Must See Films from the Toronto Film Festival

The 2009 Toronto International Film Festival or TIFF as it is now known as, concluded earlier this month. One of our Cannes favourites, PRECIOUS, picked up the People’s Choice Award and a deserved winner it is too.

Clare Binns, our programming chief, has kindly given us access to her TIFF report and generously agreed to let me blog a few of the highlights. So here, in alphabetical order, are ten must see films we hope will be coming to a Picturehouse cinema in the not too distant future.

Synopses are lifted from the TIFF brochure, Variety, Screen International.

AHEAD OF TIME (Bob Richman) (USA)
Synopsis: History has many unsung chroniclers, but perhaps none has been eyewitness to as many of the modern world’s pivotal events as Ruth Gruber. Now ninety-seven, Gruber has been unswerving in her drive to capture her experiences in print and photos so that the public might grasp the meaning and repercussions of actions far from home.
Born in 1911 in Brooklyn, Ruth Gruber was a feminist before she even knew the word. Driven by a relentless intellectual curiosity, she moved to Germany to study and became the world’s youngest Ph.D. holder at the age of twenty. She also witnessed the rising tide of Nazism during those years, which drove her to become a foreign correspondent and photojournalist. In 1935, she was the first journalist to enter the Soviet Arctic, writing a bestselling book about her experience there.

Comments: How great it would be if we could show films like this and people were daring enough to come and see them. No earth shattering story, stars or budget, but a fascinating woman who has lead a wonderfully rich life, has a story to share and 97 years worth of experience to pass on to us. Terrific!

THE BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL NEW ORLEANS (Werner Herzog) Nicholas Cage (USA)
Synopsis: There has been tremendous speculation ever since news broke that the incomparable Werner Herzog was mounting a remake of Abel Ferrara’s BAD LIEUTENANT. But the furore has proved unfounded, as Herzog’s film comes from a new script. The only resemblance to the original is that it portrays a cop whose moral compass is spinning from excessive drug use.
After severely injuring his back while saving a prisoner from drowning in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, homicide detective Terence McDonagh (Nicolas Cage) is promoted to lieutenant, prescribed painkillers and returned to active duty. A year later, he is addicted to both Vicodin and Cocaine. But his responsibilities to the force continue, and when a family of African immigrants is found massacred, Terence is handed the case by his superiors.

Comments: How much fun was this! A cracking good police story, with a fabulous performance from Cage and all the Herzog touches you would hope for, add the New Orleans setting and you have a terrific film.

CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY (Michael Moore) (USA)
Synopsis: IN CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY, Moore is working at the top of his game. The film explores a taboo question: what price does America pay for its love of capitalism? Years ago, that love seemed so innocent. Capitalism meant productivity and security. Now, as financial institutions run amok and families lose their savings, the American dream is looking more like a nightmare. Moore takes us into the lives of ordinary people whose worlds have been turned upside down by the economy, and goes looking for explanations in Washington, D.C., Wall Street and elsewhere. He pays careful attention to the 2008 bank bailout that occurred during the waning days of the Bush administration. Was this really the best hope for America, or just another money grab by the nation’s wealthiest?

Comments: More confident than he was with SICKO but should this have been the environmental film rather than Wall St? Still, some interesting facts emerge and there are some real laughs at the expensive of the rich, stupid and greedy people that got us into this mess. Again he spends a little too much time focusing on the US and, as with SICKO, he misguidedly holds Europe up as a beacon of excellence, which of course is laughable.

I AM LOVE (Luca Guadagnino) Tilda Swinton (Italy)
Synopsis: I AM LOVE moves through the cultivated world of a wealthy and distinguished industrial family. It is a film of ritual and order, centered on a massive Milanese mansion whose airy rooms convey the power and stature of the Recchi family. Servants glide up elegant staircases to serve dishes of gracefully prepared food to a family that has gathered to celebrate the birthday of its patriarch, the man who built this small empire.

The birthday sets the stage for all that is to follow. Handsome grandson Edoardo introduces his new girlfriend to the family; his sister, Elisabetta, presents a painting she has made to her grandfather; a young man who beat the unbeatable Edoardo in a race earlier in the day makes a surprise appearance on the doorstep; and finally, the grandfather announces his succession plan to his family. All of these events mark the beginning of a narrative that sees the carefully controlled, hyper-refined sphere of the Recchis come under increasing strain. Slowly but inexorably, a series of apparently small, almost innocuous, transgressions begins to unsettle the veneer of manners and etiquette. Edoardo’s parents’ relationship undergoes its first strains, the stranger that topped him in the race turns out to be a central character in the drama, and his sister’s life follows its own striking and separate path. Finally, the family business that is the source of all their wealth and comfort falls under siege.

Comments: Got a fantastic review in Screen International and became the film that everyone was talking about, and no wonder why – cinematic, intelligent, bold and with excellent central performance from Swinton. Has the brio of IL DIVO, but, without the complex backdrop of Italian politics, is much more accessible. The film is as dreamy and rich as the best of Visconti and captures the unreal world of an emotionally stunted aristocratic family on the brink of destruction. Wonderful, plus a fantastic score by the wonderful John Adams.

