TIFF - part deux

I admit that I selected Blue Valentine predominantly because it stars Ryan Gosling (we've got to cheer for the Canadian boy from Breaker High who made good) and Michelle Williams (what can I say - I am a die hard Dawson's Creek fan). While one might question my motives for selecting the film, please do read on. Blue Valentine was a really heartbreakingly sweet film that simultaneously tells the story of a couple falling in love and falling apart. Moments from the present - an evening spent in a theme motel in hopes of rekindling a flame - are interspersed with flashbacks from when the couple met and started dating. The emotion between the onscreen couple is palpable. Williams and Gosling are utterly convincing in their roles. The film is true to life in it's exploration of the build up and break down of a relationship.

Based on Ned Vizzini's 2006 semi-autobiographical novel, It's Kind of a Funny Story is absolutely worth watching. This is the story of Craig (Keir Gilchrist), a depressed teen who is flirting with the idea of suicide. After a particularly troubling morning where he can imagine exactly how he'll kill himself, Craig decides to go to the hospital, and convinced he'll harm himself, checks himself into the psych ward. Thinking that there will be a quick fix, Craig is shocked to learn that he has to stay in the hospital for five days. He adjusts to his new surroundings with the help of Bobby (Zach Galifianakis and a pretty girl his age, Noelle (Emma Roberts). A dark comedy, the film is understated. There are some very funny and very true-to-life moments.

Even the Rain stars Gael Garcia Bernal as Sebastian, a filmmaker who takes a crew and actors to Cochabamba, Bolivia to make a film about Columbus' first trip to the New World and the resulting subjugation of indigenous peoples. Sebastian and his producer, Costa (Luis Tosar) have decided to make the film in Bolivia because they can hire extras very cheaply, thus exploiting these peoples, in a manner that draws striking parallels to the themes in the film they are making. The backdrop to Even the Rain is the mounting conflict over water in Bolivia. One of the Bolivian actors hired to act as a leader in a rebellion in the film is also a leader in his own community fighting against the government's decision to privatize water. This film is an interesting exploration of the exploitation of Latin America by richer nations.  As an aside, this was the only film that we saw in the TIFF Lightbox, and I have to say - it was fantastic! The seats are super comfy, and the sound is great.

The Girl in the Yellow Boots. I'd skip it. The storyline started off has having some promise but became convoluted and extraneous, with a number of plot threads going absolutely nowhere. In this film, we follow the story of a girl named Ruth who is trying desperately to find her father, and who has gone to India specifically to do so. Ruth works as a massage therapist, and makes extra money by offering her clients a happy ending. This extra money is stolen by some guys that her thug boyfriend owes money to. I think this film is supposed to be an exploration of what it is to be a biracial person, searching for identity.I don't think it passes muster. I left the film disappointed.

The best thing about A Beginner's Guide to Endings was that it was set in Niagara Falls. It was a sort of fantastic tale about five brothers dealing with the death of their gambling father (played by Harvey Keitel). The brothers are all fairly crazy, and in the wake of their dad's passing, learn through his will, that the drugs that they took as teens to make money (one of their dad's harebrained schemes) caused serious heart troubles. The film follows each brother as he sets out to confront his own mortality. There are some very charming moments, particularly between Jacob and Todd, as they set out to do all of the daring things that Jacob has never had the guts to do. I'd call it mediocre at best.

The last film of our festival was Never Let Me Go, now in theatres. Based on the Booker-nominated novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, this film is melancholic in feel. I've not read the book, and  feel that I may appreciate it more than the film. This is not to say that I didn't enjoy the film - I did - but felt that some of the subtleties and connections between characters were not as strong as they could have been. Bleak and haunting, this film tells the story of Kathy (Carey Mulligan), Tommy (Andrew Garfield) and Ruth (Keira Knightly). Narrated by Kathy, this film is perhaps an elegy for this trio of characters that we come to know, people who are robbed of an opportunity to live their lives, fulfil their dreams and yearnings.

