Colin Geddes, the programmer for TIFF's Midnight Madness series, described "Symbol" as the "what the fuck" movie of the festival. He wasn't exaggerating.
A man wakes up in a large, totally white room without any visible windows or doors. He is wearing green pyjamas with large polka dots. Out of the walls appear hundreds of white cherubs. After a moment, they recede back into the walls, the only remnant of their presence being their genitals, which protrude from the wall. The man discovers that when a penis is depressed, an object will appear in the room. The objects appear to be chosen at random.
In simple terms, the film is about the man's attempt to escape his prison, but things quickly expand beyond that simple premise, adding angels, Mexican wrestlers and a host of connections between the white room and the real world.
It's a very odd film, performed mostly without dialogue. Parts of it are very funny and there's an absurdist feel that reminded me of an illustrator named Revillo. Very entertaining though and worth a look if it ever appears on DVD.
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2009/09/21
Curtain falls
TIFF 09 ended (for me) around 2 am Sunday morning with the Midnight Madness screening of "Ong Bak 2: The Beginning".
Overall, it was a good TIFF for me. I made it to 46 screenings and can only think of 2 or 3 films that really didn't work for me.
The festival had its awards luncheon on Saturday, with "Precious" winning the People's Choice award and "Cairo Time" the Best Canadian feature. I didn't make it to either and didn't hear any comments from others about them. To be honest, though, it wasn't a year where there was much in the way of buzz about any particular film or films.
I have a few loose ends to tie off for this year's effort (a handful of reviews for the last couple of days, cleaning up previous blog entries to add additional detail and correct minor errors) which I will try to take care of this week.
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Overall, it was a good TIFF for me. I made it to 46 screenings and can only think of 2 or 3 films that really didn't work for me.
The festival had its awards luncheon on Saturday, with "Precious" winning the People's Choice award and "Cairo Time" the Best Canadian feature. I didn't make it to either and didn't hear any comments from others about them. To be honest, though, it wasn't a year where there was much in the way of buzz about any particular film or films.
I have a few loose ends to tie off for this year's effort (a handful of reviews for the last couple of days, cleaning up previous blog entries to add additional detail and correct minor errors) which I will try to take care of this week.
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2009/09/19
Petropolis: Aerial Perspectives on the Alberta Tar Sands
After seeing a number of films which attempted to depict otherworldly landscapes, it took a documentary to capture a reality that transcended any imagined locations.
Peter Mettler is a Canadian filmmaker with a well-deserved reputation for making thoughtful films with commanding visuals (his previous work includes "Visions of Light" and "Gambling, Gods and LSD").
Petropolis is a short (43-minute) aerial trip across the Alberta Tar Sands, starting in the nearby boreal forests and proceeding to the alien landscapes of the Tar Sands. Aside from some text at the beginning and a short piece of voiceover at the end, the only sound is an electro-acoustic score that hovers on the edge of being audible.
The images are enough. Shot from a helicopter hovering over the terrain, the scale of the devastation of the open-pit mining and the tailing ponds is incomprehensible (in fact the only way to establish scale is through the occasional shot of a car or truck; there is only one image of a man outside a vehicle, on the top of a gigantic sulphur platform).
Given the length, a theatrical run seems doubtful, although I expect that it will receive some promotion from Greenpeace (it was commissioned by them).
There is also a companion web site at http://www.petropolis-film.com.
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Peter Mettler is a Canadian filmmaker with a well-deserved reputation for making thoughtful films with commanding visuals (his previous work includes "Visions of Light" and "Gambling, Gods and LSD").
Petropolis is a short (43-minute) aerial trip across the Alberta Tar Sands, starting in the nearby boreal forests and proceeding to the alien landscapes of the Tar Sands. Aside from some text at the beginning and a short piece of voiceover at the end, the only sound is an electro-acoustic score that hovers on the edge of being audible.
The images are enough. Shot from a helicopter hovering over the terrain, the scale of the devastation of the open-pit mining and the tailing ponds is incomprehensible (in fact the only way to establish scale is through the occasional shot of a car or truck; there is only one image of a man outside a vehicle, on the top of a gigantic sulphur platform).
Given the length, a theatrical run seems doubtful, although I expect that it will receive some promotion from Greenpeace (it was commissioned by them).
There is also a companion web site at http://www.petropolis-film.com.
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2009/09/18
Triage
The follow-up by ..., the director of "No Man's Land", the film stars Colin Farrell as a war zone photographer trying to deal with the aftermath of a photo shoot in Kurdistan around the time of Saddam Hussein's gassing of the Kurds. Following his return home, his inability to deal with the memory of the experience threatens to destroy him.
The film is strongest in the scenes set in Kurdistan, with a strong performance by ... as the doctor who must decide who lives or dies from their injuries.
Unfortunately, the scenes in Ireland don't have the same impact. I was left with a feeling of the film being a bit off-balance, although there is good cameo work by Christopher Lee, as a Spanish therapist with a penchant for rehabilitating criminals of the Franco era.
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The film is strongest in the scenes set in Kurdistan, with a strong performance by ... as the doctor who must decide who lives or dies from their injuries.
Unfortunately, the scenes in Ireland don't have the same impact. I was left with a feeling of the film being a bit off-balance, although there is good cameo work by Christopher Lee, as a Spanish therapist with a penchant for rehabilitating criminals of the Franco era.
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Videocracy
A documentary which looks primarily at the state of television in Italy and its intense focus on lowest common denominator entertainment, but also explores questions about gender equality, media concentration and links between the media and the Italian President, Silvio Berlusconi.
The film follows four individuals -- a body-building, singing, dancing, karate black belt named Ricky Carnevale, an "agent" to the stars and unabashed fascist named Lele Moro, the head of a team of paparazzi with his own dreams of celebrity (Fabrizio Corona) and Berlusconi himself.
If there's a connecting thread in the documentary, it's this notion of the obsession with celebrity and its corrosive effect on Italian society.
