Hye’s Musings Blog

HyesMusings October 7, 2009

Small World Music Festival 2009

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Toronto has a great live music scene. The Small World Music Festival adds to this great scene by bringing artists from other parts of the world whose music some of us may otherwise won’t get to know and hear live. READ MORE

HyesMusings September 25, 2009

Getting to know…

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My other interview at TIFF this year was with director Sebastian Cordero and Martina Garcia (pictured right) from the film Rabia. The film is set in Spain’s Basque country area where we meet Jose Maria (Gustavo Sanchez Parra) and his girlfriend Rosa (Martina Garcia). She is the housekeeper for a very well-to-do family while Jose Maria is a construction worker… typical roles for Latin American immigrants in Spain. Jose Maria gets into a fight with his foreman, which results in a serious accident and he is forced to go into hiding. Not knowing where to go, he decides to hide in the attic of the house where Rosa lives and works.

From there the film takes a different tone. It gives us a look at the inside of a house, which at first glance, appears full of great things and happy people. The audience becomes a voyeur, like Jose Maria, and we start to figure out that all is not what it seems. The family is as dysfunctional as any other. Rosa is treated with kindness yet gets taken advantage of, which upsets Jose Maria who’s unable to do anything for her… One senses his desperation, anger and frustration. As time passes, Jose Maria is able to call the house from a separate phone line and continues his relationship with Rosa…

I enjoyed the film not only because it depicts Latin Americans in a more realistic way. But mostly I like that Cordero chose to have Jose Maria as a quiet observer; he has little dialogue. As he lives in seclusion in the attic, his body and facial expressions convey his “rabia” (anger) and decay. The camera work also enhances the experience… It’s as if we’re there with Jose Maria; seeing what he’s seeing and hearing what he’s hearing. The other thing that stood out for me was the house… it has a character of its own.

As I met with Sebastian Cordero and Martina Garcia after the premiere of the film, I began our short meeting by asking how the film was received here in Toronto. Both told me that film was well received. Cordero mentioned that many people can identify with the story and the characters. Even if the film is about immigrants and their experience, many of us have experienced frustration, anger and even alienation, like Jose Maria in the film.

Cordero described how filming took about seven weeks. The film was produced by Guillermo Del Toro and the Production Designer was Eugenio Caballero, who also worked with Del Toro on Pan’s Labyrinth. Caballero was in charge of creating the atmosphere in the house and make it another character in the film. When I asked him about distribution, Cordero said it was yet to be decided. He knows there’s an audience for the film and that its themes are universal.

Garcia was also quite excited about the film. She was telling me how the premiere went very well and people asked some very thoughtful questions. This film was the first time she worked with Cordero but she mentioned that she hopes to work with him again. They met at a film festival in Ecuador… Cordero said Garcia has a type of luminescence that translate great on film. Some time after this meeting, he offered her the part for this film. Garcia has been quite busy working on both sides of the globe. Co-productions are quite common these days, she said. She’s been filming in Spain, Colombia and Mexico. She hopes to film a film in English someday.

Hopefully, you will get to see this film. I’ll keep my eyes and ears open to see if it obtains distribution.

______________________________

Hye! Note: Thanks again to Sebastian and Martina for meeting with me… a lovely chat; muchas gracias! As well, thanks to Corrine Leo and the GAT staff for setting up this interview.

Photo by: Heidy M.

HyesMusings September 25, 2009

TIFF 2009 Spotlight: Gasper Noé’s ‘Enter The Void’

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This year, I was able to meet with some directors whose films were being shown at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). My first meeting was director Gaspar Noé, who was showing his film Enter the Void here. READ MORE

HyesMusings September 22, 2009

TIFF 2009 In Review Pt. 3

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Real to Reel

Having had the pleasure to write for TIFF’s Doc Blog again this year, I had a chance to see many documentaries. I wrote about a few on the blog already, so here is the list of what I saw.

