AFI FILM FEST: WEEK 2

L istings and commentary for Week 2 of the American Film Institute Film Festival of Los Angeles, which runs through March 26:

FRIDAY

“Robert Frost” (U.S.A., 1986, 12:30 p.m.). By the time of his death at 89 (in 1963), Robert Frost was America’s beloved poet laureate, white-thatched and New England-twangy. Director Peter Hammer and writer Margot Feldman’s documentary, part of the New York Center for Visual History’s Poetry Film Series, goes a long way toward separating the sentimental public image of Frost with the tough-minded man and artist he actually was. There are astute appraisals of the man and his work by fellow poets, much well-chosen archival materials and much footage on the places where Frost lived and worked during his long life and career. This is an excellent, succinct introduction to a major literary figure. (Shown with “William Carlos Williams.”) Recommended.