LOURDES (Jessia Hausner) Sylvie Testud (Australia/France/Germany)
Synopsis: Christine (Sylvie Testud) only acts pious so she can be taken on church trips. As she readily admits, she doesn’t get many chances to travel while stuck in a wheelchair (due to an illness that seems to be multiple sclerosis). Accompanied by a sceptical companion and surrounded by desperate souls seeking a miracle, Christine craves only company, and she’s not too discriminating. From disbelieving volunteers to zealous church matriarchs, she is willing to befriend anyone she comes into contact with, regardless of form or faith. Suffering from underdeveloped social skills, Christine fumbles her way through conversations, falling into one uncomfortable silence after another, but her smile never wanes.

Comments: With one of the best openings of any film of this festival, I loved this, Hausner has a really original style and this is a real treat for a more demanding audience, intelligent and questioning this is one of my favourite films of the festival. Below a quote from Screen International who put it better than I can. Great.
“Hausner with DoP Martin Gschlacht (also producing) displays a sure visual sensibility, with sparse framing and a pared-back, restrained approach. Nothing in Lourdes, from the souvenir shop to the stations of the cross and the candlelit Masses, is presented as you might expect. There is no real soundtrack, apart from the odd devotional hymn, a small jolt of Bach and the final, unforgettable, pilgrims farewell dance.”

THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS (Grant Heslov) George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey (USA)
Synopsis: Cassidy (Clooney) is a soldier who is part of a military unit called the First Earth Battalion, a group of super soldiers trained to don the cloaks of invisibility, run through wall and kill goats simply by staring at them.

Comments: A very entertaining ‘shaggy dog’ story – all the cast clearly enjoy themselves in this well written, slightly comic piece. Guardian readers everywhere will love it.

MICMACS À TIRE-LARIGOT (Jean–Pierre Jeunet) (France)
Synopsis: Drawing on one of France’s most popular screen stars, the incorrigible Dany Boon from the comedy mega hit Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis, as well as a cast of some of the country’s best-known actors, Jeunet turns on the afterburners in this searing piece of romantic filmmaking set against the storm clouds of warring arms dealers. Boon plays the role of Bazil, a man who was orphaned as a youngster when his soldier father was killed by a roadside bomb. Now working in a video store and trying to find his place in the world, Bazil is hit by a stray bullet in a freak drive-by shooting incident. Emerging from hospital, he finds himself jobless and penniless, but good fortune appears in the form of an ex-con, Tire-Larigot. The ingenious salvage artist ekes out a marginal existence living in a scrap dump together with a tirelessly good-humoured and resourceful group of misfits. Charmed and overwhelmed by the hospitality he receives, Bazil turns the dump into a warm underground home full of magical tools and sculptures made from discarded junk. Meanwhile, an opportunity to get even with the arms manufacturers who killed his father and left him with a bullet in the head keeps Bazil busy plotting sweet revenge.

Comments: This warm-hearted rose-tinted view of the world is not for everyone but the folksy, charm of Jeunet hit the spot for many at the festival.

THE ROAD (John Hillcoat) Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron (USA)
Synopsis: Along a dusty grey horizon, a father and son slowly plod. They push a shopping cart filled with their scant, grime-covered possessions – all that they have are a few tattered rags, a gun with two bullets and an unflagging love for one another.

Comments: Lots has been written about this, the first review on Variety ripped into it, but subsequent trade reviews were much more favourable (including a very positive review from Xan Brooks at The Guardian), so I went to the screening not sure what to expect. One of my favourite books of recent times, I found it hard to imagine how they could translate the almost poetic quality of Cormac McCarthy’s Pulitzer prize winning prose, into a Hollywood movie. Well, I think they have done a good job, the cinematography is stunning, and the sense of the horror and foreboding is captured perfectly. Most admirers of the book will not be disappointed.

A SINGLE MAN (Tom Ford) Colin Firth (USA)
Synopsis: In his first feature film, Ford continues along this rich and aesthetically complex pathway, using the recent history of the photographic image to tell a story both historical and bracingly contemporary. The setting is Southern California and our moment in time is officially the early sixties. We meet George Falconer (Colin Firth), a gay college professor, as he learns that his lover Jim (Matthew Goode) has died in a car wreck. Grief overwhelms him, and his “invisible status” in society begins to close in again. Suicide seems the best way out. But a mad night with Charley (Julianne Moore), his best girlfriend from England, and the unexpected attentions of an angora-sweater-clad young man make George think twice.

Comments: Trailing glory from Venice where Firth won top acting awards is this excellent debut. Every shot composed, every emotion put on the screen with care and attention, no nuance and detail left to chance. Ford clearly sees himself as a great director and although not quite there yet this is a big step in the right direction.

UP IN THE AIR (Jason Reitman) George Clooney (USA)
Synopsis: Based on the novel by Walter Kirn (who wrote Thumbsucker) Clooney plays Ryan Bingham a career transition consultant – essentially someone who fires people for a living. Ryan’s one real emotional investment is his mastery of business travel. His goal is to reach that elite echelon of travellers who have achieved the ten-million-mile mark.

Comments: Very entertaining, sharp satire, pertinent as with all the ‘corporate downsizing’ that is taking place at the moment but also with an emotional core that shows the cost of not engaging with the people you work with or indeed, fire. Clooney is terrific as the man who has built his life around travel and non-involvement. Without the predictable ending…this is a good meaty film, and an improvement on Reitman’s previous corporate-themed THANK YOU FOR SMOKING.