Day 2 - Fri Sep 10
- I'm in a wee spot of trouble today. I'm already tired, one of my eyes was inflamed this morning (has since settled down), I have a blister on one of my heels as I transition to fall shoes and boots, at 10:35 am I was already into my stash of Bija chocolate (my chocolate of choice these days - organic, full of the good omega oils and minimally processed), and the waist on my cool skinny khakis is too big and I am on the verge of trucker butt every time I stand up. Oh well, me and my exposed crack will continue to forge onwards.
- I forgot to mention that last night when I was heading home, there was a police brigade on Yonge St. escorting a flatbed truck transporting a band playing a pretty hard version of Power to the People, most appropriate after having just seen Inside Job. When I went down to the subway, you could still hear the music echoing in the subway tunnel. Gotta luv Toronto sometimes.
- It's only a day and a half into the festival and I'm already fantasizing about tasering taxi drivers that don't know where they are going (or pretend not to), but especially the ADD/OCD idiots who can't stop checking their cell phones or PDA's throughout the movies; I mean honestly, can you really not put the friggin' devices away for a couple of hours - if you can't, you shouldn't be at a the movie; needless to say, I have politely been asking these people to chillax, but I'm not sure how long the "politely" will last.
- At the same time, I should add that sometimes I get a gem of a taxi driver, like this morning, with whom one can have a great conversation, and most of the people I sit beside at TIFF are wonderful and often talkative about their TIFF experiences. I'll try to suppress my thoughts of tasers.
Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhenhttp://www.tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2010/legendofchenzhen
Andrew Lau, Hong Kong In 1920s Shanghai, hero Chen Zhen single-handedly avenges his mentor’s death by killing all the Japanese at a dojo in Hongkou, only to be showered with bullets while making his legendary flying kick. Now, years later, Chen Zhen, who is believed dead, returns in disguise to infiltrate a criminal empire and to dismantle the evil collusion that plagues the country. | ContemplationsIn spite of the brutal violence (and there's plenty in this film), I am always up for a well-crafted Asian martial arts flick. One cannot help but to be in awe of the choreography of the fight scenes. I'm not usually a fan of movies that open with a sensory-blasting, action-overloaded sequence (because often the rest of the movie is downhill from there), but this one was so unique because of its storyline, that I could not help clapping and woo-hooing with the rest of the audience when it was over. More importantly, the rest of this film maintained the thrill-factor.
Perhaps this film was not on par with Crouching Tiger, but it was visually scrumptiously delicious. The seamless meshing of western and eastern elements contributed to the impact of the movie on the senses. And the good guys (the Chinese) vs the bad guys (the Japanese) storyline was well executed. I actually learned something about the politics of the time, especially in the opening scene where it is revealed that Chinese labourers were shipped to Europe to fight in World War I. Director Andrew Lau confirmed the historical authenticity of this during the Q&A. This film, which BTW, is the director's tribute to Bruce Lee (had Lee still been alive, he would have been 70 this year), is sure to get a wide release in North America and it's worth going to see even if just to hear my favourite line of the movie delivered by the lead to the femme fatale, "Go and don't come back or I'm going to have to kill you." And well, the ultra-buff lead, Donnie Yen, is pretty easy on the eyes. Prrrrrrrrrrrr. |
The Wayhttp://www.tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2010/way
Emilio Estevez, USA Martin Sheen plays Tom, an American doctor who comes to St. Jean Pied de Port, France to collect the remains of his adult son, killed in the Pyrenees in a storm while walking The Camino de Santiago. Driven by his profound sadness and desire to understand his son better, Tom decides to embark on the historical pilgrimage. Along the way he learns what it means to be a citizen of the world again and discovers the difference between “The life we live and the life we choose.” | ContemplationsYou might be surprised to learn that of all my TIFF choices this year, this film was perhaps my most anticipated. It's a subject matter that intrigues me because a few years ago I read a book about a Canadian woman's pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain and the story hooked me. The route is a gruelling 800 km through the Pyrennes. I've never wanted to run a marathon or climb Mount Everest, but the Camino de Santiago de Compostela holds some attraction for me. I'm hoping one of these days I will have the means, the endurance and the determination to venture on the arduous journey and perhaps take a friend or two with me.
Who knew that Brat Pack member Emilio Estevez would turn into such a gifted writer and director. First with Bobby, and now with this film, he has won my heart. Both he and his star and father, Martin Sheen, were at this world premiere and the pair are clearly sincere, grounded individuals with great respect and love for each other. Watching the chemistry between the two of them on stage was utterly endearing. This film is a road trip of a different kind, with Sheen's character encountering a cast of unusual characters along his journey and, despite what might seem like sombre subject matter, there are many, many moments of good humour. But it did stimulate my tear ducts many a time as well, especially a scene towards the end whose mystical and ethereal quality has ensured an enduring place in my memory banks. Estevez received permission only 48 hours before his last day of shooting to film in the final destination of the pilgrimage and the payoff is enormous. I am grateful to Estevez for reminding me that finding answers to one's questions is less important than asking the questions themselves. I like many focus far too much on the destination and not on the journey. |
Behind Blue Skieshttp://www.tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2010/behindblueskies
Hannes Holm, Sweden In Hannes Holm's beautiully crafted Behind Blue Skies, Bill Skargard stars as a young man on the cusp of manhood who escapes his troubled home to work at a summer resort, but somehow finds himself embroiled in one of the most scandalous criminal cases in 1970s Sweden in this affectionately mounted period piece based on actual events. | ContemplationsBehind Blue Skies is one of those movies that keeps you riveted, but you're just not really sure why. It's an interesting coming of age story based on real events. If I mention the crime involved it might spoil your viewing because for the first part of the movie, you just don't know where the story is going to land. If you are looking for a 70's fix, this is the movie for you. Sets and wardrobe are eerily authentic (guess Sweden was really not all that different from North America in the 70's).
Director Hannes Holm and his two lead actors were on hand for the Q&A, but I honestly don't recall any major revelations worth sharing. Still, a good time was had by all. |
Passion Playhttp://www.tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2010/passionplay
Mitch Glazer, USA When a jazz trumpeter is taken to the desert and a gun held to his head, we are at the beginning of a delightful fable about romance and dreams. When he meets a beautiful woman who works as the Bird Woman in a circus, he falls madly in love and persuades her to run away with him only to find that life is a little more complicated than simply living one's fantasies. | ContemplationsAs I approached the Ryerson Theatre for my last screening of the day, there was major red carpet buzz. I had forgotten who was in the film until I heard photographers screaming out, "Megan, Megan, look this way." Oh yeah, Megan Fox. But once inside, when director Mitch Glazer invited the cast on the stage it was like, oh yeah, Megan Fox and Mickey Rourke and Bill Murray and Kelly Lynch (the director's wife, BTW). So this was quite the star-studded screening.
Glazer had waited twenty years to make this film, so it was a real labour of love for him and Rourke and Murray are personal friends of his. It's most definitely an odd story as you can read from the TIFF description to the left. Bird Woman, refers to the fact that the woman has wings, though she is not an angel. Or is she? Unfortunately, the most interesting discussion during the Q&A is about the ending, and I don't want to ruin the ending twist. Only the director participated in the Q&A, but I did want to say that Fox and Lynch are both stunning in person, but frankly and sadly, both looked as though they starve themselves to stay thin. Rourke looked pretty darned good (compared to his appearance in The Wrestler). But I will forever be nostalgic about the way he looked in 9 1/2 Weeks. |