Leviathan is being called a documentary. In no way does the film hew to conventional notions of documentary storytelling, but it's a non-narrative film that's beautiful, mysterious, disorienting, and somehow revelatory.

Herewith, notes on the Portland International Film Festival's Grimm (and grimmer) opening-night silent-film Blancanieves, and the edgy, Man VS. Nature doc, Leviathan, plus notes on the recently restored stone-cold classic doc, Cousin Jules.

This past year saw many critics complaining about the lack of good film out there, but with a little digging, I found a lot to love.

Everyone falls in love a different way. Maybe it's a particular scene or the collected works of a particular director, or even just a catchphrase. Wha...