Sixteen from Toronto. (And Your Input, Please.)
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 at 5:31PM Festival season heading your way out there in the dark. Even if you only experience film festivals through blog mania for the same, that's still something. That's how most of us experience Cannes each year, yes? This year TFE will be doing a lot from NYFF as it's close to home (5 stops on the subway close!) and quite inexpensive since there's already a bed to sleep in: one's own! But we have lined up a few foreign correspondents to give you bits and bobs from Venice (Aug 31st-Sept 10th), Toronto (Sept 8th-18th), and London (Oct 12th-27th). Quite often commenting is light on film festival pieces, which one assumes is because of the unfamiliar factor of the films, though sometimes it's quite distressing -- I even drew you cartoons from Nashville and there was nary a peep! -- so some feedback would be greatly appreciated:
What interests you and what doesn't about film festivals?
Bizarre Typecasting Alert! Saoirse Ronan is playing her second consecutive teenage assassin in "Violet and Daisy"
The full Toronto International Film Festival schedule is up at their website. I won't be there but I am leaving town right about then because I do not want to be anywhere near Manhattan when the 10th anniversary of 9/11 rolls around. That's just going to be a nightmare and I don't mean in the fear-of-terrorism sense. Someone on TV the other day was theorizing about small scale terrorism as they do -- fear being our great masochistic national addiction -- and deadly gas or whatnot in crowded places came up. Movie theaters were mentioned. I know it's perverse but my immediate unbidden thought was this: 'If I have to die by terrorism, that'd be an awesome. At least I'd be enjoying myself when the end came!'
Oh but Toronto, yes, yes. Rather than attempting to type up their entire 200+ film list, after a very quick glance through of the titles and summaries here are 16 that I'd probably try to snag tickets for had I gone this year. Festival moviegoing is much different from regular moviegoing in that you have to not only consider your normal desires but balance those out -- you can't go all drama or all France or even (gasp) all actressy -- and you have to immediately rule out films you'll be able to see in a week or two after you get back like all the NYFF titles.
So here we go...
Auteur Lust
Andrea Arnold's Fish Tank was so mesmerizing and incisive that I'm naturally curious to see her follow up Wuthering Heights, even though I prefer it when wonderfully contemporary filmmakers tell original stories. Despite reservations that come with yet another Bronte adaptation the TIFF write up promises a stripped down power... "No starched lace, no panoramic views, no sweeping score"; After Reprise Joachim Trier should win automatic eyeballs for Oslo, August 31st which might be Norway's Oscar submission; I hadn't realized until just now that A Funny Man, one of Denmark's Oscar finalists, is by the director of Applause Martin P Zandvliet. Though the praise for that film was mostly directed at Paprika Steen's shattering lead work, if Zandvliet can work similar magic with Nikolaj Lie Kaas who takes center stage here perhaps we'll have to regard him as one of the world's finest directors of actors?; Yorgos Lanthimos's follow up to Dogtooth called ALPS sounds juicily provocative "A mysterious underground outfit, going by the name of ALPS, offers bereaved individuals a very unusual service: they stand in for their dearly departed." Yes, please. If you can already surprise just from a concept line, I'm in.
Gender and Sexuality: Love and Bruises follows an international love affair between Tahar Rahim (A Prophet) and newcomer Corrine Yam. It's from Lou Ye, the director of Summer Palace and Spring Fever which were both successfully sensual and evocative pieces; Lost in Paradise is supposedly a sympathetic leap forward for gay depictions and characters in Vietnamese cinema; Leave it on the Floor is a coming of age musical about a young gay man in the vogueing underground ball circuit. That milieu, such a cinematic one, hasn't been center stage since what, 1992?; Finally the French Canadian Nuit #1 investigates a one night stand. Films which focus tightly on one event can often reap big rewards, because film is such a great medium for short stories as it were. Plus it's a debut feature (from Anne Emond) and festivals are a great place to discover new directors.
For the Actressing: Christophe Honoré's Beloved is about the love lives of a mother and daughter. They're played by real life mother/daughter Catherine Deneuve and Chiara Mastroianni (who also did that trick for A Christmas Tale) and Ludivine Sagnier co-stars so this is must-see-times-three; Huh Jong-ho's crime drama about a collection agent and a con artist Countdown features Korean actress of the moment (and TFE obsession of the moment) Jeon Do-yeon of Secret Sunshine and The Housemaid fame.; Albert Nobbs and We Need To Talk About Kevin... regarding both: I'm just impatient, y'all!
