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Film is many things: entertainment, diversion, business. It is also art.

This statement made by Piers Handling, Director & CEO of the Toronto International Film Festival, is nothing if not a perfect summarization of what this substantial festival is all about. With a bevy of more than 300 films to see in a mere 10 days, it certainly is an all-consuming and daunting task for even the most devoted cinephile.

This was my first experience at TIFF. I saw 17 films in five days, an exhilarating and tiring five days to be sure. These were five days devoted entirely to cinema, my time immolated to view the world at 24 frames per second through the projector's incandescent light. It's an addictive thing, seeing this many movies in that short a time. I'll bet the average moviegoer doesn't see that many movies at the theater in one year alone.

My goal was to see as many films from around the world as time-and my stamina-would allow. For the most part I accomplished this goal, feeling like a laudable film aficionado. Yet upon boarding my plane to come home I had my regrets. Like Marlon Brando said to Al Pacino in The Godfather, "There just wasn't enough time." I could've seen more, but if I had would that have made for a more auspicious trip?

An inescapable effect from consuming this much cinema in a short period of time is the melding of one film into the next. I was comestible to the movies; devoured by them. The movies have always been a philter, holding some kind of power over me that I've never fully comprehended. I'm still not entirely sure if I understand this any more after Toronto, but my passion has not waned. I want more.

The Festival

The festival began 33 years ago, the brainchild of three people: Dusty Cohl, Bill Marshall and Henk van der Kolk. Cohl passed away earlier this year. This year's festival was in memory of the iconic figure in Toronto cinema.

A new venue was added this year. The AMC Toronto Life 24 theater provided a large venue (10 screens were used for TIFF) and added to the discontent of moviegoers who prefer a less corporate feel to the event. Toronto has no shortage of movie houses. The others used for the festival included The Scotia Bank (another corporate behemoth complete with video games, multiple food outlets and an IMAX screen), Varsity, Cumberland, VISA screening room (Elgin), Roy Thomson Hall, Isabel Bader Theatre, Jackman Hall - AGO, Ryerson Theatre (part of the university), Winter Garden Theatre, and Yonge and Dundas Square (where several music shows were put on). This is an expansive festival that requires a committed moviegoer to plan ahead and know locations to each theater.

Inescapable to even the casual moviegoer during TIFF was the Bell Lightbox, a state-of-the-art facility in the works, slated for a 2010 completion. The foundation for the building at the corner of King and John Streets on Reitman Square began in July of this year. Just looking at the plans and the skeletal framework that was being worked on throughout the festival was awe-inspiring. Bell Lightbox looks to be a film lover's dream. This complex will hopefully provide a sense of filmic comity that will only help TIFF, as well as unite movie lovers and students across the globe. According to Handling, it will be a truly global home for film. "We intend to turn Bell Lightbox into the most important destination in the world for film lovers through screening and learning programs that will fill its spaces," he stated.

Another notable fixture at the festival included the National Film Board of Canada. Located across the street from the Scotia Bank Theater, this awe-inspiring facility is another example of how important cinema is to the people of Toronto. I was impressed by the love of cinema permeating throughout this city. The people's passion was palpable.

Festival volunteers, easy to find with their bright green shirts, were everywhere and always willing to help. At the beginning of each film, audiences acknowledged the work of the festival volunteers with a rousing applause, only to be outdone by a series of "arrrrgggghhhs" once the anti-piracy warnings came on screen.

TIFF also provided a chance to see and hear from some amazing filmmakers and actors. The programmers did a fantastic job of monitoring Q & A's after nearly every screening. Highlights include seeing Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain), Rian Johnson (Brick), Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Pulse - the Japanese original), Fabrice Du Welz (Calvaire) and Kelly Reichardt (Old Joy). At the premiere for Brothers Bloom, I would be remiss to not mention I saw three actors I adore: Rachel Weisz, Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo. Though the film was a disappointment (maybe my expectations were too high given how much I loved Johnson's first film Brick so much) the evening was a hugely entertaining affair. Johnson has a long career ahead as he's certainly a great showman.