The film is certainly successful at depicting this, but it's done on a purely emotional level. There is little in the way of analysis and, for me, it felt like I was just channel surfing. As it turned out, the director mentioned in the Q&A that it was his intention to make the film this way, as it was representative of the way that Berlusconi communicated with the Italian people. I think I would have preferred if he had tightened the focus and gone deeper with the subject matter.
That said, there are some truly surreal scenes from the movie, from the agent proudly playing the Mussolini hymns he has on his smart phone to a Berlusconi political ad that ends with the tag line "Thank God Silvio Exists".
Worth a look if it makes its way to TV.
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The film follows four individuals -- a body-building, singing, dancing, karate black belt named Ricky Carnevale, an "agent" to the stars and unabashed fascist named Lele Moro, the head of a team of paparazzi with his own dreams of celebrity (Fabrizio Corona) and Berlusconi himself.
If there's a connecting thread in the documentary, it's this notion of the obsession with celebrity and its corrosive effect on Italian society.
The film is certainly successful at depicting this, but it's done on a purely emotional level. There is little in the way of analysis and, for me, it felt like I was just channel surfing. As it turned out, the director mentioned in the Q&A that it was his intention to make the film this way, as it was representative of the way that Berlusconi communicated with the Italian people. I think I would have preferred if he had tightened the focus and gone deeper with the subject matter.
That said, there are some truly surreal scenes from the movie, from the agent proudly playing the Mussolini hymns he has on his smart phone to a Berlusconi political ad that ends with the tag line "Thank God Silvio Exists".
Worth a look if it makes its way to TV.
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Micmacs à Tire-Larigot
"Micmacs" is the latest film from Jean-Pierre Jeunot, the director or co-director of films such as "Delicatessen", "City of Lost Children" and "Amelie".
It's a film about rival arms dealers and a ragtag mob of eccentrics who are determined to put them out of business. To get an idea of what's like, try imagining an episode of the old "Mission Impossible" series directed by Tex Avery or Mack Sennett.
It combined the whimsy of "Amelie" with some wonderfully wild gadgetry, though less James Bond than Rube Goldberg. The audience ate it up and it certainly had the most enthusiastic applause of any film I've seen this year at TIFF.
It's a lot of fun and one I'd recommend heartily. The only caveat I would have would be based on someone's opinion of "Amelie" -- that film seemed to split audiences down the middle. If you loved "Amelie", than "Micmacs" is a safe bet; if you didn't, perhaps exploring other options would be the best approach.
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It's a film about rival arms dealers and a ragtag mob of eccentrics who are determined to put them out of business. To get an idea of what's like, try imagining an episode of the old "Mission Impossible" series directed by Tex Avery or Mack Sennett.
It combined the whimsy of "Amelie" with some wonderfully wild gadgetry, though less James Bond than Rube Goldberg. The audience ate it up and it certainly had the most enthusiastic applause of any film I've seen this year at TIFF.
It's a lot of fun and one I'd recommend heartily. The only caveat I would have would be based on someone's opinion of "Amelie" -- that film seemed to split audiences down the middle. If you loved "Amelie", than "Micmacs" is a safe bet; if you didn't, perhaps exploring other options would be the best approach.
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Les derniers jours du monde
The English title for the third post-apocalyptic film of the festival was shown as "Happy End The Apocalypse is Near", rather than "The Last Days of the Earth". It's actually a better representation.
About the only thing this shares with "The Road" is a narrative based on a journey of the lead character (Mathieu Almaric), although the grey, ash-covered landscapes of Cormac McCarthy are exchanged for the sun and sand of Biarritz and the south of France.
It's probably the most fashionable depiction of the end committed to film, with the main character experiencing events indirectly (for the most part, the bad things happen to other people).
At one point, he ends up in Pamploma, for the running of the bulls. Perhaps this event was intended as symbolic of the developing chaos, but it came across more as footage shot for the Discovery Channel.
I'm still not sure what to make of this of this one! Some further research is required.
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About the only thing this shares with "The Road" is a narrative based on a journey of the lead character (Mathieu Almaric), although the grey, ash-covered landscapes of Cormac McCarthy are exchanged for the sun and sand of Biarritz and the south of France.
It's probably the most fashionable depiction of the end committed to film, with the main character experiencing events indirectly (for the most part, the bad things happen to other people).
At one point, he ends up in Pamploma, for the running of the bulls. Perhaps this event was intended as symbolic of the developing chaos, but it came across more as footage shot for the Discovery Channel.
I'm still not sure what to make of this of this one! Some further research is required.
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2009/09/17
The Damned United
The latest screenplay from Peter Morgan ("The Queen", "Frost/Nixon"), the story is about Brian Clough, a young English soccer manager who had a spectacularly short and unsuccessful stint as the manager for Leeds United in 1974.
At the time, Leeds United had dominated the English soccer world for many years. Their manager, Don Revie, had just taken a job as the manager of the English national team and Clough was offered the job.
The team went from the top of their division to the bottom immediately and Clough was canned in 44 days. In some respects, this is the antithesis of the sport film, as it shows defeat, rather than victory..
That said, it's really a story about ambition and relationships -- the two key relationships being that between Clough (played by Michael Sheen) and his assistant (Timothy Spall) and the one between Clough and Revie (Colm Meaney), although the latter mostly exists in Clough's head.
Sheen provided one of the most striking performances I've seen at TIFF this year, a creature possessing both unstoppable ambition and a complete lack of self-awareness.
Highly recommended.
As a sidenote, there was a line in the credits about "crowd hair supervisor". Given the time period (1968-1974), the film is full of some of the most remarkablely awful hairstyles captured on film.
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At the time, Leeds United had dominated the English soccer world for many years. Their manager, Don Revie, had just taken a job as the manager of the English national team and Clough was offered the job.