L’Enfer D’Henri-Georges Clouzot (Dirs. Serge Bromberg and Ruxandra Medrea)

Colony (Dirs. Carter Gunn and Ross McDonnell)

Google Baby (Dir. Zippi Brand Frank)

Cleanflix (Dirs. Andrew James and Joshua Ligairi)

Snowblind (Dir. Vikram Jayanti)

How to Fold a Flag (Dirs. Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein)

The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers

(Dirs. Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith)

The Art of the Steal (Dir. Don Argott)

Stolen (Dirs. Violeta Ayala and Dan Fallshaw)

Schmatta: From Rags to Riches to Rags (Dir. Marc Levin)

Waking Sleeping Beauty (Dir. Don Hahn)

Videocracy (Dir. Erik Gandini)

Here is a short slideshow that captures the filmmakers, the Q&A’s and the Real To Reel programme as a whole.

Real to Reel Programme @ TIFF09

A big thank you to RTR programmer Thom Powers for allowing me to sample and write about these cool documentaries. These documentaries all told powerful, relevant and timely stories.

Photo credit: All photos taken by Heidy M.

HyesMusings September 22, 2009

TIFF 2009 In Review Pt. 2

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Mavericks

Barry Levinson Presents The Band That Wouldn’t Die

Many of us know Levinson’s work from Good Morning Vietnam and Rain Man. In this film, he goes back to his home town of Baltimore to make a documentary about sports from a personal perspective. The project is part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 project. The film is about the former Baltimore Colts Marching Band that kept Baltimore’s hopes alive for a NFL football team. I am not an avid NFL fan but thoroughly enjoyed this documentary. It showcases the original band members sharing their story… It’s funny, a bit nostalgic and a really great tribute to the loyal Baltimore fans. ESPN will show this film on October 13th; go here for more info.

(Pictured here: Left, John Dhal from ESPN Films and Producer Lee Banner)

In Conversation with… Michael Caine

What can be said about an actor that is as accomplished as Michael Caine? Well, I can testify he’s got a great sense of humour… Man, can he make you laugh. His life is so interesting; from his humble beginnings in London to becoming an actor by chance to meeting the love of his life after seeing her on the tele to the great many friends he’s made along the way. His life is full of great anecdotes and funny stories. Seamus O’Regan hosted the event but was enjoying Mr. Caine’s stories that he didn’t have much to say nor ask. Good times!

An Afternoon with Chris Rock

Like the event with Sir Michael Caine, this was also hilarious, interesting and entertaining. Chris Rock was in town promoting the documentary Good Hair, which deals with the interesting topic of what “good hair” means in the Black community. Rock talked about making the film; how he had thought of the idea years ago while in Atlanta at the same time as one of the Bronner Brothers Hair Competitions. He talked about how it’s a topic that is very important but no one had actually made it this public.

Mavericks programmer Thom Powers, also asked Rock about

campaigning for Obama last year. Rock said it was fun and interesting; he mentioned Obama gave him a call to see if he’d do some campaigning for him.

There was enough time for some audience Q&A, as usual, some questions were about the documentary; others about his upcoming plans, etc. Then towards the end, a man puts up his hand, he asked if Rock had considered going into the hair product business. Rock laughed and said, not yet but maybe he should. A funny way to end the conversation.

Frederick Wiseman Presents

La Danse – Le Ballet de L’Opera de Paris

Wiseman’s documentaries usually take us on tour of various institutions. In La Danse, he takes into the Paris’ Opera Ballet school. It’s a quiet and intimate look at the dancers’ everyday life at the school… the endless hours of training, the politics, the creative process and the shows. It was interesting to hear Wiseman at the Q&A explain how he composes his films. Generally, after filming, he starts editing and it’s at this stage that structure and themes become apparent. The film is a testament to his great skills. It felt very fluid and it totally makes sense seeing as he is quite involved in the post-production part. He mentioned he’d still look at rushes even after editing had begun just in case he’d find “new” shots. A journey I very much enjoyed.

(Pictured here: Frederick Wiseman and Thom Powers)

Photo Credit: All photos taken by Heidy M.

