Michael Meets Patricia Clarkson and Chansi Harrow!

One of the best parts about going to national film festivals includes meeting... Chlotrudis members from around the country! We met Marilyn, Maryellen, Alex and Thom (although I already knew Thom) in Toronto, and Tara at High Falls... and this year, a bunch of us were lucky enough to meet and spend time with Chansi, one of our new members from Florida! Chansi was delightful, and I hope we get to see her again soon... maybe even at this year's 16th Annual Chlotrudis Awards Ceremony.

One thing that Chansi did as we were leaving the screening of CAIRO TIME was take a few photos of me while introducing myself to Patricia Clarkson! Did I mention how charming she was? And how accessible? I love these photos, because not only do they capture how beautiful she was, but how personable; especially the last where it looks like she's sassing me.

Anyway, here they are for your enjoyment!

Chris Kriofske's TIFF Reviews

I scheduled less films than usual this year to make time for some of Toronto’s more notable attractions (CN Tower, Casa Loma, and the Bata Shoe Museum, among others), but I did manage to see ten of the former.

AN EDUCATION
In a London suburb in 1962, Jenny, (Carey Mulligan) a teenager preparing to apply to Oxford University meets and falls in love with a worldly, seductive man (Peter Sarsgaard) more than twice her age. With director Lone Scherfig (ITALIAN FOR BEGINNERS), an adapted screenplay from novelist Nick Hornby (HIGH FIDELITY) and an excellent cast including Alfred Molina, Dominic Cooper, Olivia Williams and a tart cameo from Emma Thompson, it’s no surprise that this film received a glowing reception at Sundance earlier this year. Although a little clichéd at times (especially when it cues the Serious Music) and verging-on-implausible at others (Jenny’s parents are wildly inconsistent in their behavior), this is still an enjoyable, bittersweet coming of age story and a likely indie hit to boot. Most exciting is how it recreates and examines a particular place and time—Britain just before the Beatles ushered in the swinging Sixties. Expect Mulligan’s whip-smart Jenny to be this year’s buzzed-about breakthrough performance. 4 cats

FACE
The latest from Taiwanese auteur Tsai Ming-Liang (WHAT TIME IS IT THERE?) plays like a greatest hits album. It’s brimming with all of his favorite obsessions: the prevalence of water (culminating in his most hilarious Buster Keaton homage to date), manipulation of time and space, delightfully absurd musical numbers and preferred actor Lee Kang-sheng in the lead. However, he also includes a few worthy new tracks to the playlist: most of the film is set in France, with such celebrated actors as Jean-Pierre Leaud, Fanny Ardant and Jeanne Moreau playing more or less versions of themselves (and don't miss Mathieu Almaric's cameo); additionally, the plot hinges on the making of a film within this one, encouraging viewers to question what’s real or a façade. Stunningly gorgeous (the mirror-filled forest sequences will take your breath away) but challenging, it may prove too obtuse for some viewers, but it was my favorite film of the festival. After seeing it, you will never look at crushed tomatoes the same way again. 5 cats

CRACKS
The arrival of an aristocratic Spaniard student upsets the delicate hierarchy of an elite, remote, all-female 1930s British boarding school. Eva Green stars as a flamboyant, idealistic, controlling teacher. A slightly overcooked directorial debut from Jordan Scott (daughter of Ridley), all this has to recommend it is lovely cinematography (packed with foreboding, nighttime lake shots) and the continuously shifting alliances among the characters in the film’s first two acts. A genuinely shocking twist then arrives, but it doesn’t prevent CRACKS from lapsing into a lesser version of HEAVENLY CREATURES; nor does it dissuade Green from ravenously chewing up the scenery. At least it was the only truly mediocre film I saw at TIFF this year. 2.5 cats

FISH TANK
Director Andrea Arnold’s follow-up to RED ROAD is decidedly less ambitious but no less captivating, suggesting she could prove a female heir to Mike Leigh and his working class, actor-focused domestic dramas. Its tough teenage protagonist, Mia (impressive newcomer Katie Jarvis) uses her love of hip-hop dancing as a means of escape from her rough housing project home and also her young, immature, uninvolved mother and exceptionally foul-mouthed little sister. Tension mounts as Mia and her mother’s charming boyfriend Connor (Michael Fassbender) develop a mutual attraction. Arnold redeems this not entirely original plot with strong performances, a poetic pace and an inspired, dense visual composition (shot in TV-like 1.33 aspect ratio, which gives the film its immediacy). The penultimate scene is exquisite in its simplicity, resonating with movements rather than words. 4.5 cats

YEAR OF THE CARNIVORE
This comedy from Canadian media personality Sook-Yin Lee (best known in the States as the lead actress in SHORTBUS) lays bare its quirkiness from the opening shot of a clucking chicken alarm clock. Sammy (Cristen Milioti), a tomboyish grocery store detective in charge of exposing shoplifters is attracted to Eugene (Mark Rendall), a musician who busks in front of the florist next door. When inexperienced Sammy finds herself sexually incompatible with Eugene, she aims for carnal fluency with a variety of partners. If this all sounds insufferably precious, it’s not. Lee proves herself an adept writer/director, while Milioti is a real find, resembling a more likable, approachable Sarah Silverman. It’s also a treat to see Canadian comedic legends Kevin MacDonald and Sheila McCarthy show up as Sammy’s parents. Although not as novel, soulful or graphic as SHORTBUS, this is a better acted and at times, much funnier film. 4 cats

SHE, A CHINESE
Gau Xiaolu’s film (a Golden Leopard winner at the Locarno International Film Festival) defies categorization. Markedly dissimilar from most contemporary Chinese cinema, it alternates between stylistic allusions to the French New Wave and a naturalistic, documentary like feel, with passages that conjure up states of mind rather than narrative momentum. It charts the journey of Mei (Huang Lu), a young provincial woman who moves to a large Chinese city and eventually ends up in London. She meets a series of men, all of whom add varying sorts of conflict into her life. Presented as a series of titled chapters, the film’s pace fluctuates, often deliberately jumping past a major plot point while occasionally stretching out time to an impressionistic degree. An intellectual and at times inscrutable work, but also an original, lyrical character study with a surging and wonderfully loud rock and roll soundtrack. 4 cats

APPLAUSE
The terrific Danish actress Paprika Steen (THE CELEBRATION) is absolutely harrowing and brilliant as Thea, an alcoholic actress in this intense drama from director Martin Pieter Zandvliet. Although John Cassavetes already covered this territory decades ago in his films which starred his wife, Gena Rowlands (particularly OPENING NIGHT), Steen is so riveting and her character’s persona so all encompassing that whether the story is second hand soon seems irrelevant. As the film follows Thea’s attempts at sobriety, it folds in scenes of her onstage (and backstage as well) as raucous, boozy Martha in a production of WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF. Martha and Thea’s similarities are obvious, but Steen’s grasp on both roles lends depth to the connection. Throughout, Thea emerges as an intriguing (if deeply troubled) blend of personality tics, constantly speaking her mind only to immediately rescind. At one point, she nonchalantly blurts out, “I hate ordinary people,” and then quickly apologizes; it’s to Steen’s credit that you could spend an hour debating whether Thea is sincere or just merely defensive. 4.5 cats

AIR DOLL
For Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda, this is certainly not an obvious follow-up to masterful familial drama STILL WALKING. After all, the main character here is an inflatable sex toy that one morning magically comes to life. It sounds incredibly silly on paper (and I dread any potential American remake), but Kore-eda is a serious filmmaker, and this foray into pure fantasy is affectionate and rather poignant. A lot of the credit goes to Korean actress Doona Bae (THE HOST), who is perfectly cast as the titular character. Cute as a button in her tentative movements and little maid’s uniform, she plays the role as an innocent discovering a strange new world, learning by mimicking everything around her. Kore-eda stretches the premise by introducing additional characters to symbolize the philosophical implications of what it’s like to be an air doll: isolated and expected to serve a function. As a result, for me, the film loses some of its mojo along the way; I would have almost preferred two hours of Bae just bouncing around Tokyo—in those moments, AIR DOLL is as light and graceful as a feather but compelling enough to hold your attention. 4 cats

CAIRO TIME
Sometimes, an actor’s presence alone convinces me to check out a film and Patricia Clarkson is the main reason to see this one. She plays Juliette, an American magazine editor who arrives in Egypt hoping to meet up with her husband, a Canadian diplomat. Unfortunately, he’s held up in the Gaza Strip due to an escalating conflict, leaving her to wonder the streets by herself, where she’s seen as an oddity by the country’s Muslim men (and women). Tareq, a local man and an old friend of her husband reaches out to her, and they find themselves attracted to each other. Although not a towering performance by any means, Clarkson is charming and provides a good surrogate for the audience. To her credit, director Ruba Nedda is not afraid to build momentum with subtlety and silence, and the growing affection between Juliette and Tareq exudes class and restraint—perhaps almost too much, as CAIRO TIME is a perfectly affable film that could benefit from a bit more tension. 3.5 cats

LESLIE, MY NAME IS EVIL

The Manson Family trial re-imagined as a farce? That’s the gist of Reg Harkema’s follow-up to his anarchic comedy MONKEY WARFARE. Here, he gives us the twin tales of Leslie, a runaway who falls under the wild influence of Charles Manson, and Perry, a young, sheltered chemist who becomes obsessed with her while serving on the jury for her trial. At the premiere, Harkema introduced the film as “anti-realist” and he wasn’t kidding: LESLIE plays like the love child of late John Waters and Charles Busch (minus the drag), gleefully sending up late-1960s America. While often crude and always over the top (don’t miss the ultra-groovy virgin sacrifice sequence!), the film is also a hoot in how it comically inverts a tragedy without managing to entirely trivialize it. Mostly avoiding garishness and almost approaching wit, Harkema’s palette is nonetheless an acquired taste, and this one could use more of the previous film’s discipline. Still, it’s hard for me to hate on a farce that’s actually quite sincere in how it secretly holds up a funhouse mirror to the real, modern day world. 4.5 cats

TIFF Night 2 and DAY 3

Playing catch-up here. Nothing special to report other than the fact that weekend box office is a madhouse, even at 6am! Still managed to get everything we need.

FISH TANK
director: Andrea Arnold
cast: Katie Jarvis; Jason Maza; Kierston Wareing

After her triumphant first feature, RED ROAD, which one lead actress Kate Dickie a Chlotrudis Best Actress Award, writer/director Andrea Arnold (pictured right) returns with another powerful drama about a young woman's desire this time in blue-collar Britain. Mia doesn't put up with much, not her peer group on the streets, not the thugs who seem to be mistreating a horse in a nearby lot, and not her partying, young mother, and the only emotional release she finds is when she cranks the music and practices her dancing. One morning she's dancing in the kitchen when she surprised by the appearance of her Mum's new boyfriend; a very atractive, shirtless boyfriend whose jeans barely hang on this his hips at that. Connor is his name, and his friendly manner immediately disarms Mia even as she responds on autopilot, rebuffing his overtures of friendship. Still, the family dynamic (including Mia's hilarious little sister Sophie) is altered with the addition of Connor, and the harsh edge so usually prevalent in their lives is softened. Naturally, things don't last, and things take a sudden nosedive, leading to a quick maturation curve for Mia, and a wonderfully realized final scene.

