The Girl from Monday
Shot on video in color and black and white, indie-god Hal Hartley'sThe Girl from Mondayimagines a not-too-distant future in which the Multi-Media Monopoly (Triple M) corporation rules over a real consumer culture. Individuals have bar codes implanted on their wrists and their stock fluctuates according to their sexual activity. Bucking the system are the Partisans, a rag-tag group of "counter-revolutionaries with no credit rating."  Hartley veteran Bill Sage (The Unbelievable Truth,Trust,Flirt,Simple Men,No Such Thing) stars as Jack, a disillusioned Triple M advertising executive. Sabrina Lloyd (Sports Night) costars as Jack's rebellious co-worker, with Brazilian model Tatiana Abracos as the enigmatic eponymous character, an alien who takes ravishing human form when she falls to earth.The Sopranos'  Edie Falco, who co-starred in Hartley'sThe Unbelieveable TruthandTrust, graciously appears as a judge. More interested in ideas than special effects, Hartley's characteristically deadpan "science fiction" is not likely to win him a wider audience beyond his core, cult following. Fans of Chris Marker'sLa Jeteemay also find this film a stylistic kindred spirit with its haunting use of still images.--Donald Liebenson