An out-of-tune piano is the metaphor for a marriage suffering a crisis of complacency in Slovene director Igor Sterk’s fine Bergmanesque drama, which has won kudos for its strong script, solid performances and accomplished visual design. At first glance, middle-aged Katarina (Natasa Burger) and Peter (Peter Musevski) appear to have a happy and well-functioning relationship. They’re also prosperous, have rewarding careers and are the parents of two adolescent daughters, Eva and Nina, whom they adore. But their marriage has gone stale. While on a business trip to the European Parliament in Brussels, Peter seeks solace with a hooker. The experience leaves him feeling guilty, but a surprise encounter with Manca (Polona Juh), an old classmate, seems to rouse his romantic feelings. Meanwhile, Katarina finds her heart moved by a book of poetry she comes across in her publishing job, and pursues an affair with its author (Andraz Polic). “A visually exciting and very precisely told story . . . which reminds us of Ingmar Bergman’s Scenes from a Marriage” (Manheim I.F.F.) “With a tautly constructed script, Tuning is [a] lucid, distilled dramatic examination of a middle-aged couple in a crisis of stasis” (Tom McSorley, Cinema Scope). Colour, 35mm, in Slovenian with English subtitles. 71 mins.

A gem from Luxembourg, Little Secrets is a quirky coming-of-age comedy based on a semi-autobiographic novel by best-selling Luxembourg writer Jhemp Hoscheit. It is 1962, the year of the Cuban missile crisis, and the wounds of World War II have yet to heal in the mining town where Norbi, a mischievous 12-year-old boy, lives with his pious, disciplinarian parents. Norbi (played by Ben Hoscheit, the novelist’s son) has a typical kid’s fascination with comics books, cigarettes, and rock’n’roll — all things forbidden by his folks. He’s also intrigued by the mysteries of sex, and must endure an hilariously awkward talk from his mother about “the birds and the bees.” Observing the adult world around him, Norbi comes to realize that the town is still harbouring resentment about wartime collaboration with the Nazis — and that the father of one of his good friends is implicated. The film’s original title translates as “Perl or Pica,” two typefaces, a reference to the fact that Norbi’s father sells typewriters. Little Secrets has just been named Luxembourg’s official Foreign Language Film submission to the upcoming 80th Academy Awards. “Pol Cruchten’s sixth feature suggests that Luxembourg’s unfairly neglected film industry, straddling France, Belgium, and Germany, could turn out to be next year’s cinematic discovery” (Robert Keser, Bright Lights Film Journal). Colour, 35mm, in Luxembourgish with English subtitles. 110 mins.