Mia is played by newcomer/non-actor Katie Jarvis, who Arnold found on a train platform breaking up with her boyfriend on an opposite platform after hunting for quite a while for her Mia. The supporting cast is all excellent, especially Mia's Mum played by Kierston Wareing. Arnold's screenplay is taut and spares no sentiment. This is a strong coming-of-age film that deserves its accolades. 4 cats

COLONY
director: Carter Gunn & Ross McDonnell (pictured right)
documentary

I was very excited to see COLONY, which was reportedly about honeybees. In fact, while honeybees drive the story, COLONY is actually about beekeepers, the economics of bees, and colony collapse disorder (CCD), a syndrome that is causing honeybees to to disappear in large numbers. In fact, there is very little by way of information about the bees themselves, although there is some gorgeous footage of honeybees at work. Instead we meet a handful of beekeepers, including a family of fundamentalist Christians who run their own beekeeping business, and are struggling between the difficult economic times, and the CCD. We also meet the current president of the National Beekeepers Association, David Mendes and his organizations crusade against Bayer, who manufactures pesticides, which they are convinced are causing the CCD, despite the fact that there is no evidence to that fact.

Ultimately, the filmmakers seem to be trying to frighten people into getting worked up about the plight of the honeybee and the beekeeper a la Michael Moore or THE CORPORATION, and I just don't think it's going to work. Perhaps I judge the film too harshly given my preconceived desires, but I just couldn't muster up all that much interest in the humans who work with the bees. Ross McDonnell's photographer is still stunning. 2 1/2 cats.

FIVE HOURS FROM PARIS
director: Leonid Prudovsky (pictured right with star, Dror Keren)
cast: Dror Keren; Helena Yaralova; Vladimir Friedman

A well-acted, mature romantic comedy is hard to come by in this day and age, and this Israeli film by a Russian director fits the bill very well. Yigal drives a taxi, and remains good friends with his ex-wife, and her new husband. He also maintains a close relationship with his son. That said, he's a bit of a pushover, letting other around him make decisions for him. He's terrified of flying, but is driven to get over it because his son's bar mitvah is going to be held in Paris. When he must meet his son's music teacher, Lina, to discuss his son's behavior at school, he arrives late and causes her to miss her bus. In return, Yigal offers to drive her home in his cab. He is transfixed by her beauty and her kindness. He makes excuses to see her and eventually they become friends, and perhaps something more? The problem is, Lina is married, and when her husband returns home from Canada unexpectedly early, Yigal and Lina find their burgeoning friendship and possible romance stalled.

There is no easy solution to this scenario, and Prudovsky does a good job ending the film on a decidedly ambiguous note, letting the viewers fill in their desired outcome. Yagil is a bit problematic as a romantic lead, due to his lack of decision-making ability, and when he does start to try and take things into his own hands towards the film's end, I'm not sure I believe it. Drer Keren does a great job portraying him sympathetically, however, and we certainly root for his success. Helena Yaralova's Lina is vibrant and full of life. She finds herself in a difficult situation where she falls in love with another man, but still loves her husband. Definitely a worthwhile film and one that I enjoyed quite a bit. 3 1/2 cats

SHE, A CHINESE
director: Xiaolu Guo (pictured right)
cast: Lu Huang; Wei Yi Bo; Geoffrey Hutchings; Chris Ryman

Writer/director Xiaolu Guo's SHE, A CHINESE is a powerful exploration of modern youth as depicted by a Chinese village girl who careens from situation to situation letting the whims of life carry her in its current yet always managing to stay on her feet. Mei works at an outdoor pool hall in a small village in China, enduring the disdain of her mother, and the rugged sexual advances of the coarse men she encounters. After one particularly unpleasant experience, she travels to the city and gets a job at the Love Salon, ostensibly doing hair and nails. There she meets Spikey, a hired thug who truly cares for her, but his violent lifestyle forces her to move on to London, where she struggles to find her place in the world. Another series of men let her down, until she finds herself at an important crossroads in her life as the film comes to a close.

Xiaulu Guo's background is as a novelist, and the film is structured in a chapter format. She is deft at exploring situations that surround her protagonist and moving her through life. Mei is more of a universal representative for modern youth than an actual character, but her resilience and survival skills are both admirable and frustrating. Lu Huang gives a moving performance as she keeps picking herself up and moving out of bad situations, so that when the film ends, we feel certain that she will land on her feet yet again. 4 cats

Almodóvar, Scherfig and Steen, Oh My!

Another batch of films playing TIFF were announced last week, and there are some pretty exciting choices on the list. New films by Pedro Almodóvar, Lone Scherfig, Todd Solondz and Koji Yakusho are represented. In addition, there's a chance we'll finally get to meet Paprika Steen after her aborted trip to Chlotrudis last spring. The Danish actress' latest film, APPLAUSE, for which she won the Best Actress Award at Karolvy Vary, is screening as part of the Discovery series!

Check out the latest list below:

TIFF ADDS EIGHT NEW FILMS TO ITS SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS LINEUP

Toronto – The Toronto International Film Festival announces the addition of eight titles to its Special Presentations programming lineup for TIFF09, which runs September 10 to 19, 2009. These include works from Argentina, France, Italy, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. These new films join the nineteen previously announced Special Presentations. For more details, please refer to tiff.net/press.

Ticket packages for the Festival are now available for purchase by cash, debit or Visa†. Purchase online at tiff.net/thefestival, by phone at 416-968-FILM or 1-877-968-FILM (Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., closed weekends and holidays) or in person at the Festival Box Office at Nathan Phillips Square (Box Office hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week), located at 100 Queen Street West, in the white tent, west of the square.


SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS

Broken Embraces Pedro Almodóvar, Spain
North American Premiere
Harry Caine, a blind writer, reaches a point when he has to heal his wounds from 14 years ago, when he was still known by his real name, Mateo Blanco, and directing his last movie. As the past is revisited, a story of “amour fou” unfolds, dominated by fatality, jealousy, the abuse of power, treachery and a guilt complex.

An Education Lone Scherfig, United Kingdom
Canadian Premiere
A coming-of-age story about a teenaged girl in 1960s suburban London and how her life changes with the arrival of a playboy nearly twice her age. Torn between her parents’ dream of going to Oxford University and a more tempting kind of life, she must decide if the new path is one that will trap her or set her free.

The Front Line Renato De Maria, Italy
World Premiere
Set during a turbulent period in 1970-80s Italy, the plot centres on passionate couple Sergio and Susanna, who have been living as fugitives. Pursuing an uncompromising cause as members of the notorious Prima Linea, they have become increasingly alienated from the real world. Their luck finally runs out when Susanna is captured and thrown in jail. Putting his life on the line, Sergio embarks on a radical plan.

Glorious 39 Stephen Poliakoff, United Kingdom
World Premiere
This tense conspiracy thriller set on the eve of World War II and based on disturbing real events, focuses on a young woman who stumbles across evidence of a sinister Nazi appeasement plot. As her close friends begin to die in suspicious circumstances, she finds her own life in danger from an increasingly menacing and powerful enemy.

Kamui Yoichi Sai, Japan
World Premiere
A crowd pleasing, sweeping epic brilliantly directed by one of Japan’s finest auteurs, Kamui is the adventurous story of a fugitive ninja played by superstar Kenichi Matsuyama.

Life During Wartime Todd Solondz, USA
North American Premiere
Happiness director Todd Solondz returns with another unsettling dark comedy about sexual obsession between friends, family and lovers struggling to find love, forgiveness and meaning in a war-torn world. Allison Janney and Ciarán Hinds star.


A Prophet Jacques Audiard, France
North American Premiere
A young Arab man, Malik, is sent to a French prison where he is cornered by the leader of the ruling Corsican gang. He is given a number of “missions” to carry out, toughening him up and gaining the gang leader’s confidence in the process. But Malik is brave and a fast learner, daring to secretly develop his own plans.

The Secret of Their Eyes Juan José Campanella, Argentina/Spain
International Premiere
Benjamín Chaparro, a secretary of a court in Buenos Aires, is about to retire and decides to write a novel based on a case that deeply affected him thirty years ago. Chaparro’s tale crosses Argentina’s turbulent years during the 1970s, when nothing was necessarily what it seemed to be.



EXCITING WORKS FROM NEW FILMMAKERS ANNOUNCED FOR DISCOVERY
Toronto – The 34th Toronto International Film Festival announces twenty-one feature films for the Discovery programme, showcasing provocative feature films by new and emerging directors. This is where audiences can find the year’s most exciting debuts as the Festival shines a light on the works of up-and-coming filmmakers.

Ticket packages for the Festival are now available for purchase by cash, debit or Visa†. Purchase online at tiff.net/thefestival, by phone at 416-968-FILM or 1-877-968-FILM (Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., closed weekends and holidays) or in person at the Festival Box Office at Nathan Phillips Square (Box Office hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week), located at 100 Queen Street West, in the white tent, west of the square. The Festival runs from September 10 to 19, 2009.

DISCOVERY

The Angel Margreth Olin, Norway/Sweden/Finland
World Premiere
A young mother (played brilliantly by Maria Bonnevie) struggles with a history of drug abuse in this exquisitely rendered and deeply compassionate piece, the first fiction film from one of Norway’s most respected documentary filmmakers.

Applause Martin Pieter Zandvliet, Denmark
North American Premiere
Paprika Steen delivers a tour-de-force performance in this devastating drama about an alcoholic actress trying to put her life back together.

Bare Essence of Life Satoko Yokohama, Japan
International Premiere
In this original fusion of black comedy, surreal fantasy and feel-good drama about a mentally challenged hero, Japanese heartthrob Kenichi Matsuyama plays a strange farmer who finds an unexpected path to the miracle of love.

Beautiful Kate Rachel Ward, Australia
International Premiere
In order to make peace with his combative, dying father, a writer must return to his childhood home and confront long-suppressed memories of the mysterious deaths of his brother and twin sister.

A Brand New Life Ounie Lecomte, South Korea/France
North American Premiere
An impressive debut by French-Korean filmmaker Ounie Lecomte who, inspired by her childhood, recounts the emotional journey of a little girl abandoned by her father in an orphanage.

The Disappearance of Alice Creed J. Blakeson, United Kingdom
World Premiere
Two ex-cons kidnap a woman, but the tables turn and turn again in this tight, smart tale. This film is a terrific little thriller starring Eddie Marsan, Martin Compston and Gemma Arterton.

Eamon Margaret Corkery, Ireland
North American Premiere
A family holiday brings to a head the destructive love triangle between Eamon, a little boy with behavioural problems, his selfish mother Grace and his sexually frustrated father Daniel.


Every Day Is a Holiday Dima El-Horr, France/Germany/Lebanon
North American Premiere
From Lebanon, this is a striking debut about three women on the road to visit their imprisoned men. Mixing real politics and stark absurdity, El-Horr announces herself as a major new voice in Middle Eastern cinema.

Five Hours from Paris Leon Prudovsky, Israel
World Premiere
In a suburb of Tel Aviv, an Israeli cab driver who longs to fly and a Russian music teacher who is soon to board a plane find out that romance is only a cab ride away.

Heliopolis Ahmad Abdalla, Egypt
World Premiere
An Egyptian art film with some major stars, Heliopolis weaves together portraits from one of Cairo’s most storied neighbourhoods.