The team went from the top of their division to the bottom immediately and Clough was canned in 44 days. In some respects, this is the antithesis of the sport film, as it shows defeat, rather than victory..
That said, it's really a story about ambition and relationships -- the two key relationships being that between Clough (played by Michael Sheen) and his assistant (Timothy Spall) and the one between Clough and Revie (Colm Meaney), although the latter mostly exists in Clough's head.
Sheen provided one of the most striking performances I've seen at TIFF this year, a creature possessing both unstoppable ambition and a complete lack of self-awareness.
Highly recommended.
As a sidenote, there was a line in the credits about "crowd hair supervisor". Given the time period (1968-1974), the film is full of some of the most remarkablely awful hairstyles captured on film.
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Cell 211
"Cell 211" is a Spanish prison drama about a new guard who, hile on an orientation visit, finds himself trapped during a prison riot. To protect himself, he must convince the other prisoners that he is an inmate, while desperately searching for a way to escape and get back to his pregnant wife.
The film was a taut thriller, with a strong ensemble cast and direction that brought you right into the middle of the chaos.
It strikes me that this is the kind of story that would appeal to a Hollywood studio as a remake for the North American audience, with an American A-list cast. Aside from a sub-plot involving a trio of convicted ETA terrorists, the story could easily be transplanted to another location. Note that this would not be my preference -- the film is strong enough to stand on its own and deserves the opportunity to find a wider audience.
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The film was a taut thriller, with a strong ensemble cast and direction that brought you right into the middle of the chaos.
It strikes me that this is the kind of story that would appeal to a Hollywood studio as a remake for the North American audience, with an American A-list cast. Aside from a sub-plot involving a trio of convicted ETA terrorists, the story could easily be transplanted to another location. Note that this would not be my preference -- the film is strong enough to stand on its own and deserves the opportunity to find a wider audience.
--------------------------
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2009/09/16
The Road
One of the more commercial films that I saw this year, "The Road" is an adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's Pulitzker prize winning novel.
Set in a post-apocalyptic America, the film tracks the journey of an unnamed father and his son south towards the coast.
Visually, the film captures the devastation of the novel beautifully, although there's an attempt to open up the novel by showing larger scale destruction that feels a little superfluous.
As it turned out, I had finished reading the novel a couple of weeks earlier and McCarthy's prose was still very much alive in my memory.
Although the performances of the two leads (Viggo Mortensen and Cody ...) were great and there are a small number of very effective cameos, the impact of knowing the source material ultimately diminished the film to being a good adaptation of a great book, rather than being an exceptional film.
There's a poetic quality to McCarthy's style that the film is unable to capture. One of the best reviews I've seen was Rick Groen's in the Globe. He suggested (correctly, in my view) that the book represented an odyssey, while the film was simply a journey.
As a result, I'm a little conflicted about recommending the film. It may be best to see it without reading the novel, though I'd recommend the novel without hesitation.
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Set in a post-apocalyptic America, the film tracks the journey of an unnamed father and his son south towards the coast.
Visually, the film captures the devastation of the novel beautifully, although there's an attempt to open up the novel by showing larger scale destruction that feels a little superfluous.
As it turned out, I had finished reading the novel a couple of weeks earlier and McCarthy's prose was still very much alive in my memory.
Although the performances of the two leads (Viggo Mortensen and Cody ...) were great and there are a small number of very effective cameos, the impact of knowing the source material ultimately diminished the film to being a good adaptation of a great book, rather than being an exceptional film.
There's a poetic quality to McCarthy's style that the film is unable to capture. One of the best reviews I've seen was Rick Groen's in the Globe. He suggested (correctly, in my view) that the book represented an odyssey, while the film was simply a journey.
As a result, I'm a little conflicted about recommending the film. It may be best to see it without reading the novel, though I'd recommend the novel without hesitation.
--------------------------
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Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould
Directed by Peter Raymont and Michèle Hozer, this is a decent docimentary on the life of Gould, but not a great one.
The centre of the film are interviews conducted with the American painter Cornelia Foss and her two children. Foss lived with Gould for almost four years, following a separation from her husband, the pianist Lukas Foss (a contemporary of Gould's).
Listening to the audio recordings of Gould's voice, I was struck by how well Colm Feore nailed his voice in "32 Short Films About Glenn Gould" and, on reflection, how that film, although a work of fiction, was probably more successful at depicting his "inner life".
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The centre of the film are interviews conducted with the American painter Cornelia Foss and her two children. Foss lived with Gould for almost four years, following a separation from her husband, the pianist Lukas Foss (a contemporary of Gould's).
Listening to the audio recordings of Gould's voice, I was struck by how well Colm Feore nailed his voice in "32 Short Films About Glenn Gould" and, on reflection, how that film, although a work of fiction, was probably more successful at depicting his "inner life".
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Soul Kitchen
Set in a restaurant in an industrial section of Hamburg, "Soul Kitchen" is a melange of different cultural flavours (German, Greek and Turkish), all whipped together into a light farce.
There's really nothing new here, but it throws all of its ingredients together with such style and fun that it's impossible to ignore. It also had the best music soundtrack of the festival so far -- a mix of R&B, funk, techno and punk.
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There's really nothing new here, but it throws all of its ingredients together with such style and fun that it's impossible to ignore. It also had the best music soundtrack of the festival so far -- a mix of R&B, funk, techno and punk.
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Memories of Toronto
As part of the slew of pre-screening ads & thank you shorts, TIFF has been showing a series of short films highlighting the modern history of Toronto.
The clips (with the exception of a scene from Don Shebib's "Goin' Down the Road") show iconic moments -- from footage of the great fire of 1904 to the V-E celebrations on Bay Street to a sit-in on Yorkville Avenue in the 60's. There's a clip of the 1920 Santa Claus Parade, where in one brief shot, there appears to be a clown on the street smoking a cigarette.