TIFF - part une

It's October, and TIFF is long gone, but it is my custom to write reviews of the films I've seen. This year, I watched ten films with my gal pal Pam. We both had busy schedules this year, and had to squeeze our films into 4 days, which meant one 14-hour day of films. Despite the frenetic pace of it, I wouldn't miss TIFF and have dreams of watching 50 films once I am retired.

This year, our TIFF started off with West is West, a sequel to a film called East is East that came out in 2000. Pam hadn't seen East is East, so we rented it in preparation. In East is East, viewers are introduced to George Khan, a Muslim Pakistani fellow living in the UK who runs a fish & chips shop with his English wife. He very much expects his children to comply with his way of thinking and as such, sets out to arrange a marriage for his eldest son, only to be shamed publicly when his son runs out during the ceremony and doesn't return. In East is East, we watch George struggle to try and have some control over his family. His children see themselves as Brits, and reject their father's way of thinking.

In West is West, the Khan family is back, and the focus is on the youngest boy, Sajid. In East is East, Sajid was shown to be a bit of a shy fellow who wore a hooded parka for comfort. In this film he is ten years older, and is getting bullied at school frequently, causing him to skip classes and get into trouble. Mr. Khan won't settle for this and decides to take Sajid to Pakistan to teach him a few lessons. Upon doing so, it is revealed that Mr. Khan has a first wife and family that he abandoned some three decades ago. George battles with his share of ghosts, trying to reconcile himself with his past actions. Sajid feels out of place, and balks at his new surroundings, until his father puts him in the hands of a wise fellow who teaches Sajid some life lessons. Like East is East, this film deftly deals with discovery of cultural identity and the challenges faced by the Khan children who have grown up in a western society, but whose roots lay in the east. This film is filled with dry, witty moments. It's definitely worth watching.

Let Me In was the second film of the day. I admit I chose this film because Julian Schnabel's latest, Miral, was sold out. The girl next to me in line suggested Let Me In. This film is based on the Swedish novel Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Linquist and on the eponymous Swedish film adaptation made in 2008. This film is about a 12-year-old boy named Owen who is often bullied at school. Played by Kodi Smit-McPhee, Owen is a rather quiet and brooding boy, whose parents have split up. He spends a lot of time on his own, and first encounters Abby outside of his apartment. The two strike up a kinship quickly, despite the fact that Abby is not your average kid. She tries to make this apparent to Owen, but she is drawn to him, and he to her. This movie is in theatres now, and is worth the watch. It's not the type of vampire movie that has become de rigeur of late (read: the Twilight saga). My pal Dan watched this one with us and had seen the original, which he preferred. This is worth a watch. The story is compelling, and these kids are strong actors.

I Am Slave was one of the highlights of TIFF for me. This film was beautifully made, perfect in pacing, well-acted and utterly compelling.  Wunmi Mosaku plays Malia brilliantly. Young Malia grows up in Sudan, and is exceptionally close to her family. Her father is a champion wrestler who loves his daughter dearly. Malia's world is torn apart when she is kidnapped and sold as a slave in Khartoum. She does domestic work for an Arab family who do not allow her to have any contact with the outside world. She is treated harshly, and this treatment continues when she is sent to London to work for a relative of the family that has enslaved her. She is without a passport, and without anyway to reach out to her family or the outside world. Adding to the gravity of this film is the fact that is based on the life of Mende Nazer, who was enslaved in the UK.

While I am talking about TIFF highlights, I'll mention Sarah's Key. This was another beautiful film, starring Kristin Scott Thomas (Julia Jarmond), who I quite like. A little told tale of the Holocaust, this film focuses on the French government rounding up Jewish inhabitants and sending them off to camps. The tale begins with Sarah Starzynski (played by Mélusine Mayance), a young girl who decides to lock her little brother into a closet in order to protect him when the French authorities come round to collect her family and send them away. Little Sarah does not realize the gravity of the situation, or that in protecting her brother, she is sealing his fate. She and her parents are taken to a camp. In a haunting scene, her father breaks down as he comes to understand what will happen to his son locked in the closet. Little Sarah becomes determined to escape and save her brother. We follow her story in flashbacks as Julia (Kristin Scott Thomas), a journalist tries to uncover the story of French Jews who were sent to camps. As the story continues, we see the tie between the apartment that has bee in Julia's husband's family and young Sarah.  Sarah's Key is somber story, but absolutely compelling. It is a must-see.

