FREEZE FRAMES

CHILE: HASTA QUANDO? - ``When Will It End?'' is the question asked by this prizewinning documentary about political violence in present-day Chile. Directed by Australian filmmaker David Bradbury, who shot the highly charged material while pretending to be working on a film about music and religion. (Not rated) THE GATE - Right in their own backyard, some children accidentally find an ectoplasmic ``gate'' to the world of demons. The result is pandemonium, with a fitfully comic twist. Directed by Tibor Takacs. (Rated PG-13) HARRY AND THE HENDERSONS - A family discovers a legendary sasquatch, or ``bigfoot,'' and saves him from a hunter who wants to turn him into a trophy. Very lively, very childish, occasionally vulgar. Directed by William Dear. (Rated PG) MY LIFE FOR ZORAH LEANDER - Documentary on the life and career of Zorah Leander, a German movie star of the 1930s who curried Nazi favor without actually joining their movement and later managed to feel blameless about her place in the heart of the Third Reich. Directed by Christian Blackwood, who blurs the film's focus by obsessively viewing Leander through the eyes of an obsessive fan. (Not rated) QUIET HAPPINESS - Capably filmed but dull Czech drama about a young woman who slowly acquires a feminist perspective on her dreary life. Directed by Dusan Hanak. Also known as ``A Silent Joy.''(Not rated) THE SECOND VICTORY - A young British officer hunts a war-crazed killer in an occupied Austrian town shortly after World War II. The dialogue is a catalog of clich'es, which may be regarded as exasperating or jolly good traditionalist fun. Directed by Gerald Thomas. (Not rated) SHADEY - The title character is a likable young man who can ``think'' pictures onto 8-mm film. The action isn't so likable when subjects like incest and insanity enter the story, treated with a grimly comic touch. Philip Saville directed this British production from a screenplay by Snoo Wilson. (Rated PG-13) TAMPOPO - There are a few moments of raunchy sex-play in this Japanese comedy. But most characters are too preoccupied with cooking, eating, and theorizing about noodles to have much time for anything else. Not many films have dwelled so continually on food, or stirred up so many laughs in kitchens and restaurants. An affection for old movie styles is the other key ingredient in this ``noodle western'' about a sort of samurai gourmet. Directed by Juzo Itami, who unfortunately lets the action run about half-an-hour too long. (Not rated) UNFINISHED BUSINESS... - An actress faces painful memories and feelings when her estranged husband comes back into her life. The performances are sincere, but the characters take themselves so seriously they're irritating, and the dialogue is ponderously poetic. Written and directed by Viveca Lindfors under the auspices of the Directing Workshop for Women at the American Film Institute. The cast includes Lindfors and Peter Donat. (Not rated)

RATINGS: Films with ratings other than G may contain varying degrees of vulgar language, nudity, sex, and violence.