The festival was broken up in to 18 programmes, two of them new to the festival this year (Future Projections and Wavelengths - both experimental art-centric programmes). The more high profile screenings included Special Presentations (major films, stars and filmmakers), Gala (high-profile films with a major impact) and Masters (new work from the world's greatest filmmakers). The more niche-and I would argue more interesting-screenings included Discovery (provocative feature films by new and emerging directors), Vanguard (innovative filmmakers and bold films that challenge our social and cultural assumptions), Visions (filmmakers who challenge our notions of mainstream cinema) Contemporary World Cinema (annual snapshot of trends in global cinema) and Midnight Madness (shocking & rocking, films for the witching hour). Other programmes included a collection of films for the whole family, conversations with leaders in the film world, documentary features, Canadian films, dialogues between film artists and collections of short films.

The Films

"The Cinema, in all its manifestations, continues to weaves its spell," Handling stated in the official TIFF book. "Movies are ubiquitous: easy to find and, because of technology, easy to access. However, world cinema still struggles to find a home here, in this city [Toronto], on this continent. The single most important thrust of this organization is to give space and prominence to work from around the world, to open a door to other cultures, to shine a light on talent from elsewhere, and to provide a home for our own filmmakers."

The majority of my film diet at TIFF consisted of world cinema: Austria, Japan, Belgium, Finland, France, Greece, Germany, Italy, Brazil, and Australia. I saw four films from the United States as well. This is a festival where you can see films that will never see the light of day in America. Maybe on DVD, but it is no certainty.

So will any of the foreign or more obscure films I saw at TIFF be coming to Minnesota? Sadly, no, it seems. Senior Regional Publicist of Landmark Theatres (Lagoon, Uptown and Edina cinemas - the movie houses most likely to get the more obscure films from the festival) Hugh Wronski said many of the films in Toronto won't open here for a long time while others won't open at all. There is always the Walker Art Center, Oak Street Cinema, Heights Theatre, Parkway, or maybe the Riverview. I doubt those theaters will get these films either. That's a shame. Out of the 17 films I saw, three I didn't enjoy. I'd categorize only one as truly bad. So whether or not these come to theaters, make sure to look for them on DVD in the future if you're in search of some interesting films.

Seeing this many films in a short period of time, it's impossible to not compare one to the other. Reoccurring motifs, themes and patterns can be found. I was amazed how films at TIFF used water as a visual motif and opened and/or closed with a shot on water. Another (somewhat unfair) inescapable phenomenon with film festivals is the questioning of watching a movie you're not enjoying. You can't help but feel that another film at that time would have been a better choice. Every film needs to be judged on its own merits, though, so I stuck out each one with the hopes that even the bad choices would get better.

Five films stood out as special and great. Look out for these amazing titles if they come to Minnesota theaters. They will undoubtedly be on DVD within a year. They are:

REVANCHE (Austria)
Dir. Götz Spielmann

Here is an example of a film that took me entirely by surprise. Knowing nothing of writer/director Spielmann's previous work I went in blind to this film, something so rare these days with the endless amount of movie coverage on the internet.

Revanche (a French/German term meaning both revenge and second chance) tells the story of Tamara (Irina Potapenko), a Ukrainian prostitute, and Alex (Johannes Krisch), her boss' errand boy. They are in love, but must keep their relationship a secret, as employees are forbidden from romantic involvement. Believing life has more to offer, they want out. Alex devises a plan to rob a small bank, but Tamara refuses to let him do it alone. She insists on coming along, sitting in the car while Alex pulls it off. Suffice it to say, the robbery does not go as planned and the film's true narrative and themes arise during the 45-minute setup. This is a film that works best if you know very little.

The setup might seem a bit long, but the payoff makes clear that it's all necessary. The best comparison I can think of is Todd Field's In the Bedroom. Like that film, the narrative takes a sharp turn to a completely different place after a lengthy buildup and a big event that changes the lives of the main characters. This is a film of two halves.

Spielmann avoids going the obvious route with almost every plot and character detail. He takes what has already become a tired trend in American cinema and takes it to a new level. With its character overlapping and coincidences, I was worried this would be another Babel or Crash. But no, Revanche does not go down those roads. It's amazing how bad this film could have been in the wrong hands, but Spielmann makes it all work.

