The weather gods must be movie fans. Our unseasonable warmth has given way to April chills just in time to get everyone packed into St. Anthony Main. (After all, there’s no reason why you should spend your April basking in the sunlight we’ve already enjoyed for weeks, right?)

Right on schedule, the Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul just announced the list of movies playing during this year’s three-week-long Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival.

Yes, I did say three weeks, not two. Yes, the Film Society is out of its mind. But so long as we’re reaping the benefits, keep on with your crazy bad self, MSPIFF organizers!

There were more than 250 titles revealed on the festival’s website over the weekend, a tally that certainly bests the record-setting flood of movies that played the festival last year.

Of course, even half that many features and programs would keep the most voracious of cinephiles too busy to sleep.

This year, the festival presents The Intouchables as its opening night selection. The second-biggest hit ever in France (behind, as it turns out, 1997′s Titanic), Intouchables has proven to be as controversial as it is beloved in its native country.

While its depiction of the relationship between a handicapped millionaire and the Senegalese man who serves as his caretaker has delighted throngs, some have called it an evasive sham on class structures. (One blogger likened its reception to that which greeted The Help stateside.)

Judge for yourself this evening when the movie opens this year’s fest.

From there, the fest should keep everyone busy with no less than 10 different programs:

• In Competition
• Special Presentations
• Special Programs
• Middle East Spotlight
• Minnesota-Made
• World Cinema
• American Independents
• Documentaries
• Late Nights
• Childish Films

Aside from those, there are shorts, special panel discussions, eight different events/parties, sidebars, games, rides, balloon animals. Oh wait, I think I just slipped into a Fellini film for a second there.

Every day during the festival, the WCCO Movie Blog team will be highlighting a must-see movie, and giving you program notes for some of the other offerings. Updates will be available by clicking here.