The Day Will Come Susanne Schneider, Germany/France
International Premiere
Thirty years after giving her daughter up for adoption to join the terrorist underground in Germany, Judith is tracked down by her now-adult daughter Alice to a vineyard in the Alsace where she is living with a new family and a new identity.


Le Jour où Dieu est parti en voyage Philippe van Leeuw, Belgium
World Premiere
Offering a new take on the Rwandan genocide, acclaimed cinematographer van Leeuw’s directorial debut recreates the first-person experience of one woman as the horror descends.

Last Ride Glendyn Ivin, Australia
International Premiere
A desperate father and his 10-year-old son flee into the wilderness of the desert and the human heart, battling the elements, the past and each other.

My Dog Tulip Paul Fierlinger and Sandra Fierlinger, USA
North American Premiere
Christopher Plummer and Isabella Rossellini voice this vividly animated, touching tale of friendship between an elderly bachelor and his German Shepherd.

My Tehran for Sale Granaz Moussavi, Australia/Iran
International Premiere
Shot underground on location in Tehran, the film tells the story of modern-day Iranian youth struggling for cultural freedom.

Northless Rigoberto Perezcano, Mexico/Spain
World Premiere
Andrés reaches the Mexican border to cross into the United States. As he waits between crossing attempts, he discovers the complicated border world of Tijuana.

La Soga Josh Crook, Dominican Republic/USA
World Premiere
This gritty and gripping drama explores political intrigue, love, death and the power of memory, set in the Dominican Republic.

Shirley Adams Oliver Hermanus, South Africa/USA
North American Premiere
This intimate, precise portrait focuses on a mother in Cape Town, South Africa, whose son is disabled in a neighbourhood shooting.


Toad’s Oil Koji Yakusho, Japan
International Premiere
The story of Takuro Yazawa, a day-trader who claims he can earn hundreds of millions of yen in one day, and those around him as they attempt to cope with the death of his son and somehow find a way to benefit spiritually from the experience.

Together Matias Armand Jordal, Norway
International Premiere
The tragic death of a mother causes her family to shatter when they struggle to cope with the loss.

The Unloved Samantha Morton, United Kingdom
International Premiere
Morton shifts from actor to director in this stark portrait of a young British girl plucked from an abusive family and thrown into the hands of government care.


NEWS RELEASE #11
NEW VANGUARD FILMS ANNOUNCED FOR 2009 FESTIVAL
Toronto – The 34th Toronto International Film Festival adds nine titles to its Vanguard programme.

Works presented under the Vanguard banner are bold films that challenge our social and cultural assumptions. This is where innovative filmmakers tend to blur the distinction between different genres, styles and narrative conventions – and where savvy film-goers can expect a satisfying challenge.

Ticket packages for the Festival are now available for purchase by cash, debit or Visa†. Purchase online at tiff.net/thefestival, by phone at 416-968-FILM or 1-877-968-FILM (Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., closed weekends and holidays) or in person at the Festival Box Office at Nathan Phillips Square (Box Office hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week), located at 100 Queen Street West, in the white tent, west of the square. The Festival runs from September 10 to 19, 2009.


VANGUARD

Accident Soi Cheang, Hong Kong, China
North American Premiere
Gripping and smartly constructed, this unconventional crime thriller/psychological drama, revolves around assassins who commit murder by making perfectly staged crimes look like unfortunate accidents. Produced by Johnnie To.

The Ape Jesper Ganslandt, Sweden
World Premiere
A descent into hell, Jesper Ganslandt’s disturbing and suspenseful second feature begins with a man waking up in unfamiliar surroundings, only to find the life he knew the day before is gone.

Bunny and the Bull Paul King, United Kingdom
World Premiere
Shy Stephen and his totally disordered boozehound of a best friend, Bunny, show us how to embark on an adventure-filled road trip without leaving the room.

The Dirty Saints Luis Ortega, Argentina
World Premiere
Luis Ortega’s apocalyptic third feature follows a group of five survivors as they embark on a journey that will force them to face their fears, dreams and longings in their quest for salvation across the Fijman River.

Enter the Void Gaspar Noé, France/Germany/Italy
North American Premiere
Controversial filmmaker Gaspar Noé (Irreversible) is back with a mind-bending journey that transcends life and death as he follows the exploits of a young American drug dealer living in Japan.

Hipsters Valery Todorovsky, Russia
North American Premiere
In a fantastical 1950s Moscow, straight-laced Mels swaps his drab Communist uniform for a saxophone, pompadour and zoot suit in this vibrant musical that is bursting with razzle and dazzle and of course, rhythm.


The Misfortunates Felix Van Groeningen, Belgium/Holland
North American Premiere
From Belgium comes this rambunctious, vulgar story of a 13-year-old boy growing up in a small village with his father and three uncles, all drunken, incorrigible louts. Yet they are hilarious and they love Roy Orbison.

My Queen Karo Dorothée van den Berghe, Belgium
World Premiere
A young girl witnesses the moral dilemmas of free love when her parents join a squatter community in 1970s Amsterdam.

Spring Fever Lou Ye, China
North American Premiere
A lyrical and audacious portrait of a doomed gay love triangle that spins out of control, Spring Fever is inspired by prohibited Chinese novels from the 1920s and directed by controversial filmmaker Lou Ye.

Bruce's First Report from Toronto!

Just spent my first full day in Toronto after arriving in time to see only one film last night. Tickets seem harder to get this year and we REALLY miss Michael and Scot's morning trek to the box office which made things ever so easy for the rest of us. A computer glitch caused many people to get tickets for overlapping times and I talked to many who were frantically trying to reschedule their films in wholesale fashion. Sadly the Cumberland is gone. Work was supposed to have begun turning the wonderful art house into luxury condos but I hear some glitch has stopped all that, alas too late to save the cinema. The Varsity is almost exclusively used now for press/industry screenings. This year there is a new venue - AMC - at Dundas and Yonge, diagonally across from the northern most part of the Eaton Centre. The College Park Box Office has been moved there. All lines for the Festival Box Office and films are formed outside which is messy and uncomfortable considering AMC is on the third floor and the Box Office is on the second.

Thursday night I began with a less than so-so Italian film THE REST OF THE NIGHT (2.5 cats) which belongs on TV, not in a major film festival. The acting was decent but the film was decidedly uncinematic. Furthermore it was filmed in winter giving it a bleak feeling that I suspect was unintentional. Friday started off with a bang. Brent Hamer's O'HORTEN (5 cats) was over-the-top fabulous. It is a bittersweet tale of a man coming to grips with his retirement and his past concurrently. O'HORTEN is a wonderful companion piece to his earlier KITCHEN STORIES. Hamer is definitely maturing as an artist. Later today I saw PANDORA'S BOX (4 cats) a Turkish film about three adult children who are forced to face their personal demons when their aged mother disappears, a victim of Alzheimer's. The mother is played beautifully by French actress Tsilla Chelton who some may remember in the delicious title role of TATIE DANIELLE. Finally I saw FEAR ME NOT a film from Danish director Kristian Levring. FEAR ME NOT (3.5 cats) is a pharmaceutical horror story inspired by none other than the venerable Jean Renoir's version of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." Ulrich Thomsen (FESTEN, ADAM'S APPLES) is a knock-out as the average man who innocently signs up for testing a new drug. The strong supporting cast includes the wonderful duo of Paprika Steen and Lars Brygmann. So far on Saturday I have seen SERBIS (4.5 cats) from the Philippine director Brillante Mendoza and a documentary on Senegalese Grammy-winning musician Youssou Ndour, YOUSSOU NDOUR: I BRING WHAT I LOVE (4.5 Cats).

Bruce Kingsley (posted by M Colford)

Most Anticipated from TIFF #1

As we all know, I wasn't able to go to the Toronto International Film Festival this year. It was difficult for me, but I will survive. Thanks to Wiebke, Alberta and Tracy for sharing in my pain. I would loved to have seen them on this trip.

Fortunately, as you've seen, Beth is doing a great job providing coverage for Chlotrudis, and there are a lot of online film outfits covering the festival from top to bottom, so I almost feel like I'm there. Today I read the first piece that made me really excited.

Obviously I'm excited about the upcoming releases, BLINDNESS, written by Don McKellar, and ADORATION, the latest film from Atom Egoyan, but I have no doubt I will be seeing both of these films soon after the festival when they are released Stateside. I think I am most excited, however about the new film by French director Claire Denis called 35 RHUMS. I'm hoping someone from Chlotrudis caught it (I'm sure I can count on Ivy) but indieWIRE's Eugene Hernandez reports on it in his blog. Here's an excerpt:

...its a wonderful movie that I've had a hard time shaking. 35 RHUMS offers quiet moments with its characters -- each striving for someone, or something, else. Agnes Godard's photography and Tindersticks' music, in particular, are striking and beautiful.

Eugene refers to a review in indieWIRE by Shane Danielsen who also had a great quote:

I was looking forward to a number of films here, but none more than the latest from Claire Denis. Such anticipation usually ends in disappointment, but 35 RHUMS only confirmed her mastery. Her finest piece of work since 1999's superb BEAU TRAVAIL, it seemed like nothing so much as her version of a late Ozu, a latter-day response to EQUINOX FLOWER and LATE SPRING -- and like those films, it's about the bonds of family, and people being kind and desiring the best, for themselves and for each other. Yet it's no mere homage; rather, it's imbued with Denis' own, unmistakeable sensibility, the patient and watchful eye that disinguished earlier Paris-set masterpieces like I CAN'T SLEEP and FRIDAY NIGHT.

Now I just have to hope that I won't be waiting too long before we get to see it in the States.

indieWIRE Examines the State of the Indie Distribution Business

There's a great article on indieWIRE that takes a look at the state of the the indie film business on the eve of Toronto. What do you think? How will we be seeing new independent and international movies in the coming years?

TIFF Opening Night Film Announced

Beth, you picked the right movie, but not the right night! Paul Gross' PASSCHENDAELE will open this year's Toronto International Film Festival on Thursday, September 4. Gross, well-known to American audiences for his roles on television's "Slings & Arrows" and "Due South," and to Chlotrudis members for his roles in the films WILBY WONDERFUL and MEN WITH BROOMS, directed, produced, and stars in this historical romantic drama set during World War I. Gross plays Michael Dunne -- a man injured in France who comes home to Calgary. However, a romance with a nurse inspires him to go back to France to protect her younger brother, who is embroiled in the third battle of Ypres, otherwise known as Passchendaele.

TIFF traditionally opens with a high-profile Canadian film. Last year Jeremy Podeswa took the coveted spot with his FUGITIVE PIECES. Gross' PASSCHENDAELE will make it two historical drama in a row. Beth had pegged this film as the festival closer, with Egoyan's ADORATION as a possible opener. This is the first announcement for this year's festival which runs September 4 - 13. The official website for this year's festival will go live on June 27th. Thanks to Cinematical for the tip!

Toronto Ratings

Now that I've got all my day-to-day reports up, I thought I'd borrow Bruce's idea and list my films by rating. Only one 5 cat film, but plenty of 4 1/2 and 4 cat films making the overall experience a highly positive one.

