I am extremely fortunate to live in a city that hosts one of the most fantastic film fests going; The Toronto International Film Festival!
I was able to do 25 screenings this year and saw some really incredible films! I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that they will find their way to a (North American) distributor so that more people can enjoy them. My favourites this year include:
Wolfsbergen - Nanouk Leopold (The Netherlands)
If you look closely you'll see a little bit of Bergman in here. (There must be something in that cool Nordic air.) Nanouk Leopold's somber tale lulled me into an almost dreamlike state and her final scene is perhaps the most natural -- yet unnatural -- moments in film I've seen in a very long time.
The Banishment (Izgnanie) - Andrey Zvyagintsev (Russia)
The isolation...the sorrow...oh those Russians!
Encarnación - Anahí Berneri (Argentina)
Berneri revealed during the Q&A that casting the lead character was an arduous task, and boy did it pay off - Silvia Pérez blew me away. I really, really loved this film!
To Love Someone (Den Man Älskar) - Åke Sandgren (Sweden)
A complicated look at the aftermath of domestic violence, it's easy to feel frustration towards the choices made by the lead character, yet Sandgren's aptly titled film is a melancholy story of compulsive attraction and sacrifice.
Déficit - Gael García Bernal (Mexico)Gael García Bernal keeps ambition in check with his respectable directorial debut about the great social divide between Mexico's working class and the upper crust at play.
A Stray Girlfriend (Una novia errante) - Ana Katz (Argentina)
I really loved this film! Performing double duty as director and lead in the film Ana katz is simply splendid in this refreshing depiction of the messiness associated with breaking up, especially when one half doesn't know it's over!
Other films that will make it to theatres that are most definitely worth the price of admission are:
Nothing is Private - Alan Ball (USA)
More evocative of Todd Solandz than of his own previous screenplays, (“American Beauty” and “Six Feet Under”), this could very well be Alan Ball's most visceral work to date! (During the Q&A he told us the MPAA has seen this cut and have granted it a “R” rating. Given the subject matter it will be interesting to how this plays out in a theatrical run.)
Cassandra's Dream - Woody Allen (United Kingdom)
Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor are excellent in this is classic noir tale that would surely make Huston and Welles proud! At the expense of sounding like a total nerd, with a filmmaker as remarkable as Allen, it's easy to say to yourself “God, I'm in good hands here, so just sit back and enjoy the ride!”
Before the Devil Knows Your Dead - Sydney Lumet (USA)
Reminding me of the classic seventies crime dramas that Sidney Lumet himself helped to create, this wickedly intense caper is told from different character perspectives in 'a three steps forward, two steps back' narrative style that is heightened by the superb performances of Ethan Hawke and Phillip Seymour Hoffman.
The Savages - Tamara Jenkins (USA)
I was going to hold off seeing this until it got it's theatrical release, but I'm really glad I didn't, since it was real treat to have the director there for the Q&A! Jenkin's story about family dysfunction is brave enough to show that closure doesn't always mean finding the answers.
The Visitor - Thomas McCarthy (USA)
A thoughtful and touching story with a stand-out performance by Richard Jenkins! Much like his debut feature “The Station Agent” writer/director Thomas McCarthy is able to balance the sour with the sweet.
And finally a look at the remaining films I got to see this year:
Pink (Roz) - Alexander Voulgaris (Greece)
With the exception of one sequence that almost put my enjoyment of the film in jeopardy it was all in all a nice way to ease into the festival.
Le Voyage du ballon rouge - Hou Hsiao-hsien (France)
Juliette Binoche "est vraiment bon" in this homage to the famous 1956 french short “Le Ballon Rouge”.
The Man From London (A London Férfi) - Béla Tarr (France/Germany/Hungary)
When I walked in I was unfamiliar with Hungarian director Béla Tarr's signature narrative vision... Snore pie with a big ole helping of yawn sauce!
Boy A - John Crowley (United Kingdom)
At times this came across as a really decent, well-acted BBC television drama and I mean that in a good way!
Starting out in the Evening - Andrew Wagner (USA)
For me this falls into the category of 'non-offensive films' that the golden-aged set can swoon over.
La Zona - Rodrigo Plá (Spain/Mexico)
The thrust of the story is rooted in Mexico's current socioeconomic struggle regarding class division, yet I didn't feel as though the film had an overtly political agenda -- then again what does a gringa like me know anyways -- it hit a nerve with several people of mexican descent in my screening and they weren't afraid to voice it in the Q&A!
Happy New Life (Boldog új élet) - Árpád Bogdán (Hungary)
Let me start by saying I have an awesome ability to select the most DEPRESSING films for my morning screenings! The dialogue is sparse allowing the film's highly visual images to drive the story about a young man's harrowing search to understand his past and claim his identity.
This Beautiful City - Ed Gass-Donnelly (Canada)
Umm...this is really not a good film. You can tell the actors are really giving it their all, but it's just not enough.
The Babysitters - David Ross (USA)
Joining the ranks of the 'off the beaten track' teen movies like, “The Girl Next Door”, the film plays as well as it does because of it's (somewhat) solid cast.
El Pasado (The Past) - Héctor Babenco (Argentina/Brazil)
I wanted to like this more than I did, but felt it really lost it's way at the end. In a way the film dealt with a similar theme as the one I screened earlier that day; the unhealthy choices people make to preserve unconditional love.
The Girl in the Park - David Auburn (USA)
This was too sentimental for my taste. I've always had trouble with the 'spunky tramp' whose annoying behaviour is excused as a testament to their enduring spirit in the face of hardship, blah, blah, blah... And when said 'tramp' is Kate Bosworth, you know you're in trouble!
King of the Hill (El Rey de la Montaña) - Gonzalo López-Gallego (Spain)
The sound design is superb and although I felt the story lost steam with the reveal going into the third act, “Hill” is still a pretty punchy thriller.
Reclaim Your Brain (Free Rainer - Dein Fernseher Lügt) - Hans Weingartner (Germany/Austria)
The first 20min of the film was promising, then it all went down hill from there! Turning into a sappy comedy...and a German comedy at that! I was caught completely off guard. Not exactly the way I wanted to end my festival run. Oh well, they can’t all be winners!