Another parade is from 1967, with the Maple Leafs celebrating their last Stanley Cup. A convertible is shown with three men and the cup. According to the credits, they are Punch Imlach, George Armstrong and Stafford Smythe, although the first man on the left beside Armstrong seems to be Harold Ballard.
Was it a clerical error, historical revisionism or an attempt to exorcise the curse of the Maple Leafs...
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The clips (with the exception of a scene from Don Shebib's "Goin' Down the Road") show iconic moments -- from footage of the great fire of 1904 to the V-E celebrations on Bay Street to a sit-in on Yorkville Avenue in the 60's. There's a clip of the 1920 Santa Claus Parade, where in one brief shot, there appears to be a clown on the street smoking a cigarette.
Another parade is from 1967, with the Maple Leafs celebrating their last Stanley Cup. A convertible is shown with three men and the cup. According to the credits, they are Punch Imlach, George Armstrong and Stafford Smythe, although the first man on the left beside Armstrong seems to be Harold Ballard.
Was it a clerical error, historical revisionism or an attempt to exorcise the curse of the Maple Leafs...
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Daybreakers
The first of this year's Midnight Madness films I've seen this year, "Daybreakers" is the second film by two Australian brothers.
The Spherig Brothers hold the distinction of having the very last film screened at the late, lamented Uptown 1 Theatre. I was at that screening and "Undead" was a perfect way to close the theatre -- a relentless rocknroll, zombie, alien abduction comedy thriller.
Six years later, "Daybreakers" shows that the brothers are in a bit of a transition. While the film had many of the more graphic elements of "Undead" (gallons of blood and entrails, monsters and thrills), there was clearly an interest to moving closer to the mainstream.
The film posits a world where almost the entire human population has "turned" into vampires. Society has adapted to a world confined to the night -- business hours have shifted 12 hours, cars come equipped with heavily tinted windows for daytime driving and blood is used as a flavouring for coffee. The imagining of this post-human world is quite clever and fully realized.
The remaining humans are being harvested for their blood supply. Unfortunately, the supply is dwindling and blood riots have begun to break out. Blood deprivation also has the additional effect of mutating vampires into ravenous beasts. While "vampire" society is civilized, the "sub-siders" look more like the Nosferatu style of vampire.
A haemotologist (Ethan Hawke) struggles to find a solution to the emerging crisis. He works in a mega-corporation in control of the blood supply, a corporation headed up by Sam Neill. Eventually, he connects with a ragtag group of human survivors, led by Willem Dafoe.
It's here that the tension between B-movie excess and the mainstream became apparent. There are scenes that would not be out of place in any number of trashy 70's sci-fi or horror films. But the presence of the A-list actors gave it a gravitas that it couldn't sustain. The end result felt that a film that tried to straddle the whole spectrum and landed somewhere in the mushy middle.
It reminded me a bit of Peter Jackson's work, from his early gore films like "Bad Taste" or "Meet the Feebles" to his later work on the "Lord of the Rings". The Spherigs seem to be following the same path, but at a much faster rate.
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The Spherig Brothers hold the distinction of having the very last film screened at the late, lamented Uptown 1 Theatre. I was at that screening and "Undead" was a perfect way to close the theatre -- a relentless rocknroll, zombie, alien abduction comedy thriller.
Six years later, "Daybreakers" shows that the brothers are in a bit of a transition. While the film had many of the more graphic elements of "Undead" (gallons of blood and entrails, monsters and thrills), there was clearly an interest to moving closer to the mainstream.
The film posits a world where almost the entire human population has "turned" into vampires. Society has adapted to a world confined to the night -- business hours have shifted 12 hours, cars come equipped with heavily tinted windows for daytime driving and blood is used as a flavouring for coffee. The imagining of this post-human world is quite clever and fully realized.
The remaining humans are being harvested for their blood supply. Unfortunately, the supply is dwindling and blood riots have begun to break out. Blood deprivation also has the additional effect of mutating vampires into ravenous beasts. While "vampire" society is civilized, the "sub-siders" look more like the Nosferatu style of vampire.
A haemotologist (Ethan Hawke) struggles to find a solution to the emerging crisis. He works in a mega-corporation in control of the blood supply, a corporation headed up by Sam Neill. Eventually, he connects with a ragtag group of human survivors, led by Willem Dafoe.
It's here that the tension between B-movie excess and the mainstream became apparent. There are scenes that would not be out of place in any number of trashy 70's sci-fi or horror films. But the presence of the A-list actors gave it a gravitas that it couldn't sustain. The end result felt that a film that tried to straddle the whole spectrum and landed somewhere in the mushy middle.
It reminded me a bit of Peter Jackson's work, from his early gore films like "Bad Taste" or "Meet the Feebles" to his later work on the "Lord of the Rings". The Spherigs seem to be following the same path, but at a much faster rate.
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2009/09/15
The Good Heart
Sunday was a day for fairy tales, with two films using a modern setting and characters to tell stories that were not too far removed from the world of Hans Christian Anderson or the Brothers Grimm.
The first of the two was "The Good Heart", directed by an Icelandic director named Dagur Kuri.
A curmudgeony bar owner (Brian Cox) "adopts" a homeless man (Paul Dano), determined to make him into his successor. Imagine Pygmalion, if Henry Higgins was an alcoholic, chain-smoking misanthrope and you're part of the way to understanding Cox's character.
The film is very funny and succeeds on the ability of the two leads and a talented troup of actors to create believable, three-dimensional characters. Even the bar itself (a confined, smoky, dirty, tall box stuffed with bric-a-brac) becomes something of a character in the film.
Although the twist could be predicted fairly early on, it wasn't fatal to the enjoyment of the film.
Apparently there is no distribution deal for North America yet, but I suspect one may be closed this week, based on the very strong response of the audience.
Recommended.
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The first of the two was "The Good Heart", directed by an Icelandic director named Dagur Kuri.