5 cats

THE TRACEY FRAGMENTS

4 1/2 cats

I'M NOT THERE
JELLYFISH
JUNO
MY WINNIPEG
THE VISITOR

4 cats

BREAKFAST WITH SCOT
BRICK LANE
A GENTLE BREEZE IN THE VILLAGE
HELP ME EROS
PING PONG PLAYA'
PLOY
STARTING OUT IN THE EVENING

3 1/2 cats

CHACUN SON CINÉMA
JUST LIKE HOME
THE LAST MISTRESS

3 cats

HOLLYWOOD CHINESE
SAD VACATION

2 1/2 cats

A JIHAD FOR LOVE
NORMAL
SILK
PHILIPPINE SCIENCE

1 1/2 cats

AMERICAN VENUS
RECLAIM YOUR BRAIN

Toronto Day 8 - Farewell Film Festival

Eight days is a long time to be spending watching movies, and I saw a respectable 24 films in that time frame. A little lighter than previous years, but I am getting older, and there were people to see and hang out with (far more important to me). Even though we were leaving Friday evening, we did manage to squeeze in two more films, and while we started the day with something of a dud, we did end the festival on a high note.

PHILIPPINE SCIENCE (The Philippines; 118)

director: Auraeus Solito

cast: Elijah Castillo, Gammy Lopez, Eugene Domingo, EJ Jalorrina, Shayne Fajutagana

Drawing on his own experiences as a science geek in high school, director Auraeus Solito draws a sweet film about an accelerated science and math high school in the Philippines. Solito caught my eye at 2006's Provincetown International Film Festival with his film about nascent gay desire, THE BLOSSOMING OF MAXIMO OLIVEROS which maintained a facade of innocent even when exploring the gritty streets of Manilla. In PHILIPPINE SCIENCE, Solito jettisons the grit (despite the inclusion of the atmosphere of martial law of the time) and the result is very similar to an after school special.

Like FAME, PHILIPPINE SCIENCE is broken up into four parts, freshman, sophomore, junior and senior. There's a core group of students, and each year focuses on a different set. The issues that arise vary: Freshmen, don't waste your time on a girlfriend if you want to be in the Top 5; Sophomores, just because you can't cut it at Philippine Science, doesn't mean you're still not a winner... etc. Unfortunately, while the screenplay is a little clumsy, much of the acting is incapable of lifting the film higher. There are a few good performances, especially the woman who plays the freshman year science teacher, but many of the actors playing the students seem fairly amateurish. Still, I always enjoy seeing films from The Philippines, the country where my mother was born and raised.

I'M NOT THERE (USA; 135 min.)

director: Todd Haynes

cast: Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, Ben Whishaw, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Julianne Moore, David Cross

There's been a lot of buzz about Todd Hayne's Bob Dylan biopic, especially after it's debut in Venice. Those who know me know that I am not a fan of the biopic, but ever the experimenter, Haynes turns the life of Dylan into something magical, complex, and mind-boggling. In I'm not there, seven stages of Dylan's is portrayed by six different actors, including a woman (Cate Blanchett) and a young, African-American boy (Marcus Carl Franklin). The different Dylans aren't literal representations of the legendary singer/songwriter, but representative of his persona at the time. Haynes offers scenarios that attempt to give some possible insight into a celebrity whose evolution challenged everyone, especially his truest fans.

I'm not sure if being a fan of Dylan, or knowing next to nothing about him will serve you better at this film. I knew next to nothing and I loved the film. I don't feel I know all that much more about Dylan after seeing the film, but that's not why I went to see the film. As a film, Haynes challenges the viewer visually, aurally, and through the intricate screenplay he co-wrote with Owen Moverman. There are touches of his earlier films peeking through in I'M NOT THERE, in fact, with this film it seems that Haynes wanted to correct the missteps he took with VELVET GOLDMINE.

A word about the acting. The hype is true. Cate Blanchett is simply phenomenal. As Haynes said in his introduction, Blanchett took a bit of stunt casting and elevated it to such heights that you can't imagine anyone else playing the part. She's that good. Franklin is also terrific as the young, rail-traveling Dylan, and Christian Bale gives an astonishingly strong performance as the man-of-the-people Dylan of the early 60's. British actor Ben Whishaw captures his part well, and Heath Ledger does a pretty good job with one of the lest interesting incarnations of Dylan. The weak link, both performance-wise and screenplay-wise is Dylan the legend as played by Richard Gere. Gere just doesn't have the complexity or range to pull off the role. Other actors put in great turns in supporting roles. These include the divine Charlotte Gainsbourg as Dylan's wife, Julianne Moore as the folksinger (re: Joan Baex) who discovered him), Bruce Greenwood as a British journalist, and Michelle Williams as Coco (Warhol muse Edie Sedgwick.

Technically and artuflly, Haynes wins all the way through. His use of music, both Dylan's and others complements the film marvelously. After such stellar films as POISON, SAFE, VELVET GOLDMINE, and FAR FROM HEAVEN, I'M NOT THERE is a natural and accomplished progression comining an ambitious stretch and a prodigious talent. While I don't think I'M NOT THERE is going to be a universal crowd-pleaser, it's a strong piece of cinematic art that shouldn't be missed.

After the movies wrapped, Scot, Beth and I met Tracy Wright for one last farewell dinner. We spent a lovely late afternoon chatting and reminiscing about the festival. This year's festival was certainly the most stress-free and relaxed festival for me, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I will post pictures from the Q&A's that I attended soon.

TIFF Day 7: The Asian Invation (+1)

So I'm slowing down. I've been back from Toronto for one week and I'm having trouble getting the last two days of reviews posted! Isn't it annoying how life intrudes? Anyway, I should get these last reviews out before the weekend is out, and then I'll try to get some pictures from the Q&As up.

Thursday was another four-film day, but fortunately we were able to sleep in a bit. No trip to the box office, and a first film at 12:30 p.m. This was originally going to be a three-film day, but a late addition of A GENTLE BREEZE IN THE VILLAGE, Nobuhiro Yamashita's follow-up to LINDA LINDA LINDA at 9:15 p.m. brought us up to four.

RECLAIM YOUR BRAIN (Germany/Austria; 141)

director: Hans Weingartner

cast: Moritz Bleibtreu, Elsa Sophie Gambard, Milan Peschel, Gregor Bloéb, Simone Hanselmann

I was really looking forward to Hans Weingartner's follow-up to the 2005 Chlotrudis Buried Treasure winner THE EDUKATORS. Imagine my disappointment when RECLAIM YOUR BRAIN fell far short of the high bar Weingartner had set for himself with his previous film. The premise is good: after a devastating automobile accident, a wealthy, high-powered, drug-addicted TV executive realizes that the crap reality shows that he is producing provide little to no value to their viewers. He investigates the rating systems and along with a ragtag bunch of misfits, discovers a way to circumvent the ratings system and educate the masses. Okay, I got a little glib toward the end, because Weingartner ends up taking the low road just about every chance he can. In fact, the story ends up being borderline morally reprehensible as the protagonists end up manipulating society as much as the "villains" of the piece.

Production values are terrific. The film opens with a high-energy sequence that takes road rage to new levels. Lead actor Moritz Bleibtreu (RUN, LOLA, RUN) crackles with dangerous energy as he swaggers and smashes his way across the city, snorting obscene amounts of cocaine and swinging a baseball bat. It's too bad that after this manic opening scene, things start to wind down, and credibility becomes strained. By the end of the film I just couldn't stop rolling my eyes.

HELP ME EROS (Taiwan; 103 min.)

director: Lee Kang-sheng

cast: Lee Kang-sheng, Yin Shin, Jane Liao, Dennis Nieh

Lee Kang-sheng should be familiar to any fans of director Tsai Ming-liang: he has starred in all of the director's films. With HELP ME EROS, Lee offers his second directorial effort that while clearly influenced by the work he has done with Tsai, is a strong, elegantly-made film all on its own.

Lee plays Ah Jie, a young man who finds himself living in poverty after he loses all the money he'd amassed on the stock market. He passes his days in a in a pot-induced haze smoking the spoils of his carefully tended closet-greenhouse. His cries for help are heard through the telephone helpline operator named Chyi, but he rejects her after finding out that she is overweight. He becomes involved with a betel nut girl (a fascinating Taiwanese cultural curiosity where young attractive, scantily-clad women operate neon-lit convenient store booths on busy roadways, delivering cigarettes and lottery tickets by sliding down fire poles to the waiting consumers) but as their sexual escapades become increasingly meaningless he pushes her away. The film ends with a remarkably filmed closing scene that, had we been able to stay for the Q&A I certainly would have asked him about filming. Lee could do worse than to follow in his mentor Tsai Ming-liang's footsteps, and if HELP ME EROS is any indication, he's well on his way.

SAD VACATION (Japan; 136 min.)

director: Shinji Aoyama

cast: Tadanobu Asano, Eri Ishida, Aoi Miyazaki Joe Odagiri, Yuka Itaya, Ken Mitsuishi

Despite an intriguing, adept cast, and some skillful camerawork, Shinji Aoyama's SAD VACATION has a little too much plot to be entirely successful. In fact, more than once I wondered if this film was a sequel and I had missed the first part. Multiple characters and scenarios are mentioned as if we are expected to know their backstories, but apparently we don't. Similarly, several plotlines are inexplicably dropped mid-film without explanation as if to be continued in a later film. Perhaps this is Aoyama's supposition; that we are being dropped into the middle of a story that isn't going to be tidily wrapped up by film's end, but it makes for somewhat frustrating viewing.

The marvelous Tadanobu Asano stars as Kenji, involved in some shady dealings that land him in hot water with a gang, and in possession of a Chinese orphan. When his path serndipitously reunites him with the mother that abandoned him as a child, he embarks on a complicated scheme of revenge that causes him to jettison any sort of concern for those around him. There are several other plot threads weaving in and out of this main story, and they do add some depth and interesting character, but are ultimately a bit extraneous. If SAD VACATION were the second part of a trilogy, I think it might work better.

A GENTLE BREEZE IN THE VILLAGE (Japan; 121 min.)

director: Nobuhiro Yamashita

cast: Kaho, Masaki Okada, Yui Natsukawa, Koichi Sato, Hiromasa Hirosue

Thank Goodness Nancy mentioned in casual conversation over lunch one day that she would be seeing the new film by the director of LINDA LINDA LINDA. What? How did I miss that? Such is the bane and the beauty of TIFF. There are so many films you're bound to miss some (even miss knowing about some) that you want to see; but through conversations and interactions, you often find out about them and are able to rearrange things to see them. Such is the case with Nobuhior Yamashita's A GENTLE BREEZE IN THE VILLAGE.

Based on the manga series written by two women called Tennen Kokekko, the film takes an sweet look at life in a tiny Japanese village in the country where there live six kids who go to school in the combined primary and middle school. The oldest, an eighth grader named Soyo Migita who loves taking care of the younger students is nervous about the arrival of a boy her age moving to the village from Tokyo. He's dripping with urban cool and she assumes they will fall in love, yet when she meets him, her infatuation turns to disappointment when faced with his clumsy, insensitive behavior. Naturally, you know they will be holding hands soon.

Like the manga it was based on, GENTLE BREEZE is very episodic, telling lovely tales of innocence in a village that seems too good to be true. There's the story about the slightly scary, but ultimately benevolent ghost on the bridge; the class trip (for the two eighth-graders) to Japan; and the group trip to the nearby festival. It's all very sweet and lovely, yet in a way that avoids the cloying, Disney-feel of American films. It's a welcome portrait of a girl's world; something we see so little of on film.