HyesMusings September 20, 2009

TIFF 2009 In Review Pt. 1

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I’m sorry for being so behind on my postings for TIFF… I realised soon enough that time management and multi-tasking while sleeping very few hours is not my forte. I’ve decided to do my TIFF review in parts; I’ll try to break it up by programmes rather than days. In no particular order…

City to City

A History of Israeli Cinema Pt. 1

A very interesting look at cinema from Israel. Part one focuses on the years between 1932 and 1978 . It was my first early morning film; I felt like I was going to class… an interesting one at that. Having little exposure to Israeli films, I found interesting to see how the early films were heavily influenced by Zionism. It wasn’t until later on in the 60’s and onwards that films became more about the individual’s experience. A good introduction to films from this area.

Contemporary World Cinema

Rabia — I was able to meet director Sebastian Cordero and the female lead Martina Garcia. Please read my “Getting to know…” post coming up.

Gala Presentations

Precious:Based on the novel “Push” by Sapphire

A last minute ticket and I was able to see the film that eventually won the People’s Choice Award at this year’s festival. The story of a teenager girl, Precious Jones, who has suffered from sexual, physical and emotional abuse. A great performance by lead Gabourey Sibide and Mo’Nique as Precious’ mother. Director Lee Daniels and the actors bring us a very raw, powerful story which will have you laughing, crying and hoping for some good outcomes for Precious. The hype the film has received is well deserved.

Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky

Another last minute film… Director Jan Kounen brings us back to 1913 where this relationship began to form. Coco Chanel became fascinated with Stravinsky’s work and the man himself after attending the premiere of The Rite of Spring in Paris. Chanel is played by Anna Mouglalis and Stravinsky by Mads Mikkelsen both of whom deliver decent performances. The two personalities are strong but somehow they have deep admiration and care for one another. I liked the film’s music (of course, it’s mostly Stravinsky’s); its style, costumes and set design. The film could have been edited in some parts. I learned something I didn’t know about the relationship between Chanel and Stravinksy but it’s not the most memorable film.

Mikkelsen attended the second screening I was at for a Q&A session as did Kounen. Mikkelsen talked about learning Russian phonetically in preparation for this role. Out of the two leads; he was the most believable in my opinion. Kounen described a little bit about the sets and how he chose patterns for interiors to showcase Chanel’s sense of style. I appreciated some of the information they shared with the audience and appreciated them showing up at the theatre before 11am on a Saturday morning.

Vanguard

Enter the Void — I was able to meet director Gaspar Noé. Please read my “Spotlight on…” post coming up.

The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights

I enjoy watching music documentaries because you get an on-stage and backstage view of the artists. In this film, Emmett Malloy brings us on tour through Canada with Jack and Meg White. The film has an intimate feel and it’s shot in the White Stripes’ signature colours: black & white and red. I liked seeing them in concert at the various towns and venues in part of Canada most of us haven’t seen like the Yukon and Nunavut. The interview parts with Jack doing most of the talking and Meg quietly agreeing/disagreeing were amusing. The music of course, spoke for itself.

After the film, Malloy did a short Q&A. Most of the audience was comprised by White Stripes fans and by their loud applause, it was evident they enjoyed the film. One dissenter had to make a comment about Malloy’s filming style; claiming he “used every trick in the book.” He was quickly booed by the crowd… I thought it an unnecessary comment even if that’s how the man felt. The documentary was more about the music and the great many Canadian places the band got to visit. The rest is just aesthetics.

Yonge-Dundas Square

Copyright Criminals: This is a Sampling Sport

The closing concert film at YDS this year was this very educational and entertaining film by Benjamin Franzen and Kembrew McLoud. Using first-person accounts of music industry insiders and artists, the directors create a discussion about creative rights, artistic expression, and of course, money. The two sides of the argument are represented: those who feel sampling is a “lazy way to make music” and others who support it as a novel way to listen to something that’s been around for year… in other words, creatively using certain parts of a

track to give it a new life or dimension.