A curmudgeony bar owner (Brian Cox) "adopts" a homeless man (Paul Dano), determined to make him into his successor. Imagine Pygmalion, if Henry Higgins was an alcoholic, chain-smoking misanthrope and you're part of the way to understanding Cox's character.
The film is very funny and succeeds on the ability of the two leads and a talented troup of actors to create believable, three-dimensional characters. Even the bar itself (a confined, smoky, dirty, tall box stuffed with bric-a-brac) becomes something of a character in the film.
Although the twist could be predicted fairly early on, it wasn't fatal to the enjoyment of the film.
Apparently there is no distribution deal for North America yet, but I suspect one may be closed this week, based on the very strong response of the audience.
Recommended.
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Breakfast of Champions
It's the start of day 6 at the festival and, as usual, I'm starting the day down at the Scotiabank Theatre at John and Richmond.
And, also as usual, someone just walked past me on the stairs of the theatre carrying their breakfast of "choice" -- a plastic tray piled with stale nacho chips and chemical goop aspiring to be cheese.
The G&M also started the morning with a lead story on the "salt crisis" affecting Canadian youth... They should have a look at some of this audience.
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And, also as usual, someone just walked past me on the stairs of the theatre carrying their breakfast of "choice" -- a plastic tray piled with stale nacho chips and chemical goop aspiring to be cheese.
The G&M also started the morning with a lead story on the "salt crisis" affecting Canadian youth... They should have a look at some of this audience.
--------------------------
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2009/09/14
Nora / Un transport en commun (Saint Louis Blues)
After the tightly controlled, black-and-white world of "The White Ribbon", it was great to move south to Africa for two short films from Africa.
"Nora" was an autobiography of Nora C... (Will update her name when I get a chance), a Zimbabwean dancer now living and dancing in the US.
Shot in stunning high definition, it's been the most striking film from a photographic perspective.
Nora plays a number of parts in the film, including her mother, father and herself. Physically, she's slightly on the masculine side of androgynous and her intensely physical choreography (a blend of traditional African and modern dance styles) adapts well to either gender.
The second film in this screening was "un transport en commun" (or, "Saint Louis Blues" as its English title, depicts a mini-cab ride from Dakar to Saint Louis in Senegal.
Actually the cab is a battered old station wagon, piled high with luggage and stuffed with a driver and seven passengers.
During the course of an often interrupted journey, various characters break out into song, in the style (both cinematic and musical) of the classic American movies of the 30's and 40's). Most of the cast were non-professionals, lending a charmingly amateurish quality to the proceedings.
The director (Dyana Baye) of the second film was in the theatre. Although her English seemed quite strong, she apologized for the lack of an interpreter. As it turned out, it wasn't a problem -- the audience adapted by posing almost every question en français.
Q&a in french
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"Nora" was an autobiography of Nora C... (Will update her name when I get a chance), a Zimbabwean dancer now living and dancing in the US.
Shot in stunning high definition, it's been the most striking film from a photographic perspective.
Nora plays a number of parts in the film, including her mother, father and herself. Physically, she's slightly on the masculine side of androgynous and her intensely physical choreography (a blend of traditional African and modern dance styles) adapts well to either gender.
The second film in this screening was "un transport en commun" (or, "Saint Louis Blues" as its English title, depicts a mini-cab ride from Dakar to Saint Louis in Senegal.
Actually the cab is a battered old station wagon, piled high with luggage and stuffed with a driver and seven passengers.
During the course of an often interrupted journey, various characters break out into song, in the style (both cinematic and musical) of the classic American movies of the 30's and 40's). Most of the cast were non-professionals, lending a charmingly amateurish quality to the proceedings.
The director (Dyana Baye) of the second film was in the theatre. Although her English seemed quite strong, she apologized for the lack of an interpreter. As it turned out, it wasn't a problem -- the audience adapted by posing almost every question en français.
Q&a in french
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The White Ribbon
In the old days of the "Festival" (ie, before it became TIFF), they used to run a special spotlight program, each year focussing on a single director. One of the first ones I saw was on the work of an Austrian director named Michael Haneke.
I still remember seeing a film called "Benny's Video" in that spotlight in 1992 and being completely floored by the story about a teenage boy who kills a girl with a cattle prod. It's typical of both his early as well as his most recent work, posing difficult moral dilemmas within a fictional story, but the strength of his directing has made the journeys worthwhile .
Since then, he's gone on to produce a number of well-received, if no less disturbing, films like "The Piano Teacher", "Funny Games" and "Caché".
"The White Ribbon" won the Palme d'or" at Cannes earlier this year. It's as meticulous as any of his previous work, although it involves a much larger cast and a more intricate plot than his other films.
Set on the eve of the First World War, the action takes place in a small Austrian village called Eichwald. The lives of the villagers are tightly governed by the rules (economic, social and moral) set forth by the Baron who owns the land and the pastor of the local church.
A series of incidents (an attempt to kill the local doctor, the death of the wife of a farmhand) set in motion a crumbling of the social order of the village. The local music teacher serves as our witness to the changes taking place. Interestingly enough, it is the children of the village that are as much the instigators of the changes, as well as it's victims.
A quietly powerful film. Recommended.
I still remember seeing a film called "Benny's Video" in that spotlight in 1992 and being completely floored by the story about a teenage boy who kills a girl with a cattle prod. It's typical of both his early as well as his most recent work, posing difficult moral dilemmas within a fictional story, but the strength of his directing has made the journeys worthwhile .
Since then, he's gone on to produce a number of well-received, if no less disturbing, films like "The Piano Teacher", "Funny Games" and "Caché".
"The White Ribbon" won the Palme d'or" at Cannes earlier this year. It's as meticulous as any of his previous work, although it involves a much larger cast and a more intricate plot than his other films.
Set on the eve of the First World War, the action takes place in a small Austrian village called Eichwald. The lives of the villagers are tightly governed by the rules (economic, social and moral) set forth by the Baron who owns the land and the pastor of the local church.
