FILM buffs tired of the antics of Spider-man or attacking clones are being offered the best of world cinema in a season at Malvern Theatres.

The foreign, the subtitled, the intellectual, the arty, all those qualities which scare hell out of the box office are here proudly represented.

The season opens on Wednesday (July 31) with The Lady and the Duke (L'Anglais et le Duc) (PG), the latest offering from that grand master of French cinema Eric Rohmer.

Set during the French Revolution, the film tells the story of an Englishwoman in Paris under the shadow of the guillotine.

On Thursday, August 1, Behind the Sun (Abril Despedacado) (12) is the latest offering from Portugese director Walter Salles, whose Central Station was so highly acclaimed.

Behind the Sun, winner of the Little Golden Lion at this year's Venice Film Festival, concerns feuds between peasant families in the Brazil of the early 20th Century.

It is followed by the winner of the best screenplay at the same festival, Y Tu Mama Tambien (And Your Mother Too) (18), hailed as the most exciting movie out of Mexico since Amores Perros. Y Tu Mama Tambien is on Wednesday, August 7.

The next day is that rarity, an Inuit (Eskimo) language film. Atanarjuat, the Fast Runner (15) is described as a "unique cinematic experience" based on an ancient legend in the Arctic north.

A hospital during World War I is the setting for The Officer's Ward (La Chambre des Officiers) (15), which is showing on Wednesday, August 14.

The horrors of war are brought home not in the intensity of battle, but in the agonies of the wounded men convalescing.

In sharp contrast is Sex and Lucia (18), the fifth film from Spanish director Julio Medem, who made Lovers of the Arctic Circle. Showing on Thursday, August 15, it follows a young waitress from the heart of Madrid to a remote Mediterranean island.

Sidewalks of New York (15) stars Heather Graham and Dennis Farina alongside director/actor Edward Burns in a slice of life from the pre-September 11 Big Apple. It is showing on Wednesday, August 21.

The season ends the next day with Tosca (PG), a new version of Puccini's immortal opera starring Angel Gheorgiou and Roberto Alagna.

For more details on the season contact the Malvern Theatres box office on 01684 892277.