Le Quattro Volte

A view of rural life in southern Italy.

Another in a continuing trend of films that blur the line between narrative and documentary, “The Four Times” is a window on a culture that, while set in the present, hasn’t embraced modern life. It’s structured in four sections: an elderly shepherd drinking dust from the local church for his cough, a newborn goat ventures from the flock, a celebration revolving around a massive fir tree, and the same tree converted in to charcoal via an ancient practice. The patient viewer will be rewarded with a cyclical story that connects the many levels of existence. (Italy, 88 min.) Erik McClanahan. 3 out of 4 stars