Jan. 21, 2008 issue

Our top picks for the week

Rent “Syndromes and a Century.” Our critic’s No. 1 movie pick of last year, this lovely Thai film about doctors, lovers and Buddhist monks is divided into two parts that mirror each other—one set in the city, one in the country—and is unlike anything you’ve ever seen.

Recycle your old cell phone with help from the Environmental Protection Agency’s new campaign. Go to epa.gov/cellphone for a list of drop-off locations, many at major retail stores. You’ll help lower greenhouse-gas emissions and keep reusable materials out of landfills.

Book a stay on the Underground Railroad. Visit bedand breakfast.com (click on “Press Room”) for a list of inns that helped slaves on their road to freedom. Many of the B&Bs are offering special packages for Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend and throughout Black History Month in February.

Buy Microsoft Office for Macintosh ($150 to $500). The first major upgrade of the popular Word, Excel, PowerPoint suite for Apple computers in four years brings your Mac up to speed.

Read “David Golder” and other novels in a newly published collection by Irène Némirovsky (Everyman’s Library. $25). The Kiev-born French writer died at Auschwitz in 1942 but scored an international best seller last year in the posthumously published “Suite Française.”