FREEZE FRAMES

FAR AND AWAY -

That's a good place to stay while this movie plays at your local theater. The turn-of-the-century plot focuses on a poor lad and a rich lass who meet in Ireland, travel to Boston, and wind up in the Oklahoma land rush. Ron Howard directed from Bob Dolman's screenplay, which positively bristles with cliches. At least Mikael Salomon's cinematography provides some picture-perfect shots, and Robert Prosky is fun to watch in a too-small role. (Rated PG-13) THE ADJUSTER -

Not many movies are named after insurance adjusters, but in this offbeat comedy-drama the character in that profession has a mysterious and perhaps mystical air about him. Other characters include his wife, who's a film censor, and a former athlete given to elaborate fantasies. Many different forms of human involvement, from love and affection to altruism and eroticism, play off one another as the story takes its unpredictable course. Directed by the gifted Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan. (Rated R) ZENTROPA -

A young German-American man visits Germany to help with reconstruction right after World War II, and gets tangled in a web of corruption so vast and nightmarish that it encompasses everyone he meets. Dutch filmmaker Lars Von Trier directed this absurdist parable, which blends surrealistic humor and inventive visual imagery with genuinely disturbing allusions to the 20th century's most tragic historical events. (Not rated)