TODAY AT AFI FESTIVAL

F ollowing are The Times’ recommendations for today’s schedule of the American Film Institute Los Angeles International Film Festival, with commentary by the film reviewing staff. All screenings are at Laemmle’s Sunset 5, 8000 Sunset Blvd. Information: (213) 466-1767. Highly Recommended:

“THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD”(U.S.: 1938; directors Michael Curtiz, William Keighley; 1:50 & 7 p.m.). No role ever suited swashbuckler Errol Flynn more: the leaping, green-clad, benevolent outlaw, merry men at his side, villains in his dust, Maid Marian at his breast. Flynn, Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s score and the Warners stock company (Olivia de Havilland, Claude Rains, Basil Rathbone, Alan Hale) keep this much-loved movie fresh and bright as a sunny afternoon in Sherwood Forest. It was produced by Hal Wallis, who supervised two directors: William Keighley on exteriors and Michael Curtiz, Keighley’s replacement, on sets and soundstages. Curtiz’s sections are better; the torchlit swordfight on castle stairs between Robin and Guy of Gisbourne, played by Rathbone--who was the superior swordsman--have rarely been matched. (Michael Wilmington)

“THE NUN AND THE BANDIT”(Australia; Paul Cox; 4:15 & 9:15 p.m.). The source for the latest film from the brilliant Cox (“Man of Flowers,” “Vincent”) is a kidnap thriller by E. L. Grant Watson, updated from the ‘30s to the ‘50s, which he makes his own: a disturbing tale full of unexpected twists, visual poetry, wicked irony, deep compassion. The material seems simple: The poor relation (Chris Haywood) of a wealthy mine owner (Norman Kaye) tries to shake him down for his father’s share. Rebuffed, the scavenger abducts the nabob’s granddaughter in a ludicrous scheme that quickly disintegrates, especially when the kidnaper falls for the nun (Gosia Dobrowolska) chaperoning the girl. The battle between good and evil, flesh and spirit, is Cox’s theme here, but he keeps shifting the ground. Where’s the good? Where’s the evil? By the end, we know . . . as always, too late. (M. W.)

Recommended:

“SHORT STORIES”(U.S.; 1:40 & 6:50 p.m.). Perhaps the best of the festival’s shorts shows, thanks to Martin von Haselberg’s very stylish black-and-white adaptation of Artur Schnitzler’s Alpine fable “Blind Geronimo and His Brother”--a little gem of Schnitzlerian empathy and irony. The other two are good as well: Hanna Elias’ Middle Eastern forced-marriage drama “The Mountain” and Guillermo Real’s jazz rhapsody/fantasy (also in monochrome) “At Night the Sun Shines.” (M. W.)

“YOU, ME AND MARLEY”(Great Britain; Richard Spence; 4 & 9 p.m.). Joyriding--or teen-age car theft, a fad that started in Belfast and later swept the British Isles--is the subject of this fierce political melodrama, a sympathetic mixed collaboration by an Irish writer (Graham Reid) and a British director (Spence) for the BBC, on the “troubles.” The milieu and gallery of faces are fascinating: a festering city, punkdom trapped in political trauma. The treatment is melodramatic but, at its best, swift, tight and hard-edged. (M. W.).

Others: “Shorts by Women Directors” (U.S.; 4:05 & 9:05 p.m.). A disappointing selection, despite several prize-winners. The subjects range from the plight of single mothers to cultural isolation, incest, fear and voyeurism (“Rear Window” is evoked twice). Best storytelling: Gloria Norris’ bad relationship thriller “Cold Sweat.” Best visually: Jane Weinstock’s “The Clean Up,” a murderous satire on perfectionism. Best idea: Lisa M. Kors’ “Shayna Maidels,” on resurgent Orthodox Judaism among teen-age girls. (M. W.) “Tel Aviv Stories” (Israel; Ayelet Menahemi, Yitzhak Ginsberg; 1:30 & 6:45 p.m.). Unscreened: Three comedies of urban life, from the women’s angle, in contemporary Tel Aviv.