TIFF Day 6: Catching my Breath

After four movies and two parties on Tuesday, I knew I would have to take it easy on Wednesday, so I scheduled a two-film day. Of course, what I didn't account for was the fact that I had to get up early in the morning one last time to go to the box office, and my afternoon was booked for a group-Chlotrudis lunch (the only time I would see Ned & Ivy during the entire festival!) With the ever-growing festival fatigue that hits in the latter half of the trip, and another party looming in the evening, I knew this was going to be a tough day. Fortunately, our first film wasn't until 12:30 p.m., so we did have a couple of hours in the morning to rest.

UNE VIEILLE MAÎTRESSE (France; 114 min.)

director: Catherine Breillat

cast: Asia Argento, Fu'ad Aït Aattou, Roxane Mesquida, Claude Sarraute, Yolande Moreau

A new Catherine Breillat film is always something that sparks my interest, and in her latest film, the first after the director endured a serious stroke, Breillat tries her hand at a period piece... a true costume drama set in the early nineteenth century. Based on writer Jules Barbey d’Aurevilly’s notorious novel of sexual intrigue, UNE VIEILLE MAÎTRESSE charts the tempestuous ten-year relationship between young Ryno de Marigny and the foul-mouthed, half-Spanish libertine Vellini. Now that Ryno is engaged to marry the virtuous gem of the French aristocracy, Hermangarde, he must come clean about his past to her grandmother La marquise de Flers, who is shockingly understanding. Ryno insists that it is over between he and Vellini, and explains to La marquise the sexual dynamic that kept him in her clutches for so many years. Their late night conversation is punctuated by the voracious sexual encounters and the social manipulations between the young lovers.

The casting of Asia Argento as Vellini is an interesting choice for Breillat. Argento is not known for her deft acting skills, and her on-screen presence is decidedly modern. Still, she inhabits the roll of Vellini quite well; her unrefined screen presence matching the uncouth Vellini in a way that works for the film. Newcomer Fu'ad Aït Aattou, a barber Breillat discovered at a French cafe, does a fine job as Ryno, acquitting himself nicely despite being chosen quite obviously for his looks. Frequent Breillat collaborator Roxane Mesquida (FAT GIRL; SEX IS COMEDY) adds just enough backbone to the virginal Hermangarde to give her much needed depth. The standout in the cast is certainly Claude Sarraute as the unflappable La marquise de Flers, who takes in Ryno's scandalous story and gives him the benefit of the doubt that he has changed.

What lifts UNE VIEILLE MAÎTRESSE above the vaguely reminiscent DANGEROUS LIAISONS is the way the two main characters are allowed a range of emotions. There is more than just cruel manipulations behind the actions of the young lovers; true emotions simmering just beneath the surface. As far as the production itself, Breillat, who in her introduction to the film explained her obsession with period details, has taken pains to create an accurate look and feel of the time. The film's budget is more than all her previous films combined, and you can see where the money was spent onscreen. This is a fine continuation of a controversial filmmaker's body of work.

THE TRACEY FRAGMENTS (Canada; 77 min.)

director: Bruce McDonald

cast: Ellen Page, Ari Cohen, Max McCabe-Lokos, Max Turnbull, Julian Richings, Zie Souwand, Slim Twig

This was surely the year of Ellen Page at the Toronto International Film Festival. After receiving well-deserved accolades for her fine comedic work in JUNO, she turns around a floors audiences in Bruce McDonald's ("Twitch City"; HIGHWAY 61) dramatic feature THE TRACEY FRAGMENTS. This is a film that has the potential to blow your mind, incorporating a strong enough screenplay, a powerhouse lead performance, and a visionary director that pushes the boundaries of filmmaking to take the film's title literally and give the audience visual fragments of the titular character's psyche.

In some ways, Tracey Berkowitz is similar to Juno, Page's other leading role at the festival. Both are high-school girls on the fringes of that community. But while Juno has a strong support base in her friends and family, Tracey is adrift alone, picked on mercilessly by her peers, and shunned by her parents who find her to be a problem child. Or it's possible that Tracey is just a very disturbed young girl rejecting any assistance that comes her way. The film is told entirely from Tracey's decidedly skewed point-of-view, it is difficult to gauge the ineffectiveness of her parents accurately. Central to the story is the disappearance of Tracey's seven-year-old brother, who thinks he's a dog. The story is told in flashback, through erratic flashes of Tracey's memory, as she rides a bus through the city, wrapped only in a flowered shower curtain, an impending blizzard looming in the near future.

Two films came to mind as I watched THE TRACEY FRAGMENTS: Lukas Moodysson's LILJA 4-EVER and Darren Aronofsky's PI. The former because we are watching the helpless downward spiral of a girl in way over her head. The latter because of the visual and aural assault Bruce McDonald uses to convey this tragic story. The fragmented visuals and helter skelter editing McDonald employs really adds tremendously to what might have otherwise been an R-rate after-school special type of story. The powerful, sountrack by Broken Social Scene matches the visuals nicely. The film works best if you stop resisting and let it wash over your senses. Moments of near calm are granted in Tracey's discussions with Dr. Heker, a female psychologist cast and played brilliantly by the very male Julian Richings (MY LIFE WITHOUT ME; THE RED VIOLIN).

The film has some minor flaws, mainly in the screenplay, but Page's outstanding lead performance and McDonald's creative and assured directorial hand managed to catapult THE TRACEY FRAGMENTS into my top film of the Festival. I'm hoping that a successful roll-out of JUNO will grant THE TRACEY FRAGMENTS a U.S. distribution deal. I would also love to co-present this film at the Independent Film Festival of Boston next April if it hasn't yet been released.

Once again, we hooked up with Don and Tracy after the film, along with Gerry Peary and Callum Keith Rennie, to walk over to the Century Club and THE TRACEY FRAGMENTS after-party. We once again chatted with Nadia Litz and Kish, as we navigated the crowded party filled with Canadian film notables. Just as the late hour threatened to overwhelm us and we made our way to the exit, we came across the star of the evening, the incredibly talented Ellen Page, and we were able to chat with her, congratulating her on her success. She graciously allowed us to take all the credit south of the border for discovering her rising star when we gave her the Breakout Award at the 11th Annual Chlotrudis Awards.

David Cronenberg and Guy Maddin win Awards at TIFF

The Toronto International Film Festival announced its award winners on Saturday, September 15 with co-directors Piers Handling and Noah Cowan handing out prizes on the closing day of the festival. Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg won the Cadillac People's Choice Award for the film EASTERN PROMISES. Cronenberg's crime film starring Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassel, and Armin Mueller-Stahl, opened this weekend in New York and makes its Boston debut next Friday at the Coolidge Corner Theatre. There were two runners-up announced as well; Jason Reitman's comedy, JUNO starring Ellen Page, a favorite among Chlotrudis attendees, and Ellen Spiro's and Phil Donahue's documentary on the Iraqi War, BODY OF WAR.

On a side note, this year's People's Choice Award was poorly handled; possibly the single biggest gaffe I've ever seen in the generally well-run festival. At the beginning of each screening, volunteers pass out slips with the by-now-familiar-to-festgoers, voting ranks along the bottom. As festivalgoers are accustomed, at the end of the film you tear through the number that corresponds to the rank about how you enjoyed the film: 0 meaning poor, 4 meaning the best. The tearing eliminates the need for a writing instrument, which many people seeing a movie do not have. No instruction is given on the voting process; apparently it was assumed that feativalgoers would be familiar with this type of ballot and proceed accordingly. What a surprise, three days into the festival when Bruce was reprimanded by a volunteer about not having written the film's name on the slip! This was news to all of us, and made the whole tearing through the number irrelevant! Strangely enough, a couple of days later, volunteers were starting to announce, "Don't forget to write the name of the movie on your ballot." This surely hurt the voting, as many people couldn't be bothered and just skipped the voting process altogehter. Let's hope they get this right next year.

Another Chlotrudis favorite, Guy Maddin's MY WINNIPEG, took the CityTV Award for Best Canadian Feature Film. This amazing flim merges documentary and narrative, bringing together the best of Maddin's creative genius to tell the story of the Canadian city that is the heart of the heart of the country. IFC Entertainment has purchased the distribution rights for the United States, so watch out for its release!

The complete list of award-winners at TIFF follows:

Cadillac People's Choice Award:
EASTERN PROMISES, directed by David Cronenberg

FIPRESCI International Critics Prize:
LA ZONA, directed by Rodrigo Pla

Artistic Innovation Award:
ENCARNACION, directed by Anahi Berneri

Diesel Discovery Award:
COCHOCHI, directed by Israel Cardenas & Laura Amelia Guzman

CityTV Award for Best Canadian Feature Film:
MY WINNIPEG, directed by Guy Maddin

Toronto-City Award for Best Canadian First Feature Film:
CONTINENTAL, UN FILM SANS FUSIL, directed by Stephane Lafleur

Award for Best Canadian Short Film:
POOL, directed by Chris Chong Chan Fui

Taking a Break from Reviews: A TIFF Overview

Well, I got almost halfway through my reviews before getting home. That's not too bad. Once the parties started later in the week, I just couldn't carve the time our of my sleep schedule to blog. Sorry about that. I will continue with the reviews tomorrow, but I thought now would be a good time to take a break and talk a little about the TIFF experience as a whole.

Beth, Chris, and I had a morning flight on Friday, September 7, and were driven to the airport by my incredibly generous husband (who would be flying Toronto the following Tuesday). While waiting for our flight to depart Chris chatted with Elizabeth Taylor-Mead, with whom he works at the Coolidge Corner Foundation, and we had a nice conversation with Scot Heller, Arts & Film Editor for the Boston Globe. Upon boarding, I found that I was seated next to Elizabeth, and we chatted a bit about bringing groups to Toronto. She brings several Chlotrudis Board members, and I organize the Chlotrudis members, of which there were a total of 14 traveling to Toronto this year. The flight was quick and uneventful, and we arrived in Toronto eager to start the film festival activities.

We shared a cab with Scott Heller, which was a nice opportunity to catch up with him as it had been a while since we last chatted. I found out that Leighton Klein had left the Globe (which I was sad to hear; Leighton was fun to e chat with a consulate parties.) It was also a good opportunity to remind Scott what Chlotrudis was up to lately.

We checked into the Madison Manor Boutique Hotel, located in the Annex, near Bloor and Spadina. Chris and I would be roomies until he left and Scot arrived on Tuesday. Then I would be upgrading to a suite with Scottie. Our room was nice enough, and the hotel staff was very helpful. Things were promising. Next order of business... the box office.

As is always the case, the first day of TIFF is always the most stressful for those of us who do not spend the money on the lottery system for advanced tickets. Upon arriving at the box office at College Park, Beth, Chris and I got in line (see Beth on the left and Chris on the right) and settled in for what we felt sure would be a disappointing showing. Here is where you try to get as many tickets as possible for the films you want to see. The line didn't move all that quickly, and once we reached the ticket counter, we each got anywhere from a third to about half of the tickets we wanted. This was fine with us, since we knew we would be getting the tickets we needed each day in the morning, and too many tickets would mean a lot of exchanging (I always change my mind many times throughout the festival regarding which films I wanted to see.) Unfortunately, our time at the box office ate up more time than we'd hoped, and we barely had enough time to grab some fast food before Chris and I met Bruce for our first film.