A series of incidents (an attempt to kill the local doctor, the death of the wife of a farmhand) set in motion a crumbling of the social order of the village. The local music teacher serves as our witness to the changes taking place. Interestingly enough, it is the children of the village that are as much the instigators of the changes, as well as it's victims.
A quietly powerful film. Recommended.
Because you ask...
Been a little light on the ground (well, at least the ground I've been walking on), but I started the day today with two close encounters with celebrities.
First up was Colin Farrell who I saw in a film called "Triage" (more on that to come). He participated in the post-film Q&A. Funny, charming and on his best behaviour (ie no photographers or members of the audience were harmed during his appearance).
On my way out of the Scotiabank Theatre to see what a beautiful September day looks like, I passed by Sam Neill on the sidewalk. Taller and thinner than I had expected.
First up was Colin Farrell who I saw in a film called "Triage" (more on that to come). He participated in the post-film Q&A. Funny, charming and on his best behaviour (ie no photographers or members of the audience were harmed during his appearance).
On my way out of the Scotiabank Theatre to see what a beautiful September day looks like, I passed by Sam Neill on the sidewalk. Taller and thinner than I had expected.
2009/09/13
Fish Tank
I saw Andrea Arnold's first film "Red Road" at TIFF a few years back and was struck by how well she evoked the lives of people living difficult lives in the Scottish "projects".
To some extent, "Fish Tank" revisits the same milieu, but the story is entirely its own.
A young teenager (an intense performance by Katie Jarvis) deals with the pressures of her own life, which include contending with conflict with her mother and her younger sister. Things take a turn for the worse when her mother's new boyfriend (Michael Fassbender) appears on the scene.
Arnold's work has been compared to Ken Loach's work. There are parallels -- they both have a gift for depicting the lives of a British under class, but Arnold's work makes its political points implicitly, without the polemicism that sometimes derails Loach's best intentions. She also has a terrific way with actors and a facility with imagery that's comparable to Lynne Ramsay's work on "Ratcatcher" and "Morvern Callar".
It's not an easy film to watch (particularly in the last third of the film), but it was very compelling.
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To some extent, "Fish Tank" revisits the same milieu, but the story is entirely its own.
A young teenager (an intense performance by Katie Jarvis) deals with the pressures of her own life, which include contending with conflict with her mother and her younger sister. Things take a turn for the worse when her mother's new boyfriend (Michael Fassbender) appears on the scene.
Arnold's work has been compared to Ken Loach's work. There are parallels -- they both have a gift for depicting the lives of a British under class, but Arnold's work makes its political points implicitly, without the polemicism that sometimes derails Loach's best intentions. She also has a terrific way with actors and a facility with imagery that's comparable to Lynne Ramsay's work on "Ratcatcher" and "Morvern Callar".
It's not an easy film to watch (particularly in the last third of the film), but it was very compelling.
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Nymph
Back to Thailand for the first screening on Saturday.
"Nymph" was an entertaining, if not terribly scary, ghost story about a possessive wood sprite in the Thai forest. The film made very effective use of its sound design and camera work to make the scenes in the forest a surprisingly immersive experience.
"Nymph" was an entertaining, if not terribly scary, ghost story about a possessive wood sprite in the Thai forest. The film made very effective use of its sound design and camera work to make the scenes in the forest a surprisingly immersive experience.
2009/09/12
Friday roundup
After the talking heads of the Israeli film documentary, Friday moved east to Asia and, eventually, north to Sweden. While none of the films was completely successful, there were elements which made the day worthwhile.
Tsai Ming-Liang has been a favourite of TIFF for many years. His "Face" is nominally about a performance of "Salome", although this is a small part of what seemed like a very long film (the pacing is glacial).
That said, there are visuals (notably a scene with mirrors set in a snow-covered forest, the final dance of Salome and a final scene shot at an outdoor fountain) that are absolutely stunning.
"She, A Chinese" is a gritty film about a young Chinese girl's path to adulthood. The path is not an easy one, taking her from a local village in China to a nearby city and eventually London. Her ability to form lasting relationships is seriously impaired and usually collapse for one reason or another.
The lead actress delivers a fairly compelling performance and there is an aggressive electric guitar soundtrack provided by John Parish (a frequent collaborator of PJ Harvey). After the quiet of "Face", it made for a perfect wake-up call.
"Sawasdee Bangkok" was the light snack of the day. A collection of four short films set in Bangkok (selected from a group of nine originaly produced for the Thai Public Broadcasting System), it provided the right mix of romance tinged with a little comedy as well as melancholy.
The four shorts were uniformly good and, overall, succeeded in a way that a film like "Paris, je t'aime" did not.
Finishing the day was a taut thriller called "The Ape". While the lead character is clearly wound several turns too tight, the film rarely showed the explosive rage he is clearly capable of in action. The implications of his rage, however, are shown, which adds to the tension of the film.
It was certainly successful at establishing and intensifying the tension over the 80 or 90 minutes of the film, but the lack of any release or catharsis made it ultimately an unsatisfying experience.
Tsai Ming-Liang has been a favourite of TIFF for many years. His "Face" is nominally about a performance of "Salome", although this is a small part of what seemed like a very long film (the pacing is glacial).
That said, there are visuals (notably a scene with mirrors set in a snow-covered forest, the final dance of Salome and a final scene shot at an outdoor fountain) that are absolutely stunning.
"She, A Chinese" is a gritty film about a young Chinese girl's path to adulthood. The path is not an easy one, taking her from a local village in China to a nearby city and eventually London. Her ability to form lasting relationships is seriously impaired and usually collapse for one reason or another.
The lead actress delivers a fairly compelling performance and there is an aggressive electric guitar soundtrack provided by John Parish (a frequent collaborator of PJ Harvey). After the quiet of "Face", it made for a perfect wake-up call.
"Sawasdee Bangkok" was the light snack of the day. A collection of four short films set in Bangkok (selected from a group of nine originaly produced for the Thai Public Broadcasting System), it provided the right mix of romance tinged with a little comedy as well as melancholy.
