And so here comes Dances with the Arthouse, your weekly rendezvous with limited releases, the place to discover the whereabouts of the cinéma d'auteur, or just get a little advice for your Ultimate Movie Moguls leagues (or pinpoint a possible cheap contender in Box Office Moguls). Maybe you read purely for the pleasure of arthouse love. (Oh come on, there's gotta be at least one or two of you!)

Now, with the apparent defection of Teeth, which appears to have been pushed back to February, the Nov. 30 weekend offers us five limited releases, films as varied as a Michael Caine heist movie, a South American political thriller, a Euripidean documentary(!), a drama from Cannes winner Julian Schnabel and a film that pairs up Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman as brother and sister. Nope. No armored polar bears around here. Let's get to it!

Michael Caine and Demi Moore. Here's a screen couple that could probably have drawn crowds at the multiplex a few years ago. OK, so their respective matinee idol eras didn't exactly coincide — maybe it wouldn't have worked after all. Perhaps now might be the best time for both of them to share the screen, and Flawless gives them that opportunity. (Archaeological note: Caine's almost old enough to be Moore's grandfather, and certainly old enough to play her father, which he did once before, in 1984's Blame It on Rio.) Directed by Michael Radford, the movie is set in 1960s London, in the high-finance world of diamond selling. Caine plays the soon-to-retire janitor of a diamond company who plans a heist of his soon-to-be-former employer with the help of a frustrated female executive of the company, played by Moore.

Flawless sounds like it could be a Hollywood movie with two big stars, opening wide. But it's a European production opening limited, which isn't a bad thing. The very international Radford, mostly known for making Il Postino more than 12 years ago, hasn't really directed anything memorable those last few years. Demi Moore, who was in Mr. Brooks earlier this year, is slowly making her way back to the silver screen. Caine, on the other hand, is still at the top of his game (if moving past the pinnacle of his fame), so he may be the biggest draw for cinephilic audiences who might be attracted by this classical-looking suspenser. If it wasn't for the recent flop of Sleuth, Caine could seem like a surefire attraction in the arthouse world. Sleuth was an arthouse non-event, however, and, in the end, Flawless is not likely to make waves, or even ripples, at the box office. Its classical fracture could help it get a solid User Rating, probably in the mid-to-high 6s. Which, for $2, is certainly worth considering.

Chronicle of an Escape took its sweet time getting to U.S. theaters. The Argentinian film, directed by Adrian Caetano, was in competition at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2006, and was nominated at the Independent Spirit Awards, at the beginning of 2007. After being pushed back on several occasions, its release finally comes. A political thriller taking the Argentinian dictatorship of the 70s as its subject, Chronicle follows three kidnapped men plotting their escape after weeks of torture. Thanks to its reputation and pedigree, the film has noticeable buzz in the cinephilic circles. Director Caetano is a rising star of South American cinema, and star Rodrigo de La Serna made a name for himself in The Motorcycle Diaries. You shouldn't expect to win many PTA points with this one; perhaps one or two if its Wednesday opening doesn't hurt it. The IMDb User Rating, on the other hand, will be very good, currently at 7.7 with more than 500 votes. Available for $7 in Ultimate leagues, it's a risky play, although not a bad one. In Box Office leagues, the film has no value whatsoever.

Well I hope you guys paid attention during your high school theater and philosophy classes, because we are going to talk about Euripides. You didn't pay attention? Oh, well, I'm sure you at least heard about Euripides ... you know, he was this Greek tragedian living in the 5th century, a friend of Socrates. OK, let's not get too much into Ancient Greek History, I'm really not a specialist myself, and most of you probably don't come here to read about that. At any rate, Protagonist, set to open in just four theaters, explores Euripides's theories through the parallel portraits of four of our contemporaries: a terrorist, a gay Christian, a martial arts enthusiast and a bank robber (a strange combination, to be sure).

