rated r fine line features in spanish with english subtitles starring najwa nimri , fele martinez , nacho novo , maru valdivieso , kristel diaz , victor hugo oliveira , sara valiente , peru medem , jaroslav bielski , rosa morales written and directed by julio medem julio medem's poignant , unconventional " lovers of the arctic circle " is a film that shows the viewer the earthshaking power of destiny . the film stars najwa nimri and fele martinez ( both of whom starred in this year's other spanish import " open your eyes " ) as ana and otto , two people with palindromic names who are destined to be lovers . we learn of their destinies through a series of coincidences ; coincidences that ana says , through voice-over , make up her entire life . when ana meets otto , her father has just died , and she believes that his soul has crossed over to this boy . fate then works in mysterious ways , making her mom and otto's dad fall in love . while she is still a child , she only looks up to otto in a paternal way . otto , however , is love-stricken from the first time he sees ana . his parents have just gotten a divorce and he is going through problems of his own . otto and ana bond together in their time of loss , creating a kinship based on empathy . as they become teenagers , their relationship becomes sexual , and they must try to hide their affairs from their very naive parents . as they get older , though , they begin to drift apart . the inevitable tragedy , foreshadowed in the film's first scene , draws nearer . writer/director julio medem crafts a highly poetic love story ; one that spans the circle of life . " lovers of the arctic circle " gives an entirely new spin on the age-old tale of tragic romance . the camera work is wondrous and the characters are vivid . " lovers of the arctic circle " gets my full recommendation . a review by akiva gottlieb , the teenage movie critic <a href= " mailto : akiva@excite . com " >akiva@excite . com</a> <a href= " http : //www . angelfire . com/mo/film " >http : //www . angelfire . com/mo/film</a> <hr>get your free , private email at <a href= " http : //mail . excite . com/ " >http : //mail . excite . com/</a> 