For the Variety: Friends With Kids is the directorial debut of Jennifer Westfeldt (Kissing Jessica Stein) who was once more famous than her husband Jon Hamm but hasn't been for some time now post Mad Men. Hamm is part of the ensemble cast she's collected for this comedy about a group of tight friends who begin to fall apart once children are in the picture. The film co-stars Adam Scott, Kristen Wiig, Megan Fox, Edward Burns and Maya Rudolph; Where Do We Go Now? is a Lebanese musical from the director of Caramel; Alois Nebel is a black and white rotoscoped animated film from the Czech Republic and the style would be enough for me in the festival setting (plainly different than everything around it!) though the content sounds interesting, too; Finally, I'm letting The Encounter stand in for avant garde programs in general. It's a short but I know I need to experiment with more that's truly experimental when given the chance ... and A list festival are that chance. In this film "a woman's synethesia transforms her vision into beautiful song." Wait, is this a Björk biopic?
But really, there are so many that I could do this for several more hours. Wrapping it up, now. Bye!
TIFF, film festivals
Reader Comments (16)
Not being able to go to festivals like this drives me absolutely insane. It's decidedly unlikely that any of these will ever find disribution in the rural west (or in any over the western flyover states , for that matter), so I'll have to content myself with fantasizing. I've got a bizarrely specific love for films from the Middle East, so I'll take Where Do We Go Now? (also a musical, so points there). And I love animation, so we'll take Alois Nobel. I'm curious to see what Lanthimos has in the tank, so to speak, so I'll see ALPS. And finally, I can't resist Tahar Rahim, so I'll go for Love and Bruises.
...In reality, I'll probably just have to go see Harry Potter.
So glad you there are people who will report from the festivals!
I'm interested in Anonymous. Is that normal? :p
Honore's "Beloved" sounds really fun - here's hoping it gets distribution, although IFC has handled several of his films now so I'd say the odds are good. And of course having Deneuve on board can't hurt its exposure either.
Can't wait for ALPS! Dogtooth was so great. I am excited to read about any movies from film festivals especially since it might be the only time I hear about that film.
I used to not care much about the fall film festivals; "I only care about the Oscars", is what I would have ignorantly retorted. But this past year or so I've come to realize how important the festivals are in bestowing buzz and momentum to a few select films!
I don't mean to shoehorn you into becoming an "Oscar-only site", but some of your newer readers may not understand the significance of the festivals. If you occasionally remind your readers that Venice, etc. = Beginning of Oscar Season, you might discover more interest in festival coverage.
But! having said that, that doesn't mean you shouldn't also continue to cover smaller, actress-driven films that haven't a chance in hell of Oscar noms ;)
i was just thinking that it's been far too long since i've seen a lebanese musical
I don't know why anyone would want to see 70 year old Glenn Close in drag in Albert Nobbs. She is 70 and hitting on Mia W. who is 20 something. The whole project gives me the creeps and so do the photos.
I'll stick with YENTL (at least Barbra can sing) and direct (Garcia is questionable).
I love the titles you've chosen. I have Le Havre and The Kid with a Bike from Cannes on my list too and smaller titles like Pariah.
I never understand why films like last year's Black Swan or this year's bound to be sold-out The Descendant are SO popular at TIFF. Like, I know, it's nice to watch it before everyone else, but there are more than 200 titles and AT LEAST 100 of them never open in theatres outside the festival circuit. I can always wait a couple more months for something instead of missing out on other films.
Amir - Just my own experience, but it seems like festivals, especially big ones like TIFF, are just microcosms of the moviegoing world at large, which means that if there's a choice between a George Clooney movie or, say, the new Pen Ek Ratanruang film, you're probably going to get more people coming out for the Clooney film. Plus, like you say, people like to feel like they're part of something before everyone else, like they're discovering it for themselves, and it's *their* support that is launching the film to its greater success - even if the only reason they feel like they're part of something is thanks to a concerted media campaign to convince them that there's something to be a part of!
On the other hand, by being so mainstream friendly and drawing folks in with the Clooneys and Black Swans of the world, they probably get more accidental viewings of the Ratanruang than another fest that caters solely to a niche (which is what NYFF does) would.
