TODD HAYNES'S "Far From Heaven" (see review on Page 41) seems to be a mild spoof on the 1950s, at first. It's a story built around a Connecticut housewife (Julianne Moore) who has a beautiful home, a maid, the finest gloves and scarves, and raging problems in her marriage. But Haynes, director of "Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story," "Poison," "Safe" and "Velvet Goldmine," had other ideas of what this movie was about.

There are five films in all, to be shown at various times through Thursday. The remaining three are Silvio Soldini's 2001 "Burning in the Wind" ("Brucio nel vento") Paulo Sorrentino's 2001 "One Man Up" ("L'Uomo in piu") and Marco Ponti's 2001 "Saint Maradona" ("Santa Maradona").

Film professor and critic Pat Dowell will introduce the kickoff of "DEFA Films: Women in East Germany," the Goethe-Institut's new series at 6:30 Monday evening. She'll introduce Konrad Wolf's 1964 "The Divided Heaven" ("Der geteilte Himmel"), a film about the detrimental impact the Berlin Wall had on women's lives. She'll also lead a discussion afterward.