Day 4 - Sun Sep 12
- Early Sunday mornings can be positively blissful in Toronto - the screaming sirens, the drenching humidity, and a looney tune picking up litter, tossing it at passers-by and then drizzling a can of beer around the streetcar shelter to which I had retreated. There's also the bustling shop owners in Chinatown putting their wares on the stalls outside, the gracefulness of the AGO's exterior lines, the serenity of the iconic Henry Moore at its helm, and last, but not least, the stoners who never made it home the night before guzzling their morning water and spitting on the street. Yes, I love the smell of napalm in the morning. :)
- I actually had a big enough gap in my schedule in the late afternoon to slip home and have a power nap. I had also wanted to check out TIFF's street party in celebration of the opening of the Bell Lightbox. Although the party was to have started an hour before I arrived, there was nothing going on except bottle-necked traffic. I'm sure it was eventually going to get rocking, but people like me have movies to see!
Windfallhttp://www.tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2010/windfall
Laura Israel, USA After wind turbines are proposed for installation in upstate New York, the community’s excitement turns to suspicion over what the project entails. This eye-opening story exposes the dark side of wind energy development and the potential for financial scams. | ContemplationsWindfall was a destination film for me. I ensured that this documentary made it into my schedule. I occasionally run outdoors along the lakeshore, and the wind turbine there is a landmark for me - it becomes the marker for my first and fourth quarter sections of my run. And I can't help wondering why the entire lakeshore, with its phenomenal wind force, is not lined with turbines. So I was curious about a movie that was going to expose the dark side of wind energy.
This film was indeed incredibly informative and just really, really well done from the characters to the cinematography to the killer music. But it was really disheartening to discover that there are many dark sides to wind energy. Of course there are - energy is in the hands of privatized companies these days. So the next time you're thinking about putting up a windmill on your property or on top of your condo, do the research. The larger-sized monstrosities create destructive low frequency noise, mega-vibrations and cause the lungs of bats who fly near them to explode. Director Laura Israel, who lives in the New York county featured in her film, was on hand to discuss how she tried to tackle the subject as objectively as possible and how the film was done on a part-time basis while she and her crew worked day jobs. It was well worth it. The film is incredibly well polished. |
The Conspiratorhttp://www.tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2010/conspirator
Robert Redford, USA While an angry nation seeks vengeance, a young union war hero must defend a mother accused of aiding her son in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. | ContemplationsOkay, I confess, one of the reasons for selecting The Conspirator was on the off-chance that Robert Redford might be at the screening. Yes, the crush I developed on him in the 80's has never waned. And the fact that my last paramour looks a little like him (although I've always said he was better-looking than Redford) may not have been a random coincidence. Unfortunately, Bob and his cast and crew stood up the audience. I guess I'll have to go to Sundance some day to see him.
As always, Redford chose a subject about injustice and the flaws in the American legal system. Robin Wright plays the mother of one of the men involved in the conspiracy to assassinate Lincoln. The son escapes before capture, but his mother is arrested and tried. This courtroom drama was a bit of a snooze fest. Me and the woman beside me took turns yawning. But the performances of Wright, James McAvoy and the rest of the cast are pitch perfect. It was actually rather odd, I must say, that so much of the cast was British playing American. But it worked. And the climax of the movie is where the big payoff is. |
Beginnershttp://www.tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2010/beginners
Mike Mills, USA When his seventy-one-year-old father (Christopher Plummer) comes out of the closet, Oliver (Ewan McGregor) must explore the honesty of his own relationships. From the director of Thumbsucker. | ContemplationsThumsucker was a very interesting flick, so when its director had a new movie in the fest, I was drawn to it - that and the fact that Ewan McGregor was one of the principal cast members, along with Christopher Plummer.
Beginners is a really poignant love story interspersed with the recollections of McGregor's character's memories of his family life, in particular the last years he spent with his father who came out of the closet at 71. There are actually several love stories masterfully intertwined in this movie, including a hilarious storyline with McGregor and his dad's Jack Russell. And, on the whole, the dialogue is just so darned wonderful. Mike Mills and lead actress Mélanie Laurent as well as some of the other supporting actors were on hand (drat - no McGregor, who is apparently shooting in Scotland). Mills shared how the inspiration for the story came from his own life - his father came out of the closet in his 70's, much to Mills' surprise. The film does not yet have a distributor, but fingers crossed as this was such a satisfying movie on so many levels. |
Blamehttp://www.tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2010/blame
Michael Henry, Australia A group of young vigilantes seeking revenge for a sexual betrayal fall far from grace. When the truth is out, they find themselves on the dark side of justice. | ContemplationsWho can resist a good Aussie flick. I still attend, annually, Ozflix, Toronto's modest Australian film festival, and I am never disappointed. For the most part, I'll pick an Australian film over a Canadian one any day. Sorry, Canada.
In Blame, a bunch of young adults kidnap and sort of attempt to kill a music teacher they feel is responsible for the suicide of one of their mates. But their plan for vengeance goes wrong, over and over again. I was on the edge of my seat throughout the film, except for a couple of times when I jumped out of my seat, and the ending pulls out a couple of tricks as well. Director Michael Henry and a number of his producers were on hand for the Q&A. He's been working on the script for about 10 years and finally pulled together the financing. The actors of this ensemble cast were mostly from an Australian theatre school and they did an admirable job. |
Tamara Drewehttp://www.tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2010/tamaradrewe
Stephen Frears, UK Based on Posy Simmonds’ beloved graphic novel. When Tamara Drewe returns to the village of her youth, life for the locals is thrown upside down. Tamara – once an ugly duckling – has been transformed and is now a minor celebrity. As infatuations, jealousies, love affairs and career ambitions collide among the inhabitants of the neighbouring farmsteads, Tamara sets a contemporary comedy of manners into play. | ContemplationsI find that Stephen Frears' films can be hit and miss for me, so I was disappointed when I did not get into the one and only (not sure what that is about) screening of Clint Eastwood's new film, Hereafter, whose storyline is right up my alley.
But Tamara Drewe turned out to be quite fun, often delightfully silly and was topped with a dollop of black comedy. And, the storyline was sort of up my alley too, as it pokes fun at frustrated writers at a writers' retreat. There's lots of giggles, but it's not the ingenue who plays Tamara that steals the show. Rather it's a young teenage girl who plays a wannabe rock star groupie that deservedly garners all the belly laughs. Frears was on hand for the Q&A and he started with a tribute to master French filmmaker, Claude Chabrol, who passed away today. But then, the tone of the question session turned to one of great levity and Frears was his usual witty and humourous self. I've seen him turn nasty on a TIFF crowd in the past, but he behaved himself tonight. |