Six more mini reviews to come.

i heart...

Last week, I watched a really sweet film called No Heart Feelings. While the film is very much about relationships and friendship - specifically a break up, and the post break up tribulations we all face - it is also an ode to Toronto. The film is shot in the city, and unapologetically so. This is not Toronto masquerading as an American city. Spots like Aunties & Uncles, OCAD and 401 Richmond are shown, as are galleries, parks and familiar streetscapes. It's so pleasant to watch a film set in this city, about this city. (Another such film is This Movie is Broken, which has a requisite great soundtrack given that a free BSS concert held during last summer's City strike is central to the movie.)

Asheville, NC

Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.

                                                                                                                                  - Mahatma Gandhi

Today, I watched the documentary Prom Night in Mississippi - with the apt tag line "nothing changes until you do". I had been wanting to watch it since hearing an interview with the filmmaker on the radio last year. It's hard to believe that in this day and age, a high school in Mississippi was having separate proms for its students. It seems that it took Morgan Freeman and a documentary crew for the students, school, and school board to recognize that this was an archaic notion - and still some parents wouldn't let their children attend. The idea that prom ought to be integrated was too much for some of the parents to take. Some parts of this documentary were eye opening for me.  In theory, I understood that there are some attitudes that remain prevalent in parts of the southern US. But, I couldn't quite wrap my head around the reality.  This doc is definitely worth watching. 


Next up on my list: The Bodybuilder and I. This was a very compelling doc about a 59-year-old bodybuilder competing to be the top of his age category. The person documenting this quest is his 26-year-old son.  While this is indeed a documentary about bodybuilding, this is secondary to the filmmaker's own narrative, as he tries to come to terms with the fact that his father abandoned him when his parents divorced. Through the process of making the doc, he strives to come to terms with his anger, to know his father, and to find a way to forgive, and move forward. 

let the vision of art heal

When I was in London in 2007, I discovered this Ben Okri poem at City Hall. The words resonated with me, and I continue to think about the phrase "let the vision of art heal". What would we do without poets and storytellers - visual and otherwise? This art, found on the streets of NYC, appealed to me. What better place than a wall, to start a dialogue?

One of the magic centres
Of the world;
One of the world's
Dreaming places.
Ought to point the way
To the world.
Here lives the great music
Of humanity
The harmonisation of different
Histories, cultures, geniuses,
And dreams.
Ought to shine to the world
And tell everyone
That history, though unjust,
Can yield wiser outcomes.
And out of bloodiness
Can come love
Out of slave-trading
Can come a dance of souls,
Out of division, unity;
Out of chaos, fiestas.
City of tradition, conquests,
And variety;
City of commerce and the famous river,
Tell everyone that the future
Is yet unmade.
Many possibilities live in your cellars.
Nightmares and illuminations.
Boredom and brilliance.
Tomorrow's music sleeps
In undiscovered orchestras,
In unmade violins,
In coiled strings.
Spring waits by the lakes,
Listening to the unfurling daffodils.
Summer lingers with the hyperborean worms,
Awaiting an astonishing command
From the all-seeing eye of Ra.
Tomorrow's music sleeps
In our fingers,
In our awakening souls,
The blossom of our spirit,
The suggestive buds of our hearts.
Tell everyone the idea
Is to function together,
As good musicians would
In undefined future orchestras.
Let the energy of commerce flow.
Let the vision of art heal.
Technology, provide the tools.
Workers of the world
Re-make the world
Under the guidance of inspiration
And wise laws.
Create the beautiful music
Our innermost happiness suggests.
Delight the future.
Create happy outcomes.
And while Autumn dallies
With the West wind
And the weeping nightingales
And while Winter clears its sonorous throat
At the Antipodean banquets
Preparing for a speech of hoarfrost
And icicles conjured from living breath,
I want you to tell everyone
Through trumpets played with
The fragrance of roses
That a mysterious reason
Has brought us all together,
Here, now, under the all-seeing eye of the sun.


                             - Ben Okri, Lines in potentis