AFI FILM FEST: THE FINAL WEEK

T he following are capsule reviews of this week’s screenings at the AFI Film Festival of Los Angeles. Screenings take place at the Los Feliz Theater, 1822 N. Vermont Ave., Hollywood, except where noted. Tickets and information: (213) 520-2000 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. THURSDAY

“Saturday Night at the Palace” (South Africa, 1986, 5:30 p.m.). The grand sounding “palace” of the title is a modest Johannesburg hamburger stand where a microcosm of South African racial tension unfolds at closing time. A seemingly inevitable tragedy is played out between a black waiter (the remarkable John Kani), a white bigot and another white who’s superficially accepted blacks into society. A powerful, claustrophobic nightmare with unexpected twists that cut to the essence of an overpowering dilemma. Recommended.