Capsule Reviews of AFI Film Festival

Following are capsule reviews of a selection of the screenings today and Sunday at the American Film Institute Los Angeles International Film Festival at the Cineplex Odeon Cenutry Plaza Cinemas.

SATURDAY

‘The Unbelievable Truth’

United States, 1989, 98 minutes 7:15 p.m. Makers of independent comedies go for “quirky” like Olympians go for gold, and writer-director Hal Hartley is no exception. But his promising feature debut also has a more winsome, winning side. He gives us a virginal ex-con auto mechanic in love with a bookish, nihilistic teen fashion model, all wrapped up in a heavy-handed message about the way modern relationships resemble capitalist transactions. Even though Hartley tries too hard to impress with his predictably offbeat sensibilities and exaggerated satire, you may find yourself caring about his mismatched romantics anyhow, in a triumph of character over quirk.--C.W.