Frozen River: Set in deep winter in way-upstate New York, first-time writer-director Courtney Hunt's Frozen River provides a welcome throwback to the truly independent films of festivals yore, movies that offered lyrical glimpses of regional American life in parts of the country rarely visited by the dominant Hollywood cinema. (R) SCOTT FOUNDAS Pacific Place: Thursday, 7 p.m. (Also: Uptown, 4:30 p.m. Sat., June 14.)

Perfect Match:A¦You've seen Perfect Match if you've ever seen any romantic comedy before, but that doesn't prevent it from being charming and entertaining. (NR) FRANK PAIVA Uptown: Wednesday 7 p.m. (Also: 9:30 p.m. Thurs., June 12.)

Vice: Finally! Some crime and depravity we can care about! (NR) BRIAN MILLER Uptown: 9:30 p.m. (Also: 11 a.m. Sun., June 15.)

Sonetaula: This is a long, slow, difficult Italian movie set entirely on the island of Sardinia. Which, I believe, has its own native language that is spoken in the film. (NR) BRIAN MILLER Uptown: Friday, 9:30 p.m. (Also: 4:30 p.m. Sun., June 15.)

Lakshmi and Me: If you and I were liberal, educated, middle-class urbanites living in Mumbai, we'd have domestic servants, just like filmmaker Nishtha Jain. The poor are so poor, and so plentiful, that basically anyone in the social strata above can afford someone to cook and clean for them. So, like any good liberal with a guilty conscience, Jain made a documentary about her part-time maid, Lakshmi, who's apparently from a much lower caste. (NR) BRIAN MILLER Harvard Exit: 4 p.m. (Also: 11 a.m. Sun., June 15.)

Cherry Blossoms - Hanami: Director Doris Dorrie has accomplished a feat no other filmmaker at SIFF could manage: She's made a film about a troubled marriage and bad family life that's emotionally involving, fast-paced, and a joy to sit through. (NR) FRANK PAIVA Uptown: Friday, 6:30 p.m. (Also: Cinerama, 11:55 a.m. Sun., June 15.)

Trouble the Water: Hurricane Katrina's third anniversary will be coming up around the time of the Republican and Democratic national conventions. I wonder how much time McCain or Obama will devote to that American tragedy. Documentary filmmakers are already there. Spike Lee had his say with HBO's When the Levees Broke, and this Sundance prize winner should be on the fall release calendar. (NR) BRIAN MILLER Harvard Exit: 4:30 p.m. Wed., June 11; 9:30 p.m. Fri. June 13.