FILM/SNEAK PEEK : TACITURN BUT ROMANTIC.

Byline: - Bob McCarthy

If you haven't heard about ``Williamstowne,'' it's no surprise. It's a small, independent feature that's short on dialogue.

Sixty-five words to be exact.

This tale of a deceased young woman who remains bound to her husband and family by her love for them flows through the music of British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, whose romanticized compositions are a conduit for the emotion that floods this film by Richard Horian. ``Williamstowne'' took eight years to complete, in some part because each shot was dictated by the music. Any scene that ran a mere second long needed to be reshot, as Horian decided that in no way would the music be slowed down, speeded up or changed to accommodate the film's running time.

For the actors and crew, it took a variety of techniques to keep on time. Stopwatches, counting aloud, hand cues and having the music audible during filming were just a few. On the other side of the camera, the crew even timed its moves to the music.

``Williamstowne'' is made in the tradition of highly romanticized films such as ``Wuthering Heights,'' with long camera shots that fix on the expressions of the grieving husband, the heartbroken and aged parents, the New England townspeople who are touched by what Edgar Allan Poe called the most tragic theme in literature: the death of a young woman.

Only in this, that woman, named Sarah McConaghy, returns each year on the anniversary of her death. Ten years later, her husband, Jack, has not moved past the tragedy that claimed his wife and their unborn child. Her family feels her presence, yet it brings them little lasting comfort. Flashbacks convey the beauty of Sarah's life and explain her own reluctance to let go.

``Williamstowne'' marries cinematography and soundtrack in a way that has rarely been experienced by mainstream audiences, and redefines love as an everlasting bond rather than a physical experience. This is the kind of date-night movie that will lead naturally to a latte and conversation afterward.

The film is playing at the General Cinema 7 in Sherman Oaks and the Laemmle Music Hall Theater in Beverly Hills.

All things Italian

A special presentation of the best Italian cinema - new and old - continues at 6 and 8:15 tonight in Westwood with ``Radiofreccia,'' which screened at this year's Venice Film Festival.

Venezia a Hollywood, a new film festival sponsored by the Roberto Rossellini Foundation, the Italian Cultural Institute and the Italian Heritage Culture Foundation, concludes at 7:30 p.m. Saturday with the director's cut of ``Paisan,'' Rossellini's Academy Award-nominated film from 1946.

Written by Rossellini and Federico Fellini, ``Paisan'' tracks the nerve-racking experiences of survivors living in Italy during World War II. In Luciano Ligabue's contemporary ``Radiofreccia,'' a small-time radio operator falls in love with a drug addict and plunges into physical and emotional depths as a result.

The screenings are free, but reservations are required; call [phone], Ext. 114. Films will be shown at the Italian Government Cultural Office, 1023 Hilgard Ave.

`Oliver!' anniversary

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is hold a 30th-anniversary screening of ``Oliver!'' at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Beverly Hills.

It received 11 Academy Award nominations and won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1968. A newly restored print from Sony Pictures will be shown.

Tickets cost $5 general admission and $3 for academy members. Call [phone] for ticket information. The academy is at 8949 Wilshire Blvd.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

Photo: Richard Horian and Deni Delory star in ``Williamstowne,'' which marries cinematography and soundtrack in a way rarely experienced by mainstream audiences.