The opening shot is of a calm pond reflecting the woods. This calm is disturbed as something splashes in the water, a hint of what is to come. Revanche is a complex film that asks us to change sympathies with several characters and question who is doing the right thing. There are no easy answers, but the questions are fascinating, realistic and engrossing.

This film has yet to be picked up by an American distributor. Hopefully it is, as it could find an audience in the United States. It has been chosen as Austria's entry for the Foreign Language Oscar. Not to be missed.

Check out the trailer here.

 

VINYAN (France/Belgium/United Kingdom)
Dir. Fabrice Du Welz

A dark, very disturbing story about the slow disintegration of a marriage and a haunting allegory about parenthood-especially the differences between a father and mother and the way each deals with tragedy, loss and false hope-Vinyan is not for the faint of heart. Those familiar with writer/director Fabrice Du Welz's first film Calvaire (The Ordeal) know he's a gifted filmmaker with a love for the horror genre. Du Welz knows his horror, and is not ashamed to talk openly about his influences. Calvaire paid homage to Deliverance, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Straw Dogs and Psycho successfully while also delivering on shocks and disturbing imagery.

Du Welz, during a Q & A after the screening, told the audience he was inspired by the 1978 Spanish horror film Who Can Kill a Child? An audience member saw parallels to Lord of the Flies and it's hard to argue, despite Du Welz's admission that he never thought of that story while making the film. I saw several parallels to Apocalypse Now, especially in the climax and the story of people losing their minds while traversing a mysterious river. Anyone paying attention to horror films coming out of France in the last few years knows there is something special going in that region. This film delivers on the promise the director showed with his first film, and solidifies him as another important French genre filmmaker.

Vinyan is a story about a couple played by Dark City's Rufus Sewell and Emmanuelle Béart (in a great performance) living in Thailand not long after the tsunami of 2004. They lost their young son Joshua in the tragedy, but the body was never recovered so they (mainly Béart's character) cling to the hope he may still be alive. Once they see video footage of a child that may be Joshua, they set out to find him at all costs. This is an effective story of people going insane and not facing reality. Shooting on grainy 16mm (with immensely talented DP Benoît Debie who shot Calvaire and Gaspar Noe's Irreversible) and using the color red again (Du Welz loves to give his scenes a reddish hue, not unlike Michael Mann's love of blue) to symbolize a descent in to hell, this film will stay with you long after the credits roll. It has been bought by Sony Pictures, but as of right now there no release date. Keep your eyes open for this one if you like your cinema disturbing.

Check out the trailer here.

GOMORRAH (Italy)
Dir. Matteo Garrone

Fans of Fernando Meirelles' brilliant first film City of God (whose new film Blindness also played at the festival and will be released in theaters Sept. 26) will love this brutal and realistic exposé of Italy's most famous mafia organization, the Neapolitan Camorra. Based on the nonfiction novel by Roberto Saviano-for which the writer has gone in hiding and travels with bodyguards for revealing names of high-ranking officials in the organization-the film pares down the expansive tale in to five interweaving narratives that provide a kaleidoscopic portrait of present-day Naples. Winner of the Grand Prix at this year's Cannes Film Festival, Gomorrah is a violent tale that expands on the gangster genre.

Whereas City of God had a main character that was wholeheartedly sympathetic and gave the audience someone to care about, Gomorrah eschews that tactic and gives us nobody to truly like. This is an effective move by Garrone, showing the reality of these vicious gangsters. In one effective scene, gang leaders test the manliness of some young recruits by strapping them with bullet-proof vests and shooting them.

The five stories are all given proper treatment and length, though the film asks a lot from its audience. It's reminiscent of the HBO series The Wire in how the audience is thrown right in the middle of the story and has to catch-up to know who is who and what each character is doing. An adolescent boy hoping to become a man by joining the local gang; a man who delivers payments to families with relatives in prison; a businessman trying to dispose of toxic waste; a pair of arrogant and ambitious thugs unprepared for the consequences of their actions; and a high-fashion tailor who goes in to business with shady Chinese rivals. These are the stories of Gomorrah, a gritty, powerful gangster drama that shows how far-reaching the mafia is in society. No release date yet, but it has been bought by IFC films, so look for it in early 2009.

