Art has eternal power to affect

Heddy Honigmann’s poetic documentary “Forever” takes place in Paris’ famed Pere-Lachaise cemetery, final home to scores of renowned writers, artists and musicians. But the movie’s subject is beautifully intangible: the consoling, regenerative power of art.

As Honigmann gently engages with a variety of quiet worshipers -- the melancholy pianist for whom a stop at Chopin’s grave is a way to honor the music-loving father she lost, an Iranian taxi driver who feels a deep connection to Persian writer Sadegh Hedayat, a South Korean man in awe of Proust, the cemetery tour guide moved by a forgotten poet’s lonely, faded tomb -- she achieves something serenely powerful about human perspectives on death, life and immortality.

Her visual cues are gems: a web-caught leaf seemingly suspended in midair, water cleansing a dusty headstone, the emotional scrawls of past attendees.

But when Honigmann also interviews those paying respects to loved ones, we hear stories of lives lived as if they were great artists too, and suddenly “Forever” widens and feels like a vision of the world you want to take with you everywhere.

-- Robert Abele

“Forever.” MPAA rating: Unrated. Running time: 1 hour, 35 minutes. In French with English subtitles. Exclusively at Laemmle’s Music Hall, 9036 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, (310) 274-6869.

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Setting up for a ‘Grizzly’ time

Here’s a conundrum -- would you rather be stalked through a remote forest by a murderous escaped convict or a big ole bear?

Such is the central dilemma of “Grizzly Park,” a lamely uninspired straight horror flick about a group of troubled teens on a court-ordered road crew/community service camping trip and the park ranger who has to wrangle them.

The debut of writer-director Tom Skull (that’s Mr. Skull to you, pal), the film is co-produced by Nick Nunziata, creator of the genre film website C.H.U.D., who has likely mercilessly ripped into movies far better constructed than this one.

The cast is filled with generic youngsters all from the boobs/abs/haircut school of acting, making the only relative bright spot veteran Glenn Morshower, who brings a smidgen of dignity to his role as the ranger. Too bad he didn’t have the true presence of mind to turn down this movie altogether.

-- Mark Olsen

“Grizzly Park.” MPAA rating: R for violence and gore, some substance abuse and sex-related material. Running time: 1 hour, 35 minutes. Exclusively at Laemmle’s Sunset 5, 8000 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, (323) 848-3500.

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Flunking ‘Sex and Death 101’

Daniel Waters, writer and director of “Sex and Death 101,” wrote “Heathers.” (And “Batman Returns,” “Hudson Hawk” and “Demolition Man.”) Everything that is still fresh and terrific about “Heathers” -- its pop savvy, its self-awareness and proto-snarkiness -- seems curdled in “Sex and Death 101,” an aggressively unpleasant story of a man (Simon Baker) who receives a list with the names of every woman he will ever sleep with, including those in his future.

This is apparently meant as some kind of springboard to examining the differing attitudes between men and women about sex and relationships, but everything comes off as unnecessarily shrill. The film even just looks ugly. Then, deep into the proceedings, Winona Ryder, the siren of “Heathers” herself, nabs a few key scenes.

Her way of transforming the intolerable dialogue and overly functional characterization into something buoyant and alive is a reminder of why she caught the collective eye in the first place. It’s called star power, and she still has it to spare, but it is too little, too late.

-- M.O.

“Sex and Death 101.” MPAA rating: R for strong sexual content and language. Running time: 1 hour, 56 minutes. At Laemmle’s Sunset 5, 8000 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, (323) 848-3500, and Laemmle’s Playhouse 7, 673 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, (626) 844-6500.

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‘Young Yakuza’ isn’t too brave

In the French-made documentary about Japanese gangsters, “Young Yakuza,” director Jean-Pierre Limosin follows 18 months of ups and downs within one yakuza clan, and the results are, by turns, riveting and incisive and bland and boring.

A young trainee, previously a shiftless slacker, seems to find himself in the regimentation and emphasis on procedure that comes with yakuza life, while the higher-ups worry that their livelihood is fading into the past. To gain access, Limosin had to agree not to portray the “world of shadows,” the clan’s illegal businesses. (The main problem with the film should now be apparent.)

Despite a glamorized look from “Lady Chatterley” cinematographer Julien Hirsch, “Young Yakuza” remains disengaged when it should be going for the throat and feels mostly like an opportunity lost.

-- M.O.

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“Young Yakuza.” MPAA rating: Unrated. Running time: 1 hour, 39 minutes. In Japanese with English subtitles. Exclusively at the ImaginAsian Center, 251 S. Main St., Los Angeles (213) 617-1033.