Searching for Treasures at TIFF: A Top Dozen List
Wednesday, August 15, 2012 at 7:15AM 
Hey Everyone. Amir here to preview the Toronto International Film Festival. There's less than a month to go before opening night. Those of you who follow the festival’s news regularly probably know that yesterday marked the completion of most of the festival’s strands, so we can officially start salivating all over the program book. Making a “Most Anticipated Films” list is a fool’s errand; TIFF’s lineup is so vast that the list would basically equate to everything that’s left to be screened in 2012 and then some. Titles like The Master, Anna Karenina, Argo (the latter of which I'm anticipating and dreading) and Cloud Atlas will feature on everyone’s list. There are also Cannes leftovers such as Rust & Bone, Reality, No and The Paperboy to be excited for, but I’m dedicating this list, to the pleasure of discovery which is the lifeblood of festivals.
Last year Nathaniel made a similar list of sixteen potential gems in advance of the festival. Some of those were films I would not have watched had he not suggested them, and I’m glad to say that one of them ended up not only as my top film of the festival, but the best film I saw all year. Here’s hoping we can strike gold again with any of these:
The Suicide Shop
12. A Liar’s Biography/The Suicide Shop
Yes, I hate "ties" as much as you when it comes to list-making but I wanted to round things out with an animated film and couldn’t decide between them. We've got a 3D fictionalized telling of Graham Chapman’s life through the perspective of the Monty Python gang or a Patrice Leconte musical about a family who help people take their own lives. Can you blame me for the indecision ?!?
The Midnight Madness program is the one I’ve attended the least over the years, mostly because I see too many films in a day to have the energy at midnight. Yet this omnibus film seems like the perfect campy end to a festival day. Twenty-six directors from all over the world (including Ti West and Ben Wheatley) give us twenty-six alphabet inspired ways to die in a horror film.
10. Barbara
Barbara already screened at Berlinale to terrific reactions, but given that it has no Canadian distributor I’m watching. Director Christian Petzold netted a Silver Bear in Berlin and Nina Hoss, terrific in his last two films, returns to star in a third consecutive. The 80s-set story concerns a scientist forced to stay in a rural hospital as punishment by the East German government.
Isabelle Huppert, Terrence Malick, and Seven (or more) Pyschopaths after the jump.
My general affection for Scandinavian cinema (and last year’s Norwegian entry, the aforementioned Oslo, August 31st) and an intriguing premise involving lovers haunted by a shared childhood tragedy puts this one on my must-watch list. Starring one of Scandinavia's most celebrated actresses Maria Bonnevie.
I could go on about how luscious the trailer looks, how interesting a film about a famous euthanasia case can be or how capable a director Marco Bellocchio is, but really...
Isabelle Huppert in Dormant Beauty
...if this woman’s presence doesn’t sell you on a movie, what will?
Relatively speaking, Terrence Malick’s newest film is coming to Toronto with little buzz but I’m as intrigued as ever. What does the short time he took between Tree of Life and this film suggest? Is he less rigorous now that his magnum opus is finally out of the way, or has this one been marinating in some way for years? If so, where in his career trajectory does it fit? Should we expect an outright romance or romantic only in the Badlands sense? And what is Rachel McAdams doing working with all these high profile auteurs?
Cheating again since response to the film is all over the internet from festivals elsewhere, but I’ve tried my best to avoid all spoilers. All I know is that a) it has taken everyone by surprise and b) I’m a sucker for mind-bending thrillers. Word on the street is that it fits the “sexy and provocative” billing of the Vanguard program perfectly.
The unknown cast of Foxfire
5. Foxfire
Fans of France's Best Foreign Film nominee The Class (which you'll remember Nathaniel was deeply in love with in 2008) will be delighted to see that Laurent Cantet’s long-awaited follow-up to his Palme d’or winning film has finally arrived. Adapted from the acclaimed novel of the same name, Foxfire follows a girl gang in New York City in the 50s. The cast is made up of first timers, but if there’s one director you can trust with young, inexperienced actors, The Class promises that it's Cantet!
Who would have thought that Derek Cianfrance would go from a piercing marital drama straight to a genre piece about a stunt motorcyclist? But it’s hardly a curve in the road surprise that he’s taken his Blue Valentine lead along for the ride. Has he been watching Ryan Gosling in Drive.
