Before things come to a rousing finish Sunday, thousands of film buffs will get access to an array of movies that, if not for the festival, would never have a chance to show on Wisconsin movie screens. Last week, we profiled two such movies - "The Unforeseen," which screens tonight and stands tall as one of the best documentaries I have ever seen, and "The Edge of Heaven," which screens both Friday and Sunday.

Over the last few days, I’ve had the chance to check out three additional films, one of them an Oscar winner, that organizers have slated as part of the festival. All three are films you might want to check out:

"Up the Yangtze" / "Still Life"

One of the largest construction projects on the planet is that of the Three Gorges Dam in China, where the Yangtze River is being flooded to provide hydroelectric power to millions of Chinese citizens.

It’s an ambitious project, but along with the construction has come a wave of devastation for families who once lived on the river’s edge. As the water level has risen dozens of feet, entire communities have been submerged in one of the largest relocations of human beings in history.

Two films at this year’s festival address this massive movement of water and people. "Still Life" (showing at 5 p.m. Friday and 10:30 p.m. Saturday) is Jia Zhangke’s fictional take on the subject, opening with the image of a native returning to the valley after years away from home, devastated to learn that his home is now under water, and he has no idea where to find his loved ones.

Yung Chang’s "Up the Yangtze" (showing at 5:15 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday) is a devastating documentary about the same subject. Chronicling the ways that the massive dam has forever altered the landscape, Chang documents the reactions of the local citizenry, and locates one peasant family poised to lose everything as the river submerges their farm. When the eldest daughter is sent off to work, she ironically lands on one of the new Western cruise ships that carry tourists down the Yangtze over submerged communities, promising a glimpse of a China that no longer exists.

"Taxi to the Dark Side"

Another brilliant film at this year’s festival is Alex Gibney’s Oscar-winning documentary "Taxi to the Dark Side" (showing at 10 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday).

The film documents the dark interrogating techniques of American soldiers operating overseas today, amid the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and the title refers to an Afghan taxi driver who was captured by militiamen in 2002 in exchange for a cash payment. Named Dilawar, he was turned over to American forces and then taken to Bagram Air Force Base, where he was identified as the triggerman behind an insurgent rocket attack in the region. He was beaten so severely so that his legs became pulpified. Had he lived, they would have required amputation. On the certificate that was handed over to Dilawar’s family, the cause of death was listed as "homicide." But in official statements, the Army said Dilawar died of natural causes. After the American press, and later Gibney, tracked down the Afghan’s family and took photographs of the death certificate, the Army staged a trial for a few of the men in charge of Dilawar’s interrogations. This is where the indignation of "Taxi to the Dark Side" truly sets in, as it witnesses the way the buck is passed down the chain of command.

What’s so memorable and haunting about this documentary is the way in which Gibney interviews the soldiers involved, gaining insight into the lack of concrete directives being given them by their superiors. The Army, it appears, left these rank-and-file soldiers to their own devices, demanding more and more from them before feeding them to the wolves when the violent results came to the world’s attention.

Ultimately, "Taxi" is a movie about scared American teenagers being indoctrinated as torturers, and a wave of innocent citizens from the Middle East, who are being subjected to treatment so violent and barbaric that they are sure to emerge from prison as a life-long enemy of America.

These are only three of the more than 200 titles set to debut in Madison. Visit www.wifilmfest.org if you are interested in attending one of this year’s screenings, and be sure to check back for a festival wrap-up next week in TimeOut.

snyderreviews@Hotmail.com

"Still Life" - 3.5 stars

"Up the Yangtze" - 4 stars

"Taxi to the Dark Side" - 4 stars