The early morning ritual at the box office is something that many people don't understand. They wonder how I could possibly enjoy doing this, and to tell you the truth, I'm not sure what the answer is to that. It's true, the festival is exhausting, and getting up between 5 and 5:30 a.m. in order to get to the box office by 6 a.m. at the latest seems masochistic, but for me, it's all part of the festival experience. Despite late nights, including one night out until after 2 a.m., I got to the festival box office at the Manulife Center before 6 a.m. four out of my eight days in Toronto in order to get tickets for myself and any other Chlotrudis members who needed them. (Thanks to Beth for handling the fifth day, and to Scot for accompanying me on Wednesday). This year we had a perfect record, getting all the "sold-out" tickets we needed at the box office on the day-of. (The picture at left shows a piece of the line-up around 6:45 a.m. at the Manulife Center. The box office opens at 7 a.m.)

We spent a lot of time in the Toronto subways, run by the Toronto Transit Commission. With the Spadina stop directly behind the hotel, we were just steps away from quick, efficient transportation all over the city, and to all of the movie venues. The Toronto subways run frequently and smoothly. They are relatively clean, with wider cars. The one complaint I have about the subway system is their Sunday schedule where trains do not begin running until 9 a.m.! Here's a shot of one of the subway stops after just missing a departing train.

One last word on the opening promotional trailers that precede every film. These have often been the topic of much discussion in the past, and quickly wear thin by the end of the week after multiple viewings. I've gotta say, and all you other film festivals should take note, despite the presence of half a dozen or so of these promos, they were kept extremely short. This was a definite plus. Additionally, the main promo, the one advertising the Bell Lightbox, future home of the Toronto International Film Festival, featured music from Feist's "I Feel it All." This was a good way to keep some positivity around that promo (which otherwise was pretty poor... except for its brevity). Feist is great, and she's Canadian! Take a look...

TIFF Day 5: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner with Scot

Tuesday, Day 5 in Toronto, featured Scot's arrival to the festival. He couldn't come up early with the rest of us because he was teaching on Monday night. Even before he arrived we were dining witch Scot as you will see in my first movie review of the day. Tuesday also featured the first two industry parties of the festival as we tagged along with Don and Tracy to both the ALL HAT party and the SILK party. Beth, Scot and I also got caught in a sudden torrential downpour. Thank goodness for Dollar Store umbrellas. The Festival really kicked into high gear for us.

BREAKFAST WITH SCOT (Canada; 104 min.)

director: Laurie Lynd

cast: Thomas Cavanaugh; Ben Shenkman; Noah Bennett

BREAKFAST WITH SCOT was adapted from a lovely novel by Michael Downing that I read several years ago, and despite the fact that it features my husband's name (correct spelling included) in the title, I had forgotten that I'd read the book until director Laurie Lynd mentioned the author during the film's introduction. The film is a lovely, heartwarming look at a gay couple and the young boy who changes their lives. Sounds a little too sweet, doesn't it? Well Lynd, screenwriter Sean Reycraft and a talented cast manage to keep it sweet, but make it a delightfully entertaining and relevant film.

Sam and Ed are a successful gay couple. Ed is a lawyer, Sam is a sportscaster. The thing is, with Sam's background (he was a professional Hockey Player on the Toronto Blue Jays until an injury during practice forced him out) keeps him in the closet in his professional life. When Ed's brother's girlfriend dies, the couple find themselves in temporary custody of her eleven-year-old son Scot. Scot arrives on their doorstep smartly dressed and very polite, but they soon find out he has a penchance for boas and jewelry, singing showtunes, knitting, and worst of all, has no idea who Wayne Gretzky is. In a smartly drawn, and funny look at internalized homophobia and the way people perceive others, Lynd tells a heartwarming tale for the whole family.

The cast is terrific. Thomas Cavanaugh is superb as the obstinate, conflicted Sam (the actor is best known for his role in the television series "Ed") and Ben Shenkman ("Angels in America") is solid as Ed. The supporting cast features a host of well-known Canadian faces, all of whom transcend the stereotypes to create well-rounded characters. Most delightful of all was the uncredited turn by the sadly underused Sheila McCarthy (I'VE HEARD THE MERMAIDS SINGING) whose pitch perfect portrayal of the politically correct elementary school principal is divine. The film succeeds or fails on young Noah Bennett's portrayal of Scot, and he comes through remarkably. All the kids do a good job, but Bennett's Scot is sweetly heartbreaking.

JELLYFISH (Israel; 78 min.)

directors: Shira Geffen, Etgar Keret

cast: Sarah Adler, Nikol Leidman, Gera Sandler, Noa Knoller, Ma-nenita De Latorre, Ilanit Ben Yaakov, Zharira Charifai

JELLYFISH won the Golden Camera, and the Screenwriter's Award at Cannes earlier this year. Now it comes to Toronto, and in a couple of months, the Boston Jewish Film Festival co-presented by Chlotrudis! I didn't know what to expect from JELLYFISH, but the movie's synopsis sounded pretty interesting, so when Sara Rubin suggested it as one of our choices to co-present at the BJFF, I figured I would catch it in Toronto, and least be able to promote it properly. Imagine my surprise when it proved to be one of my favorite films of the festival!

The theme of JELLYFISH is disappointment. There are three central stories in JELLYFISH, involving three young women living in Israel. All three of these women have suffered severe disappointments, the first years ago during her childhood, another just a day ago at her wedding. Batya lives alone in a rundown apartment, working as a waitress for a wedding caterer and continuously being overlooked by her parents. Joy is a Filipino domestic who doesn't speak Hebrew and is trying to raise enough money to return to the Philippines to be with her young son. Keren is just married to Michael, but their honeymoon has been curtailed after she ends up in a cast at an embarrassing accident at their reception. The three women's stories intersect at various points of the film, and it isn't until the conclusion that the theme of the film unfolds.

Directors Geffen and Keret employ gentle magical reslism, most notably in the form of a mysterious little girl who appears from out of the sea to Batia and leads her without speaking to a path of realization. To tell anymore of the plot would surely take away from the enjoyment of watching things play out while enjoying the film. This is a delightful film, worthy of the accolades it has already achieved, and definitely worth the time of any Chlotrudis member to see it.

PING PONG PLAYA' (USA; 96 min.)

director: Jessica Yu

cast: Jimmy Tsai, Smith Cho, Khary Payton, Roger Fan, Peter Paige, Jim Lau, Elizabeth Sung

Who would have thought that the first feature narrative by filmmaker Jessica Yu, the brilliant documentarian responsible for IN THE REALMS OF THE UNREAL and PROTAGONIST, would be a wacky comedy in the vein of THE BAD NEWS BEARS? Co-written by the film's star, Jimmy Tsai, PING PONG PLAYA' hits all the right notes of the genre but more, it's comedy, and it's a film created by and starring Asian-Americans, with many of the issues and stereotype subtly woven into the story.

Christopher "C-dub" Wang dreams of being a professional basketball player, but his victories over the little kids in the neighborhood hardly qualify him for a star player. His mother teaches ping pong at the local community center, while his father runs a local ping pong supply shop, which is successful because C-dub's older brother Michael wins the ping pong championship year after year keeping the supply of students to the school flowing. When Michael and their mom are injured in a minor car accident, it falls to "C-dub" to take over the ping pong classes, and to compete in the championships. Sounds a little silly, but Yu and Tsai have written a script that's just flat out funny. At it's best, PING PONG PLAYA' is reminiscent of the films of Christopher Guest, spoofing a genre that is slightly ridiculous to start with. Even when it stumbles it merely falls to the level of the usual Hollywood sports movie genre.

The cast helps to elevate PING PONG PLAYA' above the usual fare. Jimmy Tsai, not an actor, or even a screenwriter, by trade but an accountant for the production company, does a good job making "C-dub" annoyingly ridiculous, but with a good heart. Jim Lau and Elizabeth Sung turn in fine comedic performances as the parents. Peter Paige (CHILDSTAR; "Queer As Folk") turns in a despicably amusing performance as "C-dub's" ping pong rival, and the actress (I couldn't find her on the cast list at imdb) who played the Ping Pong official is near brilliant. Even the typically stock character of the love interest is elevated into an interesting part as played by Smith Cho.

Okay, it's not a brilliant movie, but it is a thoroughly entertaining film that proves that Jessica Yu is one talented filmmaker capable to handling a wide variety of genres. So see PING PONG PLAYA' if you're in the mood for some wacky comedy... and see PROTAGONIST to see a truly brilliant documentary.

SILK (Canada/Italy/Japan; 112 min.)

director: François Girard

cast: Michael Pitt, Keira Knightley, Alfred Molina, Koji Yakusho, Mark Rendell, Miki Nakatani, Callum Keith Rennie

For his first film since THE RED VIOLIN, François Girard has chosen an historical romance that is masquerading as a sweeping epic. Based on a novel by Alessandro Baricco, SILK is the story of the silk-trade in 19th century Italy, and the man, Herve Joncour (Michael Pitt), who procured the silkworms from the mysterious and barbaric island of Japan for his village's silk mills. Happily married to the lovely Helene (Keira Knightley), Herve makes his first trip rather reluctantly, pressured by Baldabiou (Alfred Molina), the man who built the silk factory. While in Japan, he meets the local baron, and his captivating mistress, who snares him with her mysterious spell. Subsequent trips are undertaken eagerly by Herve, in the hopes of furthering his relationship with the mysterious Japanese woman with whom he becomes obsessed.

SILK is a gorgeous film, with lush Italian gardens, stark Russian steppes, and elegant Japanese landscapes filmed for maximum effect (we see plenty of them as Herve travels back and forth to Japan.) Ultimately, despite the epic feel of the film, we are left with a pretty unsatisfying story... at least the one presented on the screen. A happily married man encounters a mysterious and beautiful Japanese woman who doesn't speak a word to him, and he's willing to cheat on his wife with her, after which he becomes obsessed. This is the kind of film where everyone speaks in hushed tones, and somebody is going to come down with the dreaded swooning disease. The cast is a mixed bag, with the two leads, Michael Pitt and Keira Knightley looking pretty but unable to convey the necessary emotions to make the film convincing. They also lack any energy giving the overal film a lethargic feel. There are a handful of supporting characters who fare slightly better, most notably Miki Nakatani as Madame Blanche, a powerful madame in France, who fires up the screen with her presence. Kôji Yakusho (BABEL; SHALL WE DANCE) keeps things interesting as the Japanese baron; Callum Keith Rennie turns in a lively appearance as a gun runner that Herve meets in Japan; Alfred Molina provides some life as the mill owner; and Mark Rendall (the titular character in CHILDSTAR) has grown up some to play the often referred to but rarely seen, Ludovic.

The lethargy of SILK makes me think that Girard needs his former writing partner (Mr. Don McKellar - with whom he co-wrote both THE RED VIOLIN and 32 SHORT FILMS ABOUT GLENN GOULD) to keep his screenplay's interesting. Not that SILK is a bad film, there's a lot of talented filmmaking on display here; it's just not entirely successful either. Unfortunately it's the screenplay and the two high profile leads that are the weak points in this SILK.

