19/01/2006

Five new films hit national screens this Thursday, including two of the most acclaimed British titles of 2005, as well as a co-production between Canada and the UK.

Part of the Official Selection at the previous Cannes Film Festival, Match Point opens today in 23 screens. Woody Allen brings together Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers (his best performance since Velvet Goldmine) in a film noir with an ironic perspective on social climbing in British society. New York, which is more than a town; it has become a real character in the director's films, was replaced by London in this feature, which is, perhaps, the first part of a non official trilogy set in the UK capital.

National screens will also allow a trip back to the 18th century English countryside with Pride and Prejudice. Joe Wright revisits Jane Austen's novel about five sisters raised by their mother with one single purpose: to make a good marriage. Starring Keira Knightley, the film opens in 34 screens.

Finally, Canadian director Atom Egoyan is back with Where the truth lies, released in two Lisbon theatres and another two in Porto. Also presented the last Cannes Film Festival, the film stars Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth as a duo of American entertainers, whose career was destroyed in the 50s when a young woman was found dead in their hotel suite.

Released by Lusomundo, the three European titles take on two American titles, Shane Carruth's Primer and Darren Lynn Bousman's Saw II, both distributed by LNK.