Check out the trailer here.

THE WRESTLER (USA)
Dir. Darren Aronofsky

"All you need is a great performance and a lens." The words of director Darren Aronofsky before the screening rang true throughout this touching, funny and not-too-sentimental melodrama about an aging pro wrestler stuck in the past and trying to make up for his wrong deeds.

If the Mickey Rourke comeback hadn't already started with his great performance as Marv in Sin City (I would say it did), then it's begun now. The man has resurrected a fallen career of late, and with The Wrestler he has a character that is an example of art-imitating-life. This film has Oscar written all over it, most notably Rourke's lovely performance as Randy "The Ram" Robinson. In the eighties "The Ram" was one of the most popular wrestlers in the world. Twenty-five years later he is still doing the only thing he knows: wrestle other men for money. He finds himself scraping by, unable to make payments on his trailer and struggling with a "normal" job as a grocery store clerk, all the while holding on to the myth of his own celebrity.

After a heart attack he is told by doctors he can't wrestle. His attempt at a relationship with an aging stripper (Marisa Tomei - again unafraid to show her body onscreen much like last year's Before the Devil Knows You're Dead) gives him hope at something more. But it's his attempts at reconnecting with his estranged daughter (played by Evan Rachel Wood) that give the film its most heartbreaking scenes. Aronofsky never slips into easy sentiment, instead painting a portrait of a man stuck in his glory days (still playing Nintendo, listening to bad hair metal and keeping his own hair long and blonde).

Though he could never be accused of making the same film twice, his first three films - Pi, Requiem for a Dream and The Fountain - shared similarities in tone, pacing and style. They were unmistakably the work of a singular filmmaker with a specific vision. This is a departure for Aronofsky from his depressing, thought-provoking and mind-bendingly stylish previous works. His last film The Fountain was not received well by audiences and most critics (though I love it immensely), so it makes sense that he would make a stripped-down drama to please audiences and draw the Academy. The Wrestler is by far Aronofsky's most conventional story. He still uses Clint Mansell for his score (who called on former Guns n' Roses guitarist Slash, a brilliant touch), though it is much more subtle than in Pi, Requiem for a Dream and The Fountain. This is also the first film that Aronofsky didn't employ cinematographer Matthew Libatique. His brilliance with composition and camera tricks is missed, but not necessary for The Wrestler. The film is instead shot in a documentary style with a good deal of handheld camerawork.

Part Rocky, part Raging Bull; The Wrestler won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and received huge applause from the audience at TIFF. This looks to be the film that will put Aronofsky in the mainstream and Mickey Rourke back on the map.

No trailer online yet, but you will see it soon in theaters. Release date December 2008.

 

LINHA DE PASSE (Brazil)
Dirs. Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas

Another film that came out of nowhere that I loved immensely; the best film I saw at TIFF. While I'm familiar with Walter Salles' previous films The Motorcycle Diaries (about the early days of Che Guevera) -a film I love-and his misguided attempt at an American remake of a Japanese horror hit, Dark Water, this film was off my radar. This is the best example of what a film festival can do: bring an audience to a film that has received little to no press.

Reuniting from their previous efforts co-directing Foreign Land, Midnight and a segment of Paris, je t'aime, Salles and Thomas weave a beautiful portrayal of Brazil's largest city São Paolo. A story similar to Visconti's Rocco and His Brothers. A single mother struggles to raise her four sons in the city. There's Dario, a gifted soccer player who hopes to make it professional; Dinho, who works at a gas station and takes his Catholicism very seriously but also begins to question his faith; Denis, the oldest son, lives life moment by moment while trying to raise a son; and Reginaldo, the youngest son who rides the bus everyday hoping to find his father he's never met.

All of the characters are beautifully realized. You get to really know these people, and I wanted to spend more time with each of them. There are scenes of great family humor followed by scenes of grief. This film made me appreciate the struggles of being a mother; I was almost compelled to call my mother and thank her for putting up with me.

