City of Ghosts

(R). Matt Dillon's directorial debut is long on atmosphere and painfully short on coherence. Still, he shows promise with this moody thriller set in Cambodia, where a conscience-stricken scam artist (Dillon) searches for his mentor (James Caan) and finds more things to feel guilty about. With Stellan Skarsgard, Gerard Depardieu, Natascha McElhone and Sereyvuth Kem. Written by Dillon and Barry Gifford. 1:47. (violence, vulgarisms). At area theaters.

By Gene Seymour

April 25, 2003