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Rating: 2.5/5.0

Chicago – Here’s a story so sweet and so well-intentioned that it practically dares you not to like it. It’s mighty tempting to give it a pass purely on the basis of its premise, which is vital, timely and quite moving. If this story were told by a filmmaker less intent on yanking audience’s heartstrings until they snapped, it may have provided the foundation for a great and important film.

Instead, “The Little Traitor” is forgettable art-house fodder. It’s so self-conscious about the issues it’s attempting to address that it can’t help feeling phony every step of the way. There’s not a moment in the film that feels authentic, and not a word that comes out of its young protagonist’s mouth that doesn’t sound scripted. The film is based on a novel by the acclaimed Israeli novelist Amos Oz, who’s...

This week in theaters finds some late-to-the-party summertime silliness lining up alongside a couple of titles arriving three weeks early for Halloween. Elsewhere the arthouse scene provides a strong showing with Chilean maids, Filipino mothers and some good ol' New York psychos.

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"Adela"

The only person who's worked harder in the Filipino film industry over the past three years than director Adolfo Alix Jr., who's made 11 features since 2006, is his leading lady Anita Linda, who has made 13 in the same time and plays the title role in this minimalist mood piece as stand-in for an entire nation's embittered resilience. Captured in a series of long takes, the film follows our eponymous heroine on a mostly silent odyssey, casually aiding neighbors and strangers alike as she wistfully celebrates her 80th birthday in the shantytown where she lives.

"The Little Traitor" directed by Lynn Roth has had a trailer added. The indie film distributed by Westchester Films, stars Ido Port, Alfred Molina, Anat Klausner, Gilya Stern and Lior Sasson. "The Little Traitor" is adapted from the novel Panther in the Basement, by renowned author Amos Oz. The film stars Alfred Molina as a British sergeant and his mentor relationship with an 11 year old intelligently curious young Israeli boy. A touching tale of friendship, trust and betrayal during the last days of the British occupation of Palestine in 1947, just a few months before Israel becomes a state, The Little Traitor won the Audience Award for Best Feature at the Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival, the Palm Beach International Film Festival and the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival, among others...