dir. Eliseo Subiela, Argentina 1987
105 min.

How many men must fall to Earth before we get the message that this messianic magnet of a mud ball, ol' planet Earth, is home to some of the baddest life forms in the whole dang universe? The only astronauts who like us are our own guys from the Starship Enterprise when traveling back in time.

We are a lamentable species, it seems, and there is no shortage of galactic do-gooders ready to drop down and show us the way. "Stranger in a Strange Land," as we know, set the pace, followed by "The Brother From Another Planet," "Starman" and, yes, everyone's favorite rubber redeemer, "E.T."

"Man Facing Southeast," a gloomy Argentine variation on this theme, concerns a Christ-like UFP — "unidentified flying patient" — who turns up during a bed check at a Buenos Aires asylum. He has taken the traditional route — beamed down from the mother ship — and is a perfect human replica except that he can't feel a thing. And like Mr. Spock (or is he a commander these days?) he proves kinder without such pesky emotions as anger, jealousy, selfishness, lust and what not. - Rita Kempley, Washington Post