is often considerably better than what they had known at home.

Another eye-opening documentary, "Nerakhoon (The Betrayal)," comes from Laos, where during the Vietnam War more American bombs were dropped than the total amount dropped abroad in both WWI and WWII.

Dealing primarily with one Laotian family, this documentary, like many others, could use some tightening up. Though not as long and repetitive as the Japanese "Yasukuni," nor as "fuzzy" to look at as China's "Up the Yangtze," it nevertheless could use some editing. Where it does stand in a class almost by itself, however, is in the beautiful and haunting soundtrack, which is really exceptional for a documentary.

"The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins," from New Zealand, also has some occasional haunting and almost ethereal music composed of women's voices in the background. The documentary itself, however, is definitely a mixed bag. If irrelevancies were cut out and the order of the whole thing rearranged, there is unquestionably a fascinating documentrary in there somewhere about this unusual artist and her eventual fascination with Africa. But as it stands now, it is way too long and seemingly random in its organization.