The Harbor Theatre

“Phoenix,” the official selection at The Toronto International Film Festival, is a spellbinding mystery of identity, illusion and deception that unfolds against the turmoil of post-World War II Germany in the stunning new film from acclaimed director Christian Petzold (Barbara, Jerichow).

Nelly (Nina Hoss), a German-Jewish nightclub singer, has survived a concentration camp, but with her face disfigured by a bullet wound. After undergoing reconstructive surgery, Nelly emerges with a new face, one similar, but different enough, that her former husband, Johnny (Ronald Zehrfeld), doesn't recognize her.

Rather than reveal herself, Nelly walks into a dangerous game of duplicity and disguise as she tries to figure out if the man she loves may have been the one who betrayed her to the Nazis. Evoking the shadows and haunted mood of post-war Berlin, “Phoenix” weaves a complex tale of a nation's tragedy and a woman's search for answers as it builds towards an unforgettable, heart-stopping climax.

“Phoenix” plays Wednesday, Sept. 16, and Thursday, Sept. 17 at 7 p.m.

“A Walk In The Woods” is the new comedy adventure, in which celebrated travel writer, Bill Bryson (played by Academy Award winner Robert Redford), instead of retiring to enjoy his loving and beautiful wife (Academy Award winner Emma Thompson), and large and happy family, challenges himself to hike the Appalachian Trail — 2,200 miles of America's most unspoiled, spectacular and rugged countryside from Georgia to Maine.

The peace and tranquility he hopes to find, though, is anything but, once he agrees to hike with the only person he can find willing to join him on the trek — his long lost friend Katz (Academy Award nominee Nick Nolte), a down-on-his-luck serial philanderer who, after a lifetime of relying on his charm and wits to keep one step ahead of the law, sees the trip as a way to sneak out of paying some debts and sneak into one last adventure before its too late. The trouble is, the two have a completely different definition of the word, "adventure."

The Seattle Times described the back story regarding the making of “A Walk In The Woods”: “Redford ... had originally planned the film as a reunion for himself and Paul Newman. It's a poignant reminder, as in this film's best moments, that life passes by too quickly.”

“A Walk In The Woods” is rated R (for language). It plays at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 18, Saturday, Sept. 19 Wednesday, Sept. 23 and Thursday, Sept. 24; Sunday, Sept. 20 at 2 and 7 p.m.

The Harbor Theatre is located at 185 Townsend Avenue in Boothbay Harbor, in the mall across from Hannaford. For more information, call 207-633-0438 or visit www.harbortheatre.net.

The Lincoln Theater

In “Irrational Man” a tormented philosophy professor becomes involved with a teacher as well as a precocious student. It takes a dramatic, existential act to turn his life around and make him see the world through a much rosier and more positive perspective. Starring Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone. Written and directed by Woody Allen. Final screenings Wednesday, Sept. 16 and Thursday, Sept. 17 at 2 and 7 p.m.

“Best of Enemies”: In 1968, ABC News hired Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley Jr., intellectual titans of the day with a shared penchant for television showboating, to debate each other during that year's presidential nominating conventions. Their encounters are notorious for venom and not always high-minded invective. In Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon's lively documentary, those televised skirmishes are seen as a turning point in the history of American politics and mass media, to be viewed both with nostalgia and with dread. Plays Friday, Sept. 18, through Sunday, Sept. 20, at 3 and 7 p.m. and Wednesday, Sept. 23, at 2 and 7 p.m.

NT Live: “The Beauxâc Stratagem”: Simon Godwin (Man and Superman) directs George Farquhar's wild comedy of love and cash. Mr. Aimwell and Mr. Archer, two charming, dissolute young men who have blown their fortunes in giddy London, shamed and debt-ridden, flee to provincial Lichfield. Their Stratagem: to marry for money. Playing Thursday, Sept. 24 at 2 and 7 p.m.

The Lincoln Theater is located at 2 Theater Street in Damariscotta. For more information, call 207-563-3424 or visit www.atthelincoln.org.