watch out! francis ford coppola and vincent gallo are coming to town. (tetro still courtesy siff)

Today SIFF enters its third and final week and by now the dazed looks and impulsive habits are becoming more and more apparent among festivalgoers as they (we) balance movie fatigue and a desire to catch as many films as possible before or passes turn to pumpkins. Here, then, are a few to consider as you make your way through the weekday screening options.

On the way, do take notice of just how great the trailers and bumpers before the film are. They’re cute enough on first viewing, but when you’re still taking delight in them after a dozen or two screenings and trying to figure out where all of the sound clips are from, you know that the creative teams at Wong Doody, Digital Kitchen, and Oh Hello did something right in crafting these exquisite contraptions that set the mood for the festival.

Cold Souls [siff] : Paul Giamatti gets the Eternal Sunshine for the Being John Malkovitch treatment when he’s inspired by a New Yorker article to turn over ninety-five percent of his soul to a science fiction creation. The psychic weight loss relieves his angst but kills his acting. [josh] June 8, 7:00 pm (Harvard Exit); June 10, 4:30 pm (Harvard Exit).

The Square [siff] : the twitters are aflame with praise for this Australian thriller, likening the illustrated tale of the dark side of karma to a less kind and gentle intense Coen Brothers flick. [josh] June 8, 4:30. (Uptown)

Poppy Shakespeare [siff] : “N” is happy being a long-term day patient of a London psychiatric hospital. She’s befuddled when a new patient shows up on the ward insisting that she’s not insane and demanding to be released from care, but despite their differences, “N” and Poppy become close friends as “N” helps Poppy in her attempt to prove her sanity to an institution determined to keep her crazy for as long as it suits them. While anyone can appreciate the story of their growing friendship and the battle they wage, people familiar with mental illness will be especially grateful for the respectful, realistic depictions of people with mental illness. [zee] June 9, 4:30 pm (Harvard Exit); June 14, 9:30 pm (Harvard Exit)

(500) Days of Summer [siff] : Office drones meet cute over mutual soundtrack appreciation. One of them doesn’t believe in love (a common thread in this season’s SIFF romantic comedies), the other does. The title tells you that the clock is running on their relationship, which is told in shuffled vignettes. Summer, Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s love-interest mentioned in the title, is played by Zooey Deschanel, whose overwhelming appeal might make save this from the cloying cuteness of its premise. Particularly if she sings. [josh] June 8, 7:00 pm (Egyptian); June 9, 4:30 pm (Egyptian)

Don’t Let Me Drown [siff] : When asked at the press launch to recommend one film from the festival, the artistic director picked this love story of two latino families facing love and loss in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City. Interesting, if only for the ability to glimpse into the programming instincts of Carl Spence! [josh] June 9, 7:00 pm (Admiral); June 11, 7:00 pm (Pacific Place).
Krabat [siff] : Orphaned teenager Krabat works in a mill in 17th century Germany for a master who practices the dark arts. For the first time in his life Krabat gets a taste of what it’s like to be powerful, but he’s forced to choose between loyalty to his best friend or continuing his pursuit of a more comfortable life. In this dark fairy tale, it’s not an easy decision. [zee] June 9, 9:30 pm (Admiral): June 11, 9:15 pm (Uptown); June 12, 4:00 pm (Uptown)

Tetro [siff] : Vincent Gallo has the title role in Francis Ford Coppola’s first script since 1974. Among the big names, early reviews single out Alden Ehrenreich, who plays the little brother who tries to understand older, bohemian Gallo in Argentina. For an extra $125, join the director for an intimate pre-screening reception. [josh] June 10, 7:00 pm (Egyptian)

The Spy and the Sparrow [siff] : A former secret agent retires to Seattle twenty-six years after an assignment in East Berlin goes terribly wrong. Thomas Sparrow insists he remembers nothing of those past events, but neither the Russian mobster nor the pair of CIA operatives following him believes this. In the meantime, he attempts to reconnect with his troubled daughter whose psychiatrist is another former spook. Locally filmed and produced. [zee] June 10, 9:00 pm (SIFF Cinema); June 13, 11:00 am (SIFF Cinema)

My Suicide [siff] : When seventeen-year-old Archie announces that his final school project will be his videotaped suicide pandemonium erupts at his school. Teachers freak out and try to stop him; students divide themselves into camps that both scorn and idolize him. [zee] June 10, 9:30 pm (Pacific Place); June 11, 4:30 pm (Pacific Place)

Give Me Your Hand [siff] : The interactive online SIFFter and truly wonderful iPhone application cooked up by POP invite the whiling away of small moments by flicking through genres. If the filters used ANDs instead of ORs, those looking for French, erotic, coming of age, gay, road movies, featuring twins and funerals would look no further than this entry which finds brothers walking from France to Spain to mourn their mother. This might be terrible, but give them points for covering so many bases. [josh] June 11, 9:30 (Egyptian); June 14, 4:45 pm (Egyptian)

Afghan Star [siff] : Even in Afghanistan, devasted by years of war and Taliban rule, people really, really want to be pop stars. More than 2.000 people audition for a shot at stardom in a country where viewers voting by mobile phone are having their very first encounter with democracy and where a woman dancing on stage threatens both the future of the show and her very own safety. [zee] June 11, 6:30 pm (SIFF Cinema); June 13, 11:00 am (SIFF Cinema)