The directors were on hand to talk about the film after it screened and those who stayed behind at the square were treated to a live performance by Chuck D (from Public Enemy), Eclectic Method (a group of three pop culture VJs) and Clyde Stubblefield (James Brown’s awesome drummer). The performance lasted over an hour; very high energy with great visuals provided by eclectic method… Chuck D took time to greet the crowd and pass the microphone around. It was too much that we forgot how chilly it was that night.

HyesMusings September 17, 2009

TIFF 2009 – Midnight Madness Special Post

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This are just some short videos of my Midnight Madness experience thus far at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. I have seen many films besides these but will come back with longer posts very soon… stay tuned.

For now, enjoy the clips!

Daybreakers Premiere on Friday, Sept 11th

Bitch Slap Premiere on Monday, Sept 14th

[REC]2 Premiere on Tuesday, Sept 15th

HyesMusings September 9, 2009

TIFF 2009 Preliminary Picks and more…

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Along with many other cineastes I am almost ready for TIFF. I’m not sure yet how I’ll manage to do postings for this site, TIFF’s Doc Blog and Alternavox’s Boxoffice section… I guess I’ll have to up my dose of chocolate-covered espresso beans!

Without much preamble, here are the films and Maverick series I’ll be taking in… the list is per programme.

City to City

A History of Israeli Cinema pt 1

Contemporary World Cinema

Police, Adjective

Suck

Mavericks

Barry Levinson Presents the Band that Wouldn’t Die

In Conversation with… Michael Caine

An Afternoon with Chris Rock

Frederick Wiseman Presents La Danse – Le Ballet de L’Opera de Paris

Midnight Madness

Bitch Slap

[REC]2

Solomon Kane

A Town Called Panic

Ong Bak 2

Real to Reel

Google Baby

Cleanflix

How to Fold a Flag

The Most Dangerous Man in America

The Art of the Steal

Collapse

Waking Sleeping Beauty

Videocracy

Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags

Stolen

Bassidji

Once Upon A Time Proletarian

Special Presentations

My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done

Good Hair

Capitalism: A Love Story

Vengeance

Vanguard

Enter the Void

My Queen Karo

The Ape

Accident

Hipsters

Yonge and Dundas Square — FREE Events and Screenings

Joan Baez: How Sweet the Sound

This is to give you an idea of the range of films and programmes that TIFF offers every year. Some of us are able to attend the festival for all of its 10 days… for some of you, it will come down to whatever you have time to see in between work and other commitments. Maybe I’ll connect with some of you in the line ups…

Of course, you can always find me online at Hye’s Musings, the Doc Blog and Alternavox.

HyesMusings August 30, 2009

TADFF 2009 – And the Award goes to…

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TAD is over and now, we get to find out who won this year’s Audience Awards. A record over 3,700 votes were cast by festival-goers…great turnout. The winners are…

AUDIENCE AWARDS, BEST FEATURE FILM

GOLD: DEAD SNOW
SILVER: TRICK ‘R TREAT
BRONZE: BLACK DYNAMITE

VISION AWARDS, BEST INDEPENDENT FEATURE FILM The Vision Awards are given out by the Festival in recognition of outstanding independent genre feature filmmaking.

GOLD: STRIGOI
SILVER: THE REVENANT
BRONZE: GRACE

AUDIENCE AWARDS, BEST CANADIAN SHORT FILM

GOLD: CAPTAIN COULIER (SPACE EXPLORER)
SILVER: BLACKHEADS
BRONZE: DANSE MACABRE

AUDIENCE AWARDS, BEST INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM

GOLD: THE USERS GUIDE TO IMAGINARY FRIENDS (ABRIDGED)
SILVER: THE HORRIBLY SLOW MURDERER WITH THE EXTREMELY INEFFICIENT WEAPON
BRONZE: KING OF POWER 4 BILLION %

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Hye! Note: Thank you to all Staff at Toronto After Dark for bringing us the best in sci-fi, action and horror films from around the world. I didn’t get to see all films but had a great time at all the screenings I attended. Thank you as well to the group of volunteers who keep us, festival-goers in check!