The film looks beautiful, something I've come to expect from Salles. Both directors pull off the daunting task of fully portraying a family of compelling characters; editing between each story successfully. The final 20 minutes is where the story really comes together as the fate of this family is hinted at, but not set in stone. Some will be redeemed, others will be lost. An absolute must-see film. No release date announced yet.

Check out the trailer here.

Other good films to look out for:

Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Tokyo Sonata, a departure from usual horror films. The film is about a Japanese man who loses his job, but decides to lie to his family and pretend to go work every day. The ending is beautiful, and I really had no idea where the film was heading right up to the conclusion. Check out the trailer here.

My introduction to prolific French director Claire Denis was a good one. Her film 35 Rhums (35 shots of rum) was a touching homage to Ozu and featured a wonderful score by Tindersticks that felt like a perfectly realized combination of Nick Drake and Jon Brion, giving the film the right amount of melancholy.

Kelly Reichardt's follow-up to her wonderfully simple film Old Joy sees her continuing with small films. Wendy and Lucy is like The Bicycle Thieves, but instead of a bike gone missing, we have Wendy's (Michelle Williams) dog Lucy. This is a story showing how many Americans are struggling just to get by.

Director Antti-Jussi Annila evokes Tarkovsky's Stalker somewhat in Sauna, a horror film from Finland. The setting is Finland 1595. Brutal wars have come to end with an uneasy peace treaty between Protestant Sweden and Orthodox Russia. The story deals with guilt, sin and redemption and features some frightening moments. Check out the trailer here.

Tale 52 is a low-budget Greek film from writer/director Alexis Alexiou. This is a claustrophobic film, taking place almost entirely in the main character's apartment. The film is in the vein of David Lynch as it effectively puts the audience in the head of Iasonas, a man struggling to comprehend why his relationship with Penelope failed. Check out the trailer here.

The Midnight Madness portion of the festival provided a lot of gory fun. Australian film Acolytes was a good horror movie with a nice twist near the end, even if it director Jon Hewitt relied on loud, cheap scares far too often. The Burrowers is an example of a successful genre hybrid of a western and monster horror. And finally, Jean-Claude Van Damme gives the performance of his career as...wait for it...himself. JCVD is a mostly well-done examination of celebrity as the Muscles from Brussels is taken hostage in a botched post office heist. A lot of fun, even if you hate Van Damme. Scheduled for a limited release in November. Check out the trailer here.

The disappointments were few. As I mentioned, I only hated one film: Plastic City, a bizarre and nonsensical hybrid of samurai, gangster and bad drama. This movie somehow wastes the great Anthony Wong (Infernal Affairs) in a pointless attempt at a gangster film mixed with pretentious philosophy. This movie started off bad right from the start with opening credits reminiscent of David Fincher's Panic Room, and then only got worse. It gets more and more bizarre as it goes, one ridiculous thing after another: raw egg yoke used as lubricant for sex, a major character fights a water bed, a gang battle turns into a anime-style battle that looks horribly cheesy and was unintentionally hilarious. Just when you think the director is going somewhere with the plot (I use the word loosely) he inexplicably throws in some free-running and parkour stunts that have nothing to do with the movie at all.

If you can see 17 movies in five days and only hate one, I call that a successful festival. Maybe next time I will actually experience other things the city has to offer, but I was happy watching movies all day long. In a festival that is touted as a celebrity-filled kick-off to awards season (aka the time of year we're apparently ready to watch "serious films") I was surprised by how much the affair was about the films first and foremost. It was a delight to see enthusiastic actors and directors talk about their work. Even more exciting was the discussion amongst audience members before and after the films. People attended TIFF to be moved and taken over by cinema. The discussion was intelligent and I enjoyed talking with strangers about what they'd seen and what they thought of certain films.

The hype surrounding the Toronto International Film Festival is justified, and the mission of the programmers (at least in my mind) was accomplished with flying colors. I was introduced to new filmmakers and storytelling techniques. My understanding of world cinema grew immensely. I have even more filmmakers' back catalogues to see now. That's a good problem to have. With this early glimpse at what's in store for the fall and winter movie season I can say it looks to be a slightly weaker year than last, but 2007 was the strongest year in film since 1999 so a minor drop-off in quantity of good, thought-provoking works is nothing to complain about.