The four shorts were uniformly good and, overall, succeeded in a way that a film like "Paris, je t'aime" did not.
Finishing the day was a taut thriller called "The Ape". While the lead character is clearly wound several turns too tight, the film rarely showed the explosive rage he is clearly capable of in action. The implications of his rage, however, are shown, which adds to the tension of the film.
It was certainly successful at establishing and intensifying the tension over the 80 or 90 minutes of the film, but the lack of any release or catharsis made it ultimately an unsatisfying experience.
2009/09/11
History lessons
The first film this morning was the first part of "The History of Israeli Cinema", a documentary covering the years from 1932 to 1978 (pt 2 covers the time to the present day and is also being screened this week).
It was a fascinating documentary, though more as a result of how political, theological and social movements were reflected through film, than in the clips from the actual films themselves.
Initial conflicts between Judaism and Zionism as frameworks for the stories gave way in the 60's to the rise of the individual (mirroring the rise of the counterculture in the West).
There was a discussion about how the mosaic of contemporary Israeli culture seemed to defy the creation of a true mass market indigenous film culture. A possible reaction to this would seem to have been the creation of a genre known as "Bourekas" films, which achieved success by pandering to the lowest common denominator.
I left Pt 2 off my initial list, until I had a chance to see Pt 1. At this point, this will likely remain as a future rental, if the opportunity arises.
It was a fascinating documentary, though more as a result of how political, theological and social movements were reflected through film, than in the clips from the actual films themselves.
Initial conflicts between Judaism and Zionism as frameworks for the stories gave way in the 60's to the rise of the individual (mirroring the rise of the counterculture in the West).
There was a discussion about how the mosaic of contemporary Israeli culture seemed to defy the creation of a true mass market indigenous film culture. A possible reaction to this would seem to have been the creation of a genre known as "Bourekas" films, which achieved success by pandering to the lowest common denominator.
I left Pt 2 off my initial list, until I had a chance to see Pt 1. At this point, this will likely remain as a future rental, if the opportunity arises.
Product Placement 2
Given the media and audience attention to film this week, everyone is trying to get their moment in the sun.
I was on my way to the Scotiabank Theatre this morning and passed a vacant storefront on the corner of Queen and McCaul. It was in the process of being "dressed" as an exhibit for a new film called "Whiteout", with Kate Beckinsale.
The film is about the hunt for a killer at an Antarctic research station, with Beckinsale as the Marshal assigned to catch the criminal.
Along the sidewalk, the crew had deposited piles of shaved ice. Inside I saw a man with a chain saw, working on an ice sculpture.
Must remember to pack my camera for moments like that.
I was on my way to the Scotiabank Theatre this morning and passed a vacant storefront on the corner of Queen and McCaul. It was in the process of being "dressed" as an exhibit for a new film called "Whiteout", with Kate Beckinsale.
The film is about the hunt for a killer at an Antarctic research station, with Beckinsale as the Marshal assigned to catch the criminal.
Along the sidewalk, the crew had deposited piles of shaved ice. Inside I saw a man with a chain saw, working on an ice sculpture.
Must remember to pack my camera for moments like that.
Sign of the Times?
Before each screening, TIFF audiences are treated to a series of (hopefully) short thank you messages and advertising by key festival sponsors.
At the screening last night, I noticed that several were recycling material from previous TIFFs. An expression of the "remix" culture that has emerged, or a reflection of reduced marketing budgets?
At the screening last night, I noticed that several were recycling material from previous TIFFs. An expression of the "remix" culture that has emerged, or a reflection of reduced marketing budgets?
2009/09/10
Into the Inferno...
And so it begins...
The first film this year was Serge Bromberg's "L'Enfer de Henri-Georges Clouzot", a documentary about Clouzot's aborted attempt to make a film ("L'Enfer", or "Inferno") in 1964.
After making a number of now-classic films, including "The Wages of Fear" and "Diabolique", Clouzot secured a huge budget to make a film starring Romy Schneider and Serge Reggiani about a husband's obsessive love of his wife turning to jealousy and, eventually, madness.
It became an exercise in obsession for Clouzot, an obsession much greater than that experienced by the husband played by Reggiani. Over 180 cans of film were shot before the production collapsed (Reggiani and other key personnel fled the set and Clouzot eventually had a heart attack).
Bromberg used the extant footage to construct a document of a doomed production. Included in the footage were test sequences heavily influenced by the psychedelic art of the 60's (the intent was to represent the husband's instability through visual and aural distortions). Given that the effects were done mostly with physical means (lens, lighting, makeup and colour treatments), the effects are still exhilarating.
As I watched it, it reminded me of three other films that I'd seen at previous festivals.
Clouzot was provided with what was essentially an "unlimited" budget for a film in 1964. It resulted in a freedom that contributed to endless numbers of test shots and retakes. In "Hearts of Darkness" (Fax Bahr's and George Hickenlooper's doc about the making of "Apocalypse Now"), one of the principals makes a statement about having too much money, then going into the jungle and slowly going mad).
"Lost in La Mancha" concerned the attempt by Terry Gilliam to film an adaptation of Don Quixote. While no less obsessed than Clouzot, Gilliam's production crashed as a result of a host of external factors (financial, medical and meteorological!).
A more direct link is to a film by Claude Chabrol based on the original script. I saw that version of "L'Enfer" in '94. It stripped the surrealist touches from the script and, unfortunately, what was left was a fairly pedestrian melodrama and a mediocre effect by another great director.
Bromberg's "L'Enfer" is a fascinating document of the collapse of a production. While it's impossible to tell whether the final product would have been successful, we are left with some stunning imagery.
During the post-film Q&A, Bromberg mentioned a web site called Europa Film Treasures, which is an umbrella site for the preservation of European film. Definitely worth a look.