After the movies, the fun really started, as we joined Don & Tracy for a couple of parties. First stop was the ALL HAT party, a film that Tracy was in, but unfortunately her character was cut out of because it was too confusing. This modern, noir/western's after-party was at at country-western bar complete with a live band that would have been right at home at the Brattle's Trailer Treats Party. Star Luke Kirby ("Slings & Arrows") was in attendance, as was our friend (and Ellen Page's agent) Kish. We met the director of ALL HAT as well, Leonard Farlinger, who also acted as a producer for MONKEY WARFARE. We didn't stay long at the ALL HAT party, as Tracy was hungry and there was no food. So we hopped into a cab and headed to the famous Drake Hotel and the SILK party. In addition to the open bar and delicious cheese, the SILK party featured grilled cornbread and cole slaw! Several minutes was spent in discussion with Don about the merits or lack thereof of cole slaw as a party appetizer. The party space was small and crowded, and we arrived fairly late, but there were some recognizable faces there, including Michael Pitt, and Sei Ashina, who played the beautiful Japanese mistress. Director François Girard was much younger looking close up that he was on stage at the Visa Screening Room, and pretty cute too. Turns out he's one year younger than me. Got back to the hotel very late, but felt like I was truly a part of the Film Festival experience, party-hopping and all. More to come.

Bruce Weighs In: Day 5 at TIFF 07

Toronto 2007 is absolutely an embarrassment of riches (measured in cats, of course). No filmgoing experience could be more exhilarating. 3 cats is the lowest rating for any of the 16 films I’ve seen so far. And almost all the other Chlotrudis members are having above average viewing experiences as well.

As usual, I’ve tried to mix things up on the international scene with a schedule that covers 19 countries in 24 films. This year Cannes seemed to have a greater than usual influence on my choices. During the past few days tweaked my original schedule only slightly although every time someone raves about a film I’ve not seen I am tempted to try to squeeze it in. Here is a list the films I’ve seen so far ordered by cats. I will do my best to write a review for each film.

5 cats

• 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS and 2 DAYS (Cristian Mungiu) Romania


• MY WINNIPEG (Guy Maddin) Canada

4.5 cats

• THE BANISHMENT (Andrei Zvyagintsev) Russia


• LES CHANSONS D’AMOUR (Christophe Honoré) France


• JUNO (Jason Reitman) USA


• THE MAN FROM LONDON (Béla Tarr) Hungary


• WITH YOUR PERMISSION (Paprika Steen) Denmark

4 cats

• THE BAND’S VISIT (Eran Kolerin) Israel


• HOLLYWOOD CHINESE (Arthur Dong) USA


• LOVE COMES LATELY (Jan Schütte) Germany


• SLINGSHOT (Brilliante Mendoza) Phillipines


• UNE VIEILLE MAїTRESSE, (Catherine Breillat) France

3.5 cats

• A JIHAD FOR LOVE (Parvez Sharma) USA


• PLOY (Pen-ek Ratanaruang) Thailand


• SECRET SUNSHINE (Lee Chang-dong) South Korea

3 cats

• THE PAST (Hector Babenco) Argentina

posted for Bruce K.

Four is the Word: Toronto Day 4, and my first 4 film day!

Things kicked into high gear for me on Monday with my first four film day. That coupled with a Chlotrudis group lunch with Don McKellar and Tracy Wright (and a quick visit from Wiebke von Carolsfeld) meant I couldn't grab a nap. Fortunately, Beth agreed to grab tickets for me early this morning so I got about 30 minutes additional sleep. Okay, it's not much, but I'll take what I can get.

The morning started off with a nice breakfast where Beth, Chris, Gil, Amanda, Bruce and I all managed to touch base before we dispersed for our films. A quick ride on the wonderfully convenient Toronto subway brought me to the Scotiabank Cinema and my first film of the day.

BRICK LANE (UK; 101 min.)

Director: Sarah Gavron

Cast: Tannishtha Chatterjee, Satish Kaushik, Christopher Simpson

Based on an internationally best-selling novel, BRICK LANE explores a plethora of theme including the nature of love, the Muslim community in Britain after 9/11, the empowerment of Indian women, and much more. Sarah Gavron, whose little seen in the U.S. made for UK television film THIS LITTLE LIFE earned a Chlotrudis spotlight a few years ago, follows up with this accomplished, multi-layered first feature which has already been picked up for U.S. distribution and is surrounded by the kind of buzz any filmmaker would yearn for.

As a child growing up in Bangladesh, Nazneen and her younger sister frolicked in the fields without a care in the world. When their mother commits suicide, Nazneed finds herself promised in marriage to an "educated man" living in Britain. Shipped to London, the good village girl endures a submissive life in the Brick Lane neighborhood, a far cry from the color and splendor of her childhood memories. Her husband, Chanu, is a good man, but old-fashioned, expecting Nazneen to keep the household running while he supports the family, which includes two daughters. When Chanu resigns from his job over one too many missed promotions, Nazneen, driven by her desire to return to Bangladesh and the sister she left behind, begins working as a seamstress out of her home despite her husband's misgivings. She is initially dismayed when Karim, the young man who delivers the clothing to her, catches her eye, but soon they embark on an ilicit affair, and Nazneen begins to explore the rapidly changing world beyond her apartment.

Abi Morgan and Laura Jones' adaptation of Monica Ali's novel is a fine work as they pare down the many threads of the narrative managing to include a great many while spending just enough time on each. The cast is strong, including Tannishtha Chatterjee as Nazneen, whose solitary scenes must convey so much emotion without dialogue, and Satish Kaushik as Chanu who brings such complexity and dimension to a character who could have been painted in very broad strokes. Yet this is Gavron's film as much as it is anyone's, and it's thrilling to see such an assured directorial hand in a first-time feature director. Magnificent editing, a cinematic eye, and deft musical choices contribute to a film that Gavron must surely be very proud of.

JUNO (US; 92 min.)

director: Jason Reitman

cast: Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner, Olivia Thirlby, J.K. Simmons, Allison Janney

It was with great excitement that our large group of six attended what is surely the festival film generating the most buzz. This is a special film for Chlotrudis as it features in a starring role, an actor who is one of our organization's great finds in the U.S.: Ellen Page. JUNO is Jason Reitman's follow-up to last year's well-received THANK YOU FOR SMOKING, but while I was not as impressed as many with that film, Reitman has found a secret weapon to make JUNO truly sparkle in new, young screenwriter Diablo Cody.

When sixteen-year-old Juno discovers that she is pregnant after a single night of sex with her sort-of boyfriend Paulie Bleeker, she knows that she is incapable of raising a child. After a fairly quick consideration of offers, she decides to go with an open adoption after a suggestion from her best friend Leah. Juno finds a good-looking, wealthy couple for the prospective parents in the classified ads of the Pennysaver (right next to the exotic pets section). Her parents are disappointed but supportive, but her relationship with Bleeker gets a little shaky. As the seasons pass and Juno grows more and more pregnant, she learns that there are some people who might disappoint her in life, but there are many who will not let her down.

There are so many things right with JUNO, including the cast (in addition to Page we have Michael Cera, Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner, Allison Janney, and J.K. Simmons) and some deft directorial work, but JUNO succeeds or fails on its screenplay. Fortunately, somebody noticed Diablo Cody's blog and suggested to her that she write a screenplay. After a career that included working in an ad agency, as a stripper and as a phone sex operator, Cody tried her hand at screenwriting. With JUNO she has created the original and extremely funny voice of a teen-aged girl living in the modern world. She does a terrific job handling the many supporting roles as well, making each one pop in their respective scenes.

The other not-so secret weapon of JUNO is certainly the talented Ellen Page, who after putting in some stellar work in lesser-seen intense dramas (HARD CANDY; AMERICAN CRIME) decided she needed to try her hand at comedy. Fortunately for her she found JUNO, a comedy that's loaded with laughs and smarts.

JUST LIKE HOME (Denmark; 97 min.)

director: Lone Scherfig

cast: Lars Kaalund, Bodil Jørgensen, Ann Eleonora Jørgensen, Peter Gantzler, Peter Hesse Overgaard

Lone Scherfig returns with a third film following the delightful ITALIAN FOR BEGINNERS and the quirky WILBUR WANTS TO KILL HIMSELF and offers up what she self-admittedly does best: finding humor in tragic situations. Sprinkling a few new faces, with a few familiar faces from ITALIAN FOR BEGINNERS, Scherfig unites another talented ensemble cast to look at a community, and the way people can care about people they know, but don't really know.

When a small town where everyone knows everyone else is thrown into a tizzy after a man is allegedly seen running naked through the streets brandishing a rolled-up newspaper suspicion blooms which leads to depression. Fortunately a pair of townsfolk have just launched a hotline for the depressed called "The Silent Ear." As the calls become more frequent, a small group of folk rally together to man the phones in the hopes that the streaker will confess so that the townsfolk can be put at ease and things can go back to normal. Well, in a Scherfig movie, things don't usually work out the way they should... at least not for a good 90 minutes, and despite it's sluggish first third, JUST LIKE HOME comes together beautifully and continues the filmmaker's delightful string of films.

NORMAL (Canada; 100 min.)

director: Carl Bessai

cast: Carrie-Anne Moss, Kevin Zegers, Callum Keith Rennie, Tygh Runyan, Camille Sullivan

When a sixteen-year-old Nick is killed in a tragic accident in a wealthy Victoria community, several lives spin out of control. Carrie-Anne Moss embodies the grief of a mother who has lost a son, begging to talk about her lost boy yet pushing others, including her husband and second son, angrily away. Jordie is Nick's best friend who was driving the car they had stolen when the accident happened. After spending several years in prison, Jordie has just been released, but his pent-up anger guilt hold him in place, preventing him from forward movement. Callum Keith Rennie is failed writer Walt, the man who caused the accident while driving his car while drunk. There are several other storylines running throughout the film, but they don't really matter, and actually, would have probably served the movie better had they been edited out.

NORMAL is what I call a second-tier Canadian film. While I am a huge fan of Canadian film and will see as many as I can during the festival, there are distinct tiers. The top tier feature the directors Chlotrudis knows and loves including Egoyan, Maddin, McKellar, MacIvor, Rozema and on... The lower tier tend to be films that are just bad, and I have had the misfortune to see them at festivals. These include such films as LUCID and YELLOWKNIFE. The second tier have some promise, feature some good elements, but fail overall.

NORMAL features a strong cast, particularly Moss and Rennie who act as each other's foils. I have some quibbling with the editing, and although much was made in the Q&A of the director's hand-held camera work, I found it distracting and occasionally annoying. I also took some issue with some of the director's choices regarding the shooting. One sex scene was overlong and a little annoying the way it lingered on the actress's breasts (even returning to them for no apparent reason for a few seconds the way a man's eyes keep drifting down while in conversation.) The biggest flaw was in the screenplay, which unfortunately, is often the case with the second-tier film. There was too much jammed into it, there were odd leaps in character development (possibly a flaw in the editing) and it wasn't all that original.

Okay, I'm a day behind now, and it's unlikely I'll catch up today. We had a terrific time at two parties last night courtesy of Don & Tracy, but that got us in pretty darn late. I'll try to report on yesterday's films soon.

Toronto Day 2: Catching Up

I'm going to try to do a little catch-up here, with reviews from the three films I caught yesterday.

