The Five Senses

Canadian writer-director Jeremy Podeswa creates a five-dimensional world of sight, sound, touch, taste and smell, in the two dimensional medium of film in this extraordinarily sensory, resoundingly emotional drama that builds five well-conceived, inter-connected stories (one based on each sense) around the disappearance of a little girl in Montreal. Although the missing child is a vague and conspicuous plot device, Podeswa gives The Five Senses a dense atmosphere of emotional fragility in which every perceivable sensation echoes with meaning, as he paints each scene in beautiful, resonant autumn hues that reflect the somber mood. A vividly perceptive and stimulating movie, with delicate, deeply felt performances from Mary-Louise Parker, Philippe Volter, Gabrielle Rose, Daniel MacIvor, Nadia Litz and Molly Parker, this is recommended. (R. Blackwelder)