Dick Clark never rang in the new year like this. Several desperate characters - all dependent on drugs in one way or another - find their lives converging on a grim New Year's Eve in Croatia. The most absorbing sequence in this episodic feature from 2004 concerns Maja (Marlja Skaricic), a 19-year-old addict who sells herself to a suicidal sailor (Coolio, believe it or not) in order to keep those fixes coming. Powerful performances distract from the fact that there really isn't anybody to root for among this collection of spiritually bankrupt souls. Mirko Pivcevic's ravishing black-and-white photography manages to dissipate the aura of earnest public service announcement, and there are some stunning images along the way. Bleak but beautiful. A Global Film Initiative selection. Noon. $10, $7.50 seniors, students. Coolidge Corner Theatre, 290 Harvard St., Brookline. 617-734-2500. coolidge.org
FILM
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