CHANCUN SON CINÉMA (France; 119)

director: Theo Angelopoulos, Olivier Assayas, Bille August, Jane Campion, Youssef Chahine, Chen Kaige, David Cronenberg, Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne, Manoel de Oliveira, Raymond Depardon, Atom Egoyan, Amos Gitai, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Aki Kaurismäki, Abbas Kiarostami, Takeshi Kitano, Andrei Konchalovsky, Claude Lelouch, Ken Loach, David Lynch, Nanni Moretti, Roman Polanski, Raúl Ruiz, Walter Salles, Elia Suleiman, Tsai Ming-liang, Gus Van Sant, Lars von Trier, Wim Wenders, Wong Kar-wai, Zhang Yimou

Omnibus films like PARIS JE T'AIME have been popping up a lot lately. CHANCUN SON CINÉMA was commissioned to honor the 60th anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival. Thirty-three world class directors each contributed a three minute film celebrating the love of cinema. What more perfect omnibus for a Chlotrudis member could there be? Naturally, as is the case with all films of this type, some of the offerings are brilliant, others are good, and a handful needn't have bothered. Fortunately in this case, the brilliant and the good far outweight the needn't have bothered.

Part of the fun of this film was in seeing how quickly I could identify the director of any given piece. I was pleasantly surprised at how adept I was at this identification. Highlights include Olivier Assayas' (DEMONLOVER) twist on the purse-snatching moviegoer; Jane Campion's (THE PIANO) surreal look at one cinema's uninvited guest; David Cronenberg's (THE HISTORY OF VIOLENCE) twisted and satrical comment on television journalism; Atom Egoyan's (WHERE THE TRUTH LIES) look at movie viewing in a mobile world; Aki Kaurismäki's (THE MAN WITHOUT A PAST) deadpan (go figure) look at the factory theatre; Takeshi Kitano's (DOLLS) wry look at the Japanese country cinema; Nanni Moretti's (THE SON'S ROOM) sweet diary of a film viewer; Elia Suleiman's (DIVINE INTERVENTION) absurdist take on a filmmaker's visit to the local cinema; Zhang Yimou's (HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS) adorable take on outdoor cinema; Lars von Trier's (DOGVILLE) hilarious revenge on the talkative filmgoer; and Walter Salles' (CENTRAL STATION) standout false ending that should have concluded the program instead of Ken Loach's amusing but curious choice that made an interesting comment on cinema.

PLOY (Thailand; 107)

Director: Pen-ek Ratanaruang

Cast: Lalita Panyopas, Pornwut Sarasin, Ananda Everingham, Apinya Sakuljaroensuk, Phorntip Papanai

At first, Ratanaruang's latest film PLOY seems nothing like his previous film, the dreamily divine LAST LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE. A Thai couple have just arrived back home for a funeral after spending the last 10+ years living in the States. It quickly becomes apparent that their relationship has seen better days, despite their physical closeness on the plane and in the taxi to the hotel. When Wit leaves the hotel room to get a pack of smokes, and ends up spending the next hour or so in the hotel bar befriending the nubile, teenager Ploy while his wife Dang wanders restlessly in their room, it becomes evident. While looking for the luggage key in her husband's suit jacket, Dang discovers a piece of paper with a woman's name and phone number on it; her brow furrows and we wonder if after 7 years of marriage this is it.

When Wit invites Ploy up to the couple's room while she waits for her mother to pick her up in a few hours, things enter LAST LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE country, where dreams and reality collide and intermingle. Are the housekeeper and the bartender really having steamy sex in one of the empty guest rooms? What about the brutal twist that delivers Dang to an abandoned garage in fear of her life? Ratanaruang doesn't provide any easy answers, but that doesn't make PLOY any less a joy to watch. High marks for the three principal cast members too. Together they erased any disappointment that the lack of Tadanobu Asano created.

AMERICAN VENUS (Canada; 81 min.)

director: Bruce Sweeney

cast: Rebecca De Mornay, Jane McGregor, Matt Craven, Nicholas Lea

Social satire is a tricky thing to pull off, but I had high hopes for AMERICAN VENUS after happening upon Sweeney's previous film THE LAST WEDDING, which took a critical eye to marriage. Unfortunately, he doesn't quite manage to pull it off, a fact I don't blame on his script or direction, but rather on the inability of star Rebecca De Mornay to successfully pull it off.

De Mornay plays Celia, a fiercely driven mother and ice skating coach to Jenna, who after botching her chance at the National's, wants only to get far away from her family (especially Mom) even if that means leaving the country. Despite Celia's best attempts, Jenna does hightail it to Vancouver, but when Celia shows up unexpectedly at her door, the subsequent week unspools as a living hell. Deprived at the border of the handgun that gives her so much comfort, Celia spends much of the week unwilling to leave her daughter in Canada, and simultaneously searching desperately for something that she can shoot.

De Mornay bites into Celia with career-reviving vigor, but the beauty of a good satire is when the players play it straight. Celia's mugging and tetanus-stiffened walk turn Celia into a parody of a monster-mother that negate the potential strength of Sweeney's screenplay.

Toronto Day 2: A Mixed Bag

Another late night, and I have to get up early again tomorrow, so this will be brief, hopefully to be followed tomorrow by something more in depth. After a solid screening of CHANCUN SON CINÉMA and a nice lunch with Beth, Nancy and Brian, I spent the afternoon napping. That prepped me for the always fascinating Pen-ek Ratanraug's follow-up to LAST LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE called PLOY, and a disappointing satire from Canadian Bruce Sweeney called AMERICAN VENUS. More details to follow tomorrow.

TIFF Starts off with 2 Docs... sort of

As promised, here's a look at the first two films I caught at the Toronto International Film Festival on day 1. I'm just back from my first early morning box office run and things ran smoothly. I was 9th in line, and most of the people in front of me were a little too... energetic for my sleep-addled senses. Ah, the enthusiasm and uncertainty of the young. I've got three movies lined up for today, and the last one is a 9:15 p.m. show, so I probably won't review them until tomorrow (gotta get to bed so I can make the sunrise trip tomorrow morning!) Still, my schedule is filling in. While I don't have tickets for anything yet tomorrow, I've got most of my other tickets!

HOLLYWOOD CHINESE (USA; 89 min.) directed by Arthur Dong

Accomplished documentarian Dong has won acclaim for his earlier films, COMING OUT UNDER FIRE, LICENSED TO KILL, and FAMILY FUNDAMENTALS. He's back with a film that he's been working on for 7 - 8 years, HOLLYWOOD CHINESE, a look at the portrayal of the Chinese, and the opportunities for Chinese American actors and filmmakers in Hollywood films from the earliest days to today. Dong taps a wide array of Chiense-Americans to discuss this topic, from actor/filmmaker Joan Chen to author Amy Tan. The list of notables keeps coming: Nancy Kwan, Ang Lee, Justin Lin, Wayne Wang, B. D. Wong and Henry David Hwang. He also talks to non-Chinese actors who played Chinese like Christopher Lee and Luise Rainer who won an Oscar for her performance in THE GOOD EARTH. Rainer, who looked to be in her 90's, commented on the fact that in today's Hollywood, everything has to be so exact: if you're playing Chinese, you must be Chinese, if you're playing a tall man, you must be a tall man, but it wasn't like that in her day. You were playing a part, it didn't matter their nationality.

Perhaps the most interesting part of Dong's film was a look at the earliest days of Hollywood and the lost work of actress/filmmaker Marion Wong and her 1916 silent film THE CURSE OF QUON GWON. Dong speaks to Wong's three daughters and they tell the tale of her secret success that had become lost in history. Now fortunately, more people will hear of it. Nancy Kwan tells of her breakout success in THE WORLD OF SUZIE WONG, and her sudden celebrity after appearing in the film adaptation of Rodgers & Hammerstein's THE FLOWER DRUM SONG. Joan Chen discusses the difficulty of capitalizing on t her success in Bertolucci's Oscar-winning THE LAST EMPEROR, and how she had to leave Hollywood to make her directorial debut, XIU XIU: THE SENT DOWN GIRL. Justin Lin tells how his slightly controversial directorial debut, BETTER LUCK TOMORROW spun into a Hollywood foray directing THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT.

While Dong does a fine job exploring his topic, the pacing seems a little bit off, and this genre of film has been done so many times with women in Hollywood, gays in Hollywood, African-Americans in Hollywood, etc., that it's very difficult to do something new and original. A delightful, post-film Q&A featured the director and special guest Nancy Kwan who is in town for a discussions screening of THE FLOWER DRUM SONG.

MY WINNIPEG (Canada; 2007) directed by Guy Maddin
starring: Ann Savage, Louis Negin, Darcy Fehr, Amy Stewart

What a delightful evening in the Wintergarden theatre spent enjoying the world premiere of Guy Maddin's pseudo-documentary MY WINNIPEG. Maddin was challenged by the Documentary channel to make a doc on his hometown of Winnipeg, and Maddin being Maddin utilized his considerable talents to transform the story of the heart of the heart of Canada into one of his fantastic, surreal signature films. While telling the tale of this cold, northern city, Maddin leans heavily on nostalgia, both his own and the the collective population's, delving into the personal to explore how growing up with his family in this city shaped his psyche.

In addition to the exploration of the personal, Maddin brings in two other threads to flesh out his tale. In dreamlike sequences reminiscent of early Russian films, Winnipeg likens the peopls of Winnipeg to sleepwalkers, focusing on one particular man standing in for himself, on a train trying to escape the city but ever being drawn back. He also touches on some of the key moments of the city's history giving the non-Winnipegger a strong if perhaps skewed look at its origins and upbringing.

Looking at Maddin's upbringing in the context of MY WINNIPEG, it becomes clear where the themes for his movie come from. The loneliness and isolation of THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD, the bizarre beauty parlor and hockey shenanigans of COWARDS BEND THE KNEE and the watchful mother and distant father of BRAND UPON THE BRAIN are all in strong evidence in MY WINNIPEG. Classic film noir star Ann Savage provides a delightful turn as Maddin's mother, adding both camp humor and a sense of danger to Maddin's memories. As an added treat, the premiere featured live narration from Maddin himself, an experience that will not be repeated if the filmmaker has anything to say about it.

On a side note, it's great to see Canadian filmmakers out in force to support their fellows. In the audience were Chlotrudis Advisory Board member Patricia Rozema, and many other Chlotrudis pals, including Don McKellar, Tracy Wright, Nadia Litz, and Reg Harkema. I chatted with Tracy and Nadia post-film and can attest to high marks all around.

Toronto International Film Festival's International Line-Up

While the complete film list by title won't be announced until next Tuesday, August 21, a whole slew of announcements have been made over the past several days. In fact, over at Thompson on Hollywood, Variety.com's deputy editor Anne Thompson lists the complete international film line-up (not really sure what that means) by country. It's a pretty cool list, and I'm only going to name a couple of films that I am excited about.

It's always fun to see a new film by François Ozon (SWIMMING POOL; 8 WOMEN), and his latest effort is called ANGEL. Starring Charlotte Rampling and Sam Neill, ANGEL tells the story of a young woman with incredible imagination who refuses to accept the world around her, and creates her own realities. It's been a while since we've had a new film by Danish director Lone Scherfig (ITALIAN FOR BEGINNERS; WILBUR WANTS TO KILL HIMSELF), and she returns with a comedy called JUST LIKE HOME. It's good to see a new film by the always challenging Catherine Breillat (SEX IS COMEDY; FAT GIRL), and she returns with UNE VIEILLE MAÎTRESSE (pictured left), where secrets, rumors and betrayals surround the upcoming marriage between a young dissolute man and virtuous woman of the French aristocracy.

There is a whole lot more to come, and I will be returning to post about getting the tickets you want in the next few days.