‘Summer Palace’/’A Walk to Beautiful’

Two of the best films of the young year opened last Friday at several Laemmle theaters, but because nobody much cared, tonight might be the last opportunity to see them on the big screen. That would be a shame especially where “Summer Palace” is concerned. An intense romantic epic, as politically provocative as it is explicitly sexual, it covers more than a dozen years of recent Chinese history. Just as powerful is “A Walk to Beautiful.” Even its difficult subject matter -- women in Ethiopia who suffer from childbirth injuries -- can’t keep this film from having a power over your heart that is unparalleled.