March 22, 2002

Patricia Cardoso's comic melodrama ''Real Women Have Curves'' relates the generational conflict between a Mexican-American teenager (America Ferrera, right) and her traditionalist mother. ''Real Women'' and Jeong Jae-eun's ''Take Care of My Cat,'' about five young friends in South Korea, open the New Directors/New Films series at the Museum of Modern Art tonight. Reviews by Elvis Mitchell and Stephen Holden, Page 27.

New York Times correspondent Serge Schemamann describes latest suicide bombing in Jerusalem, which he witnessed first-hand; describes noise of explosion, followed by people screaming and running, some people laying on ground injured; says carnage and debris were everywhere; notes that Israeli reaction to suicide bombings is invariably to erase their traces as quickly as possible, as if to say they will not give in to this; says Israelis are living in fear, and wonders how much more they can take (M)

New York City lost roughly 14,000 private-sector jobs last month, even as the number of jobs rose at the national level. The city's job losses were worse than in January, and hit hard in two areas economists consider bellwethers for the local economy: Wall Street and temporary help agencies. Article, Page B1.

General Motors is reviving old car-building method, in which bodies are bolted onto solid frames, to make niche models at reasonable prices; move could revive frequent restylings of 1950's and 60's; photos (M)

Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, partners in Imagine Entertainment, have earned reputation making films like A Beautiful Mind and Splash that have mass-market appeal and earn good money but that generally avoid baser instincts of many Hollywood movies; that Imagine thrives at all is remarkable in a Hollywood obsessed with franchising, cross-promotional marketing strategies and teenage demographics; best-picture Oscar for A Beautiful Mind would be fitting tribute to Howard's and Grazer's 16-year partnership; photos (M)