So the Toronto International Film Festival is over and I must say I had a good time. Amidst late nights, blogging, coffee sessions and line ups, the last three days of the festival wrapped up nicely for me.
Day 8: This was my lightest day next to day 1. I was able to finish all the blogs for the Doc Blog and met up some friends to catch a screening of Last Stop 174 by Bruno Barreto. I did not get to see the documentary Bus 174 at last year’s festival. In this film, we come to know the story of the young man who took the bus hostage in Rio de Janeiro back in 2000. We all left this film saying that it was a good portrayal of the characters involved in the life of the man who became the epicentre of this story, Sandro. The acting was believable and brought forth the issues that plague much of Brazil these days – poverty, homelessness and violence.
Day 9: Got enough sleep the night before to get ready for the 4h22min run of Che (Parts I & II) by Steven Soderbergh. The crowd was ready with coffee in hand in the line up to settle in for another history lesson. Those of us who grew up knowing about Che, the film is a good companion to the books. Benicio Del Toro brings to life an icon; he does a tremendous job of portraying Che as the revolutionary and activist he was. Most of the film’s dialogue is in Spanish; keeping it very realistic. I liked the fact that the second part was filmed in Bolivia, where Che died. The feel in both parts is realistic enough in that we got a sense of the intensity of the revolution in part I and the sense of tiredness and frustration experienced in the jungle in part II. I understand that the film was picked up for distribution, so you will have a chance to see it sometime in the future.
In true film festival fashion, I was left with time and vouchers to use for another film before my midnight madness screening. So I decided to check out The Window (La Ventana) by Carlos Sorin (whose Bombón – El Perro screened at TIFF in 2004). This is a film about getting older and death. The feel and pace of the film reflects the subject matter. We come to know a dying eighty-year-old Antonio who is bed-ridden yet eagerly awaits his estranged son’s visit. Antonio has been left to experience the world from his bedroom window. He is fully aware that he is not going to be around for much longer; so he decides to take a walk in his orchard one last time before his son arrives. The reunion is solemn; it was the moment Antonio was waiting for before he allowed himself to take his last breadths. It was evident throughout the film that Antonio was living his last moments. I was comfortable with that. I’m not sure how many people would say they ‘liked’ the film but I thought it worked well.
After such a quiet film, I decided to take a break. Feeling a bit refreshed I walked over with a friend to the Ryerson theatre to see Sexykiller. This film by Miguel Martí was loads of fun. I didn’t attend that many midnight madness screenings this year but this has to have been the lightest in many respects. It was sexy, raunchy, gory, smartly written and just a great time. Who would mind following a hot looking girl, with a fascination with Cindy (a doll part of the Barbie family) and a serious need to meet the man of her dreams, on her killing sprees? Macarena Gomez looked great on-screen in her sexy outfits, blade in hand and blurting out some great lines. After seeing Martyrs the night before, this was a much welcomed relief. The audience enjoyed it immensely and by the looks of it, the actors had a good time making this film. I would see it again.
Day 10: Last day… I was able to attend the last screening of the first Bahamian film ever to be at TIFF — Rain by Maria Govan. This was the story of a young girl who loses her grandmother and is forced to go live with her mother in Nassau in a shady neighbourhood. Rain is set on surviving and moving out of this place. Besides Rain’s story, Govan presents a portrait of the Bahamas that I’ve never seen before. We come to know their religious culture as well as what life is like in the city for those who are not part of the wealthy sections of society. An interesting film with a good cast. I was glad to see it with the public. There were several people from the Caribbean community in attendance; they watched quietly. The lady and daughter beside me had some emotional reactions to the film. Some parts were moving but in the end, Govan leaves us with a bit of hope for Rain.
From the AMC, I walked over to the Elgin to partake in a great experience called The Good, the Bad, the Weird by Kim Jee-woon. From TIFF’s description of the film: “In a lawless Manchurian desert during the tumultuous thirties, three Korean men meet on a train. Do-won (Jung Woo-sung), the Good, is an infamous bounty hunter with a deadly shot. Chang-yi (Lee Byung-hun) is the Bad, a merciless gang leader with a colossal ego. Tae-goo (Song Kang-ho), the Weird, is a gifted but unpredictable train robber who favours his motor scooter over horseback. Along with the Japanese army and hordes of bandits grappling for control of this desert territory, the Good, the Bad and the Weird face off in every possible combination. They seize and cede power in quick succession, all the while trying to exploit a mysterious map that promises huge riches.” Jee-woon has created a great film here. The actors deliver en pointe… The camera work is nicely executed; the costumes and hair styles are trés chic and of course, the action is just too much fun. This was a well choreographed film. The soundtrack works well and is in fact reminiscent of the old Westerns from Sergio Leone’s era. Throughout the whole film I just sat there with a grin on my face thinking, “wicked, wicked, wicked…. wow, wow, wow!” The film was more than I expected and I think it is one of my favourites from this year’s festival. I noticed its distributor is IFC, so I am certain that it will be released around in the coming months; so look out! I don’t think you want to miss this one.
So how else do I end my festival experience but with one last midnight madness screening. By 11:45pm we were all seated inside the Ryerson theatre one last time to hear programmer Colin Geddes announce the film of the night. This time we were treated to some muay thai kick ass action in Chocolate by the director of Ong-Bak Muay Thai Warrior, Prachya Pinkaew. I have posted the trailer here, so you know what I’m talking about. In this movie, we come to know Zen, a young autistic girl, the product of a forbidden affair between a Japanese gangster and a Korean woman, a former gang member. The plot of the film isn’t the strongest part but that’s not why we wanted to see the film. We were all curious about Zen, played by Jija Yanin, and wanted to see her in kicking action. In the spirit of Ong-Bak, Yanin beats the bad guys to a pulp using her bare arms and legs; using some crazy maneuvers like the elbow-to-the-head that we all got to know well from Tony Jaa. Yanin proved her skills in this film. She is athletic and acrobat-like in her movements. She didn’t use a stunt double. In the outtakes at the end of the film, we got to see how she and other cast members suffered some cuts and major bruises while making the film. I must say it was a nice way to end TIFF… it doesn’t always have to be serious or full of Hollywood celebrities.