Filmmaker Jessica Yu, who, apart from making documentaries, makes a living out of directing TV series like "The West Wing" or "Grey's Anatomy," won an Oscar 10 years ago for Best Short Documentary. Protagonist, for the moment, has been the beneficiary of excellent reviews (mostly resulting from its presentation at Sundance last January). Its sophisticated subject matter will make it a difficult sell, but also a sought-after, clever documentary, which could gain some PTA points (don't forget that very small opening), perhaps 2 or 3, with a User Rating in the mid 7s. The $10 required still seems a bit much for a film with rather limited prospects. Especially given the comparative costs of the final two Nov. 30 indie openers:

The first of those two films is like me. French, that is. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, though directed by American artist Julian Schnabel (his third feature after Basquiat and Before Night Falls), is a French production, with a French protagonist and mostly French actors. (Maybe I just used the word "French" too many times in a single sentence and some readers ran away screaming, "The frogs are coming! It's an invasion." Well if that's the case you've got serious troubles, go see a shrink.) Diving Bell is probably one of the best films you'll get to see this year, an emotional and stirring journey into the pain, struggle and hope of a man left parazlyzed by a stroke, retaining only the ability to blink a single eyelid. It's the true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, editor of French fashion rag Elle (printed around the world), who managed to write a book, from which this film is adapted, about his story. With just his one blinking eye.

This is a remarkable film not only because of its subject matter, but also because it managed to bring so much life, and lightness, and poetry to such a dark and static theme. Most of the film takes place at the hospital, with the main character unable to speak or move. Bauby, by the way, is portrayed by Mathieu Amalric, the fine French actor who you probably know for having played in Steven Spielberg's Munich (remember the classy, scene-stealing Parisian informant of Eric Bana's character?) Amalric is far from being alone in front of the camera, being supported by French actors I won't name because they won't evoke anything for you, but also by players like Max Von Sydow, Emmanuelle Seigner, Isaach de Bankolé and Marie-Josée Croze (there are even cameos by Michael Wincott and Lenny Kravitz!).

Awarded the prestigious Best Director Prize last May at the Cannes Film Festival, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is being distributed on American soil by Miramax, which strongly believes in the film and is ready to push it to the Oscars in many categories. The film's reputation and word-of-mouth makes it a very interesting fall dark horse, ready to bag 4 or maybe even 5 PTA points, a high User Rating (high 7s for sure), and probably a few million dollars at the box office (probably $3-4 million at best). For $9 in Ultimate leagues and $2 in Box Office ones, Julian Schnabel's film looks good on just about anyone's slate.

Would The Savages look as good? Well it certainly won't look bad. How can a Sundance favorite enjoying some of the best reviews of the season and featuring Philip Seymour Hoffman, who's proven himself to be a heavy draw for the arthouse crowd film after film, look bad on a slate? It can't. The film deals with siblings relationships, as a brother and a sister, both around 40, find themselves obligated to take care of their ill father. The Savages is Tamara Jenkins's comeback behind the camera almost 10 years after The Slums of Beverly Hills. After a triumphant showing at Sundance last January, Fox Searchlight took its time to release it, saving it for the awards season. Given seeing the reviews that have come in, arthouse success is inevitable, thought that doesn't mean The Savages will break over into mainstream theaters.

If it doesn't get too asphyxiated in these always crowded last months of the year, Jenkins's movie could be easily worth its $12 price, being assured of collecting at least 4 PTA points, but having the potential to earn 6 or 7. The $14 million in tickets sales that Fantasy Moguls predicts is a long shot, though, though if the public follows critics' advice, it could well reach $8-9 million. After all, Philip Seymour Hoffman is close to being an arthouse superstar, and Laura Linney's respected body of work makes her a perfect match for him. Be careful though, the film opens on Wednesday (Nov. 28), so don't wait until Friday on the week of release to decide which way the wind is blowing.

It should be a very interesting arthouse battle that last weekend of November. Miramax and Searchlight fighting for indie glory. But what if Euripides came out of nowhere to steal their hopes? Okay, that seems unlikely, and, you know, I'd love to see the French film make a strike, Lebowski-style. But hey, if Chicago managed to grab the Oscar for Best Film, then you know that anything can happen, anytime, in the world of cinema. Bonsoir everyone!

Indie Jones has a poster of Euripides on the wall in his office. No, not really. It's actually Sonam Kapoor. Send your own indie cinema musings to danceswiththearthouse@gmail.com.