Author Paul Auster, in his directorial debut, offers an offbeat, urban fable starring Harvey Keitel as an embittered jazzman and Mira Sorvino as a waitress/actress looking for her lucky break. It's a story of enchantment, obsession, and change. It's also an homage to silent screen icon Louise "Pandora" Brooks and the legend of Lulu as told by German playwright Frank Wedekind. Auster works with an ensemble of skillful actors, including Willem Dafoe, Mandy Patinkin, and Vanessa Redgrave, who seem to relish their roles in this moody, mysterious fairy tale.

Havi Hoffman