Ryan Gosling in The Place Beyond the Pines
Scott McGehee and David Siegel don’t get enough credit for giving us some of most provocative films of the past two decades. This time, the duo behind Suture and The Deep End have directed the foxiest bitch diva in the world in this film about a young girl who’s caught in the middle of her parents’ divorce. Julianne Moore, an aging rock star, is the young girl's mother.
I very rarely read a screenplay before watching the film, but I’ve read this one three times over. It’s as funny, witty and poignant as McDonagh’s last film (In Bruges) and takes even more surprising turns along the way. Its unimprovable (on paper) cast includes Colin Farrell, Woody Harrelson, Christopher Walken and Tom Waits.
What more can we ask for?
1. At Any Price
The title of this film might as well refer to what I’m willing to pay to see it at the first screening. Ramin Bahrani is one of my favourite directors, having made three, dare I say, masterpieces in the past decade and he’s back behind the camera after a long hiatus. His previous features were modest but touching immigrant stories featuring amateur actors so the news that he’s cast the likes of Zac Efron and Dennis Quaid in his new film was a major surprise. Given the strength of his previous work, however, there’s little reason to think his intimate directorial touch won’t transfer to a more ambitious project.
(If you’re unfamiliar with the director’s work, a great place to start would be this piece by Team Experience’s very own Robert. Though almost three years old, it hardly needs any updates since Bahrani has not made another film since.)
Dennis Quaid in At Any Price
(If you’re unfamiliar with the director’s work, a great place to start would be this piece by Team Experience’s very own Robert. Though almost three years old, it hardly needs any updates since Bahrani has not made another film since.)
That's my list of potential gems that await me. Have you perused the vast field. Which TIFF films are you most excited to read about... at least until you get an opportunity to see them ?
Reader Comments (11)
I could not be more fascinated by the prospect of back-to-back Malick's. How can it even compete with The Tree of Life (it can't), but will it compare with Badlands, Days of Heaven, The Thin Red Line, and The New World? Definitely the film that's highest on my "To Do" list this year.
Man oh man do I love the fall festival season.
I'm very excited about the Malick and Bahrani films. And I really hope that Huppert's other two 2012 festival films - the Hong Sang Soo and Brillante Mendoza collaborations (titles escape me for now) - show up in addition to Dormant Beauty. Also hope to see the new Alain Resnais film, among others.
Meanwhile, The Suicide Shop looks fascinating. It had not been on my radar until just now - thanks for pointing it out!
I was so excited to hear about a new Laurent Cantet film. The Class was brilliant.
Can't wait to hear about Seven Psychopaths and The Place Beyond the Pines as well.
Thanks for the Bahrani love; he's the most underrated young filmmaker today in my eyes.
A lot of these sound great! I'm looking forward to reading/seeing more about them once the festival has started.
I have seen "Barbara" and liked it quite a lot. It's not a "big" film, but it stayed with me for quite some time after seeing it.
Another TIFF film I'm really interested in (and which would probably make a nice double bill with "Barbara") is Toke Constantin Hebbeln's "Wir wollten aufs Meer" (I'm not a fan of its cheesy English title: Shores of Hope).
http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2012/shoresofhope
The plot might sound a bit depressing, but man, that cast! With August Diehl, Alexander Fehling and Ronald Zehrfeld (who's also in "Barbara") playing the leads, it's every German film fan's wet dream. ;)
Excited for Dormant Beauty and Foxfire.
Also what Sam Rockwell says about an eye for an eye in that Seven Psychopaths is the quote of the year. I don't need to see anything else. Not even Joss Whedon's dialogue can top that.
finally WHAT MAISIE KNEW debuts here! Also TO THE WONDER is tempting!
Two young Canadian film-makers have new films as well - Xavier Dolan - Lawrence Anyways. And a Sarah Polley doc - Stories We Tell.
Joseph - Stories We Tell came this close to making my list. I adore Sarah Polley.
As for Xavier Dolan, I've sworn off his films until he gets a writer who can match his talents as a visual director. Nothing I've read on Laurence Anyways has convinced me that he's any more mature this time around. I mean, I'll probably watch it eventually, but I'm in no rush.
Two words: HUPPERT. MALICK.
I`ve seen ´Shores of Hope´at the Munich Film Festival. It`s a really great, epic story with wonderful performances and. I literally cried my eyes out in the end. If you get a chance: Go and watch it! German filmmaking at its best!