FILM SCREENINGS

Cold Souls

2008. USA. Directed by Sophie Barthes. . In Barthes's trippy, existential comedy thriller, Paul Giamatti plays a version of himself: an actor in crisis, wracked with anxiety during rehearsals for a highly anticipated production of "Uncle Vanya." Enter Dr. Flintstein (a delightfully nutty David Strathairn), whose high-tech company guarantees to alleviate psychic pain through a simple new procedure. All Paul has to do is have his soul extracted and deep-frozen for later retrieval, and the show can go on! But life as an empty vessel is not all it's cracked up to be, especially when Paul discovers that a mysterious, soul-trafficking Russian agent (the alluring Dina Korzun) has transported his famous soul to St. Petersburg to be used by her boss's wife, a no-talent soap opera actress. Writer/director Barthes invents a uniquely absurd and melancholy universe for the great Giamatti to travel through on this metaphysical quest. A Samuel Goldwyn release. 101 min.