FREEZE FRAMES

ANNA - She was a Czech movie star before political conflicts forced her to head for New York, where she's fortunate if she lands an understudy job for a weird Off Broadway play. Her life changes when an attractive Czech immigrant latches onto her and becomes a successful actress herself. The story is ``All About Eve'' with Eastern European accents. Much of the action walks a fine line between comedy and melodrama, but loses its balance at moments, most disconcertingly at the climax. Directed by Yurek Bogayevicz from a screenplay by Agnieszka Holland. (Not rated) DOG'S DIALOGUE - A brief, dour parody of soap-opera stories and European photo magazines, directed by the amazingly versatile Chilean-born filmmaker Raul Ruiz. Sly and funny. (Not rated) THE FUNERAL - Laughter and sorrow have approximately equal weight in this dark Japanese comedy about a man arranging and attending his father-in-law's funeral. The filmmaker, Juzo Itami, serves up some clever laughs and a few moments of rare beauty. He doesn't achieve the high comedy of his ``Tampopo,'' though, which was made later but released earlier on American screens. In both films, the usually tasteful action is interrupted by a small amount of heavy-breathing sex. (Not rated) HIDING OUT - Chased by crooks who don't want him testifying at a trial, a young businessman disguises himself as a teen-ager and takes refuge in a suburban high school. Jon Cryer gives an all-out comic performance that transcends the teen-comedy genre this movie otherwise falls into. A few amazingly limp moments aside, the action is likable and halfway believable, if you really make an effort. The filmmakers also make a point of featuring black performers in noteworthy supporting roles, which can't be said of most current pictures, to their discredit. Directed by Bob Giraldi. (Rated PG-13) MANON OF THE SPRING - Following the superb ``Jean de Florette,'' this is the second half of Claude Berri's epical story of hope, greed, and revenge in the French countryside. In this portion, a half-civilized young woman seeks to even the balance with two peasants who precipitated her father's death. The ambiguous ending of ``Jean de Florette'' was more in tune with Berri's sensibility, which habitually looks beyond neat solutions and definitive conclusions. But the sweeping passions of ``Manon of the Spring'' bring the saga to a moving and memorable close. (Rated PG) SLAM DANCE - Caught between crooked cops and a menacing thug, a cartoonist tries to solve the mystery of his girlfriend's murder. The talented Wayne Wang has directed Don Opper's screenplay with great visual imagination. But in addition to occasional scenes of sex and mayhem, there's a motif of violence against women that gives currency to a disturbing question: Are we in for a whole line of warped ``Blue Velvet'' progeny? (Rated R)

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