Anyway, I'm going to be hitting NYFF really hard this year too (what a lineup!), so I'm not so concerned with seeing any of those titles in Toronto. That leaves William Friedkin's new film, Killer Joe, the new Coppola joint, Alexander Sokurov's Faust, Lou Ye's Love and Bruises, the new Johnny To action extravaganza, the new Kore-eda film, the Andrea Arnold Wuthering Heights, and hopefully some completely unknown gems that I'll take a flier on and love.
How is it that you and I have the EXACT same taste, Nathaniel!?! haha
This selection is so well chosen, it makes me giddy! aha
I actually live in Toronto, but I go to school in 6-hour-away-Montreal, so I (inconveniently) have to make the trek out to Quebec pretty much as soon as TIFF starts :(
Just to add to your list, I have been super intrigued by Sarah Polley's sophomore film "Take This Waltz," mainly because of the interesting casting choices - Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen and ....... Sarah Silverman!?! I am IN LOVE with Silverman as a standup comedian, but I'm really intrigued to see what she can do with more dramatic material !!
Your entire Variety section sounds interesting and I'd love to see any one of those. (Although visually rotoscoping can be hard for me to watch, having epilepsy.) And yes, I'd like to see Albert Nobbs - as a Glenn Close fan, as a lesbian with an older partner who loves the implications (even if they never show anything - and if we're going to have partners of unequal age on screen all the time and it's completely unremarkable when it's older man/younger woman, why not two women?)
The only film festival we get in southeast CT is the New London Film festival, which really is just reshowing a lot of the year's films that are already Oscar nominated, with an oldie or two thrown in.
What's odd to me is that Joel Schumacher's "Trespass" actioner (Nicole Kidman/Nic Cage) is also being shown at TIFF. A Joel Schumacher film, at a film festival? I think of film fests as opportunities to see small, indie films, which is probably a bit of a stereotype. But "A Joel Schumacher film"? At Cannes, maybe. Otherwise it just sounds like too much of a travesty, even though I do get where Roark is coming from regarding the pull of celebrity.
Nate, the films you picked look so juicy! Especially ALPS. Holy hell, I had no idea that's what it was about, I'm dying to see it now. Dogtooth was the big cinematic surprise last year for me so I'll be rushing to the screen when this plays over here.
Andrea Arnold's Wuthering Heights is a MUST must see. Based on the strength and buzz of Fish Tank alone. Ditto Albert Nobbs, Kevin
The Jeon Do-yeon lovefest continues! I'll be finally catching Secret Sunshine soon thanks to Criterion.
VERY curious about Friends With Kids. That cast seems like an interesting grouping of actors and Westfeldt was instrumental in making Kissing Jessica Stein as refreshing as it was when it debuted at TIFF a full 10 years ago.
Interested to see if Geoffrey Fletcher can capture the dialogue magic again for Violet and Daisy.
BTW I'm with you on the NYC 10th anniversary of 9/11 thing. I almost just want it to be over with already. *shudders*
Festivals take all these films we've been anticipating for the past year (or longer) but have only existed as internet hype and marketing and give us our first good critical look at them. I know in the past you've expressed concern about getting wrapped up in that review machine and experiencing a movie vicariously through the critical consensus before you actually get to experience it. I can agree to an extent, but it's too juicy for me not to wonder how these films are going to play, which performances are going to stand out, how the year is going to shape up.
That said, if I ever got to TIFF (one day) I'd probably seek out the gems and not the films I know will be playing in my multiplexes in a couple months. I assume what you want out of a festival is very different depending on if you're there or watching from a distance.
On an unrelated note, that picture of Monty Clift on your title makes me want to cry. My god that man has a powerful face.
Mmm I'd love to see Oslo and Alois Nebel looks really dead cool. Really nice picks. I hope to attend the festival one day! For me it's always one the most interesting ones out there.
I saw Oslo, August 31st at Haugesund and I was not disappointed even though my expectations were huge! Once again, Anders Danielsen Lie gives a nuanced and beautiful performance as a struggling young man. I think Trier with this film, as well as Reprise, captures a certain kind of contemporary ennui where the idea of love and happiness is such a powerful addiction that the real life experience of love and happiness fails to fill the void.