The first film this year was Serge Bromberg's "L'Enfer de Henri-Georges Clouzot", a documentary about Clouzot's aborted attempt to make a film ("L'Enfer", or "Inferno") in 1964.
After making a number of now-classic films, including "The Wages of Fear" and "Diabolique", Clouzot secured a huge budget to make a film starring Romy Schneider and Serge Reggiani about a husband's obsessive love of his wife turning to jealousy and, eventually, madness.
It became an exercise in obsession for Clouzot, an obsession much greater than that experienced by the husband played by Reggiani. Over 180 cans of film were shot before the production collapsed (Reggiani and other key personnel fled the set and Clouzot eventually had a heart attack).
Bromberg used the extant footage to construct a document of a doomed production. Included in the footage were test sequences heavily influenced by the psychedelic art of the 60's (the intent was to represent the husband's instability through visual and aural distortions). Given that the effects were done mostly with physical means (lens, lighting, makeup and colour treatments), the effects are still exhilarating.
As I watched it, it reminded me of three other films that I'd seen at previous festivals.
Clouzot was provided with what was essentially an "unlimited" budget for a film in 1964. It resulted in a freedom that contributed to endless numbers of test shots and retakes. In "Hearts of Darkness" (Fax Bahr's and George Hickenlooper's doc about the making of "Apocalypse Now"), one of the principals makes a statement about having too much money, then going into the jungle and slowly going mad).
"Lost in La Mancha" concerned the attempt by Terry Gilliam to film an adaptation of Don Quixote. While no less obsessed than Clouzot, Gilliam's production crashed as a result of a host of external factors (financial, medical and meteorological!).
A more direct link is to a film by Claude Chabrol based on the original script. I saw that version of "L'Enfer" in '94. It stripped the surrealist touches from the script and, unfortunately, what was left was a fairly pedestrian melodrama and a mediocre effect by another great director.
Bromberg's "L'Enfer" is a fascinating document of the collapse of a production. While it's impossible to tell whether the final product would have been successful, we are left with some stunning imagery.
During the post-film Q&A, Bromberg mentioned a web site called Europa Film Treasures, which is an umbrella site for the preservation of European film. Definitely worth a look.
2009/09/06
Product Placement
A completely glorious end to summer this weekend in Toronto, with lots of sun and highs in the mid-20's. Any clouds on the horizon are scheduled for later this week, when the festival starts. Good thing I'll be inside...
I collected my stack of printed tickets for TIFF this afternoon. The fun starts on Thursday night with two films of (hopefully not "from") hell -- a documentary on Henri-Georges Cluzot ("L'Enfer de Henri-Georges Cluzot") and Lars von Trier's "Antichrist".
Of course, there is a world of film outside the festival. I was out for a bike ride yesterday morning, travelling westbound on Queen East. As I pulled up to Broadview, I looked over at a bus shelter and saw a poster for a new Bruce Willis film called "Surrogates").
Apparently the film is about a world where people have robotic surrogates who live their lives for them. There are two posters (one male, one female), each with a buff person pulling their top off. At the point between the top of their pants and the bottom of their top, the exposed torso stops at a certain point and a mechanical spine is visible.
The poster I saw was the female version. The bus shelter was just outside an old strip club in Toronto called "Jilly's", offering an interesting juxtaposition between the posters of the "fantasy" women on the outside of the club and the one on the bus shelter.
I collected my stack of printed tickets for TIFF this afternoon. The fun starts on Thursday night with two films of (hopefully not "from") hell -- a documentary on Henri-Georges Cluzot ("L'Enfer de Henri-Georges Cluzot") and Lars von Trier's "Antichrist".
Of course, there is a world of film outside the festival. I was out for a bike ride yesterday morning, travelling westbound on Queen East. As I pulled up to Broadview, I looked over at a bus shelter and saw a poster for a new Bruce Willis film called "Surrogates").
Apparently the film is about a world where people have robotic surrogates who live their lives for them. There are two posters (one male, one female), each with a buff person pulling their top off. At the point between the top of their pants and the bottom of their top, the exposed torso stops at a certain point and a mechanical spine is visible.
The poster I saw was the female version. The bus shelter was just outside an old strip club in Toronto called "Jilly's", offering an interesting juxtaposition between the posters of the "fantasy" women on the outside of the club and the one on the bus shelter.
2009/08/25
And so it begins again...
The wheel makes another revolution and I'm back in line for another film festival, waiting for the box office to open and to collect the catalog and forms (we're Canadian, so there must be lines and forms!) for my annual end-of-summer ritual.
This morning is beautiful. We're camped out on the western edge of Nathan Phillips Square (the main box office has moved from the labyrinth of the Toronto Life Building to here -- a good choice if the weather is good).
Many familiar faces in line (the transient community reforms for another year).
Given that this is Nathan Phillips, the "locals" are wondering what the hell just landed on them. A well-dressed black man in a suit just appeared, hammering the hell out of one of the metal garbage cans with a wooden cane, yelling something about tornados, food, the law and hellfire, before wandering off to browbeat someone else. I think I'm awake now...
I've decided to use the existing blog this year for TIFF 09, rather than create a new one. As with last year, I'll be posting comments and other items from lines and other locations.
More to come...
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This morning is beautiful. We're camped out on the western edge of Nathan Phillips Square (the main box office has moved from the labyrinth of the Toronto Life Building to here -- a good choice if the weather is good).
Many familiar faces in line (the transient community reforms for another year).
Given that this is Nathan Phillips, the "locals" are wondering what the hell just landed on them. A well-dressed black man in a suit just appeared, hammering the hell out of one of the metal garbage cans with a wooden cane, yelling something about tornados, food, the law and hellfire, before wandering off to browbeat someone else. I think I'm awake now...
I've decided to use the existing blog this year for TIFF 09, rather than create a new one. As with last year, I'll be posting comments and other items from lines and other locations.
More to come...
--------------------------
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld
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