HyesMusings August 27, 2009

TADFF 2009 Recap

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I managed to make my way to more screenings at Toronto After Dark. With the heat wave we had, being in a cool theatre watching action, horror and vampire flicks was the place to be.

Here’s my quick recap of what I saw starting Sunday, August 16th…

The Warlords – Directed by Peter Ho-Su Chan

Starring: Andy Lau, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Jet Li

If you’ve seen Jet Li in other films, then you know he’s a talented action star. If you’ve seen House of Flying Daggers, then you know Takeshi Kaneshiro and Andy Lau, as they starred in that film together. All three leads are well-known actors in Asia and have a great fan following. Why am I telling you about this? Well, this film is interesting and entertaining for the reason that all three actors complement each other on-screen quite well. The film is about a tale of war and “brotherhood” in time of Imperial China. The brothers struggle as they war takes years and forces them to make sacrifices that will put their bond to the test.

The battle scenes in this film are of epic proportion; well executed and visually really stunning. There are scenes that in some ways reminded me of Sergei M. Einsenstein‘s work (Ivan the Terrible, for example). Parts of the film I found dragged a bit and honestly, some of us would’ve like one more battle scene before the end. Nonetheless, there is plenty to see. The action is not like those of other films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon but is more up-close and personal — which makes it more realistic and believable. The choreography in the fight scenes is impressive on the big screen.

Strigoi – Directed by Faye Jackson

Starring: Constantin Barbulescu, Catalin Paraschiv and Co.

A zombie comedy… what a hoot! A small group of people in a very small town in Romania think killing the main “bad guy” Constantin Tirescu (Barbulescu) was a way getting justice served. Vlad (Paraschiv) returns home from Italy and believes a murder has been committed. Somehow, Constantin Tirescu refuses to stay in his grave and is willing to help Vlad solve the murder mystery.

I really enjoyed this film for its great sense of humour. I think some people either really liked or really didn’t… The pace of the film worked well as we get to know all the characters and their oddities. The story just really works in that is based on Romanian folklore and is a nice addition to the Dracula set of films. I hope you get to see this film and will save the details… except one of my favourite lines: “You’re a good boy, Vlad… cut out his heart!”

The Children – Directed by Tom Shankland

Starring: Eva Birthistle, Jeremy Sheffield and Co.

A Christmas vacation turns deadly as something makes all the little ones turn against their parents and all adults in sight… Yes, the kids are violent and have no mercy in this great genre film from the UK. I wasn’t sure how this one was going to unfold but it gave me a few surprises. My friends and I enjoyed watching the kids turn pure evil and seeing a few impaling as the adults try to fight for their lives. Were we terrified? Not entirely but it will make you cringe…

Rought Cut – Directed by Jang Hoon

Starring: So Ji-Seob & Kang Ji-Hwan

An action film from South Korea… An out of control actor (So Ji-sub) gets heat from the press for his unruly behaviour… much like the gangster he plays in his film. Then, we have the “real” gangster (Kang Ji-hwan) who wants to act. In a turn of events, these two end up working together in a film in which they fight till the bitter end. What’s the catch? All fight scenes have to be “real”. Yet there’s more to the story; comedy, drama, romance and fights.

I’m really liking Korean films these days. I enjoyed watching Rough Cut because it has an actual storyline, good fight scenes and believable characters. The cast worked really well but I must admit I was smitten by So Ji-Seob. His gangster role really worked well and yes, he’s easy on the eyes too… We get a good balance of all things funny, sad, corny and of course, painful. The story just works and it invites you to just go for the ride. The final fight scene is just crazy… mud beach, punch after punch, after punch… excellent!

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Small World Music Festival 2009

Getting to know…

TIFF 2009 Spotlight: Gasper Noé’s ‘Enter The Void’

TIFF 2009 In Review Pt. 3

TIFF 2009 In Review Pt. 2

TIFF 2009 In Review Pt. 1

TIFF 2009 – Midnight Madness Special Post

TIFF 2009 Preliminary Picks and more…

TADFF 2009 – And the Award goes to…

TADFF 2009 Recap

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