THE THREE ROOMS OF MELANCHOLIA

***1/2 (three and one half stars)

FINNISH director Pirjo Honkasalo’s “The Three Rooms of Melancholia” is an achingly beautiful look at the most tragic victims of the longtime war in Chechnya: children.

The 58-year-old woman sneaked into the war zone to gather footage for her three-parter, which garnered awards at Sundance and other festivals.

First look is at a military school near St. Petersburg, where 600 boys, some only 9 years old, are sternly trained to become cannon fodder for Russia.

Part 2 – shot on black-and-white video – is a heartbreaking tour of Chechnya’s war-ravaged capital, Grozny.

In a scene guaranteed to bring tears to your eyes, a sick mother hands over her three young children to the old woman who runs an orphanage in the neighboring Republic of Ingushetia.

The final, almost wordless, part opens with a beautiful pastoral scene, then moves on to some of the orphanage’s other residents.

One boy, 11-year-old Aslan, was found in a cardboard box on a freezing night. He had been sexually abused by Russian soldiers.

Throughout her documentary, Honkasalo avoids preaching and keeps narration to a minimum, allowing the faces of the children of Chechnya to speak for themselves.

In several languages, with English subtitles. Running time: 106 minutes. Not rated (disturbing images). At the Film Forum, Houston Street, west of Sixth Avenue.

JUST ONE LOOK ** (two stars)

THE Hong Kong comedy “Just One Look” proves that Hollywood doesn’t have exclusive rights to jokes about constipation.

The subject provides several dumb gags for Ripley Ip’s 1970s-set film about a young man, Fan (pop star Shawn Yu), who grows up thinking that his father was murdered 10 years earlier by a gangster named Crazy, even though the death in a moviehouse toilet was officially ruled a suicide.

Revenge isn’t the only thing on Fan’s mind, however. He and buddy Ming spend a good deal of time chasing two young women. They’re played by Charlene Choi and Gillian Chung, who are better known in Asia as the red-hot pop group Twins.

“Just One Look” is filled with nostalgia for old Chinese movies, respectable performances and lively kung-fu slapstick.

Problem is, there’s not enough happening to merit the 96-minute running time. Tighter editing would be a big help.

In Cantonese, with English subtitles. Not rated (comic violence). At the Two Boots Pioneer Theater, Third Street and Avenue A, East Village