Lars Von Trier's "Antichrist" - one of the most disturbing, preplexing and talked about movies art house films of 2009 - kicks off the winter 2010 season on Friday night.

The fact that this movie would have never shown theatrically in Milwaukee, if not for the Union Theatre, is just about all the proof that one needs. This venue is nothing short of a salvation for any serious Milwaukee movie buff.

Each and every year, I feel as if I'm repeating the same mantra, urging people to hop onto Interstate 94 and take 30 minutes to travel into a movie theater that will present you with visions that are truly unique and memorable, rather than the mass-marketed fluff that clogs up so many of our other venues.

When I received the 2010 Union Theatre calendar in the mail, I was reminded of why it is that I love the Union so much. Its schedule is lined with movies from every possible nation and culture, hitting the highlights of the present and the past and ushering in a wave of Milwaukee premieres that ensure we are able to see here the same titles that are guiding the cinematic dialogues of big-market cities.

A quick look at the first month's worth of titles:

Friday through Sunday: "Antichrist." Lars Von Trier's macabre meditation on loss of a child and the vicious self-flagellation that follows for the two parents.

Monday, Feb. 8, Feb. 15 and Feb. 22: The fifth annual African-American Film Series, featuring "For Our Sons," "Jacques Roumain: Passion for a Country" and "Stand: What Do You Stand For?"

Tuesday and Wednesday: The Ann Arbor Film Festival Touring Programs (differing programs featuring films and videos from the 47th edition of the annual Ann Arbor Film Festival)

Thursday: "Diva," Jean-Jacques Beineix's 1982 awards heavyweight, a romantic thriller about a forbidden recording and the wild chase that ensues between an 18-year-old mailman and Taiwanese pirates.

Feb. 5 through Feb. 14: The 2010 Festival of Films in French, featuring 13 titles - many of which are making their Milwaukee debuts. Titles include "Conversations with My Gardener," a celebration of friendship set in a lush French countryside; "The Secret of the Grain," by Tunisian-born director, Abdellatif Kechiche; "Being Jewish in France," a complex and thought-provoking two-part documentary about the history of the Jews in France; and "The Seashell and the Clergyman," a silent film from 1927 by legendary feminist director, Germaine Dulac, that will include live musical accompaniment.

Feb. 16: "Let Each One Go Where He May," Chicago-based filmmaker Ben Russell's stunning feature debut follows two unidentified brothers in the outskirts of Paramaribo, Suriname along a winding "path," retracing footsteps (now bus trips, boat rides, etc.) of their ancestors who escaped from slavery 300 years prior.

Feb. 17 and Feb. 18: "The Yes Men Fix The World," a free-wheeling documentary about the anti-corporate pranksters who get themselves invited to high-level corporate conferences and media events - where they unmask global injustice and satirize human rights abuses.

Feb. 19 through Feb. 21: "Beeswax," an intimate framing of the personal and professional entanglements of twin sisters Jeannie and Lauren living in Austin, Texas; and "Loren Cass," the radical debut film from director Chris Fuller, which focuses on troubled youth in contemporary suburban Florida and mixes disembodied voices ranging from Charles Bukowski to French poet Robert Desnos with graphic news footage of the American Dream turned nightmare.

E-mail: SnyderReviews@hotmail.com