Flick fest kicks off

The LFF is earlier than usual this year, but that hasn't affected its quality - if anything, the selection is even more wide-ranging than usual.

Opening tonight with Jane Campion's In The Cut (7pm and Thu 3.30pm), a sexy thriller which offers Meg Ryan an overdue escape from her twee comic image, the festival also boasts Denys (Jesus Of Montreal) Arcand's typically sharply-scripted comedy, The Barbarian Invasions (Oct 29 8.30pm), which reunites the characters from his 1986 The Decline Of The American Empire.

Star Japanese writer-director Takeshi Kitano is also reviving old characters - not his, this time - with Zatoichi (Nov 5 6pm), a highly unconventional take on the cult blind swordsman, created in 1962 by Shintaro Katsu.

Moving from old age to adolescence, there's Thirteen (Oct 31 6pm), an absorbing tale of mother-daughter clashes starring Holly Hunter and co-scripted by its young star, Nikki Reed. Scarlett Johansson, only a couple of years older than Reed but already on her way to fame, stars in Lost In Translation (Tue 8.30pm, Oct 29 1pm), Sofia Coppola's funny-sad story of isolation in Japan.

Another fan of young love is Spanish director Cesc Gay, who has followed his recently released Kr·mpack with In The City (Tue 9pm, Oct 29 1.30pm), a roundelay of misdirected passion. And for Thomas (Festen) Vinterberg, It's All About Love (Nov 4 8.30pm, Nov 5 1pm), as his strange futuristic romance starring Joaquin Phoenix and Sean Penn demonstrates.

Documentary highlights include The Fog Of War (Sun 3.30pm, Mon 1pm), Errol Morris's study of former US Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, and Bus 174 (Sat 2pm, Sun 1.30pm), a study of Brazil's cruel policy towards homeless youngsters, viewed from a startlingly unusual angle.

But whether drama or doc, all festival-goers love film and will probably enjoy Goodbye Dragon Inn (Nov 3 6.30pm, Nov 5 1.30pm) - Tsai Ming-Liang's rigorous absurdist tribute to Chinese cinema.

Until Nov 6, various venues/prices. Tel: 020 7928 3232. www.lff.org.uk