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Toronto Film Fest 2006, Day Six
The day I was most looking forward to, and as you've seen, it didn't disappoint. The films were pretty good too.
Title: The Last King of Scotland
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Country: U.K.
P's Rating: Highly Recommended
Attempting to escape from the practice of his earnest and sedate father, a young Scottish physician, Nicholas Garrigan, decides to travel to Uganda on a whim, and accidentally ends up as the personal doctor of newly-installed dicator Idi Amin. At first Garrigan is charmed by the charismatic Amin, but he gradually allows himself to see the horrors his patron is committing and the way he is complicit in them. This is a fascinating film, not the least for the stunning performances of Forest Whitaker as Amin and James McAvoy as Garrigan. McAvoy is immediately likable as Garrigan, playing him as a young man who enthusiastically embraces whatever experiences cross his path. Whitaker is particularly brilliant as Amin, by turns charming and monstrous.
Title: Coeurs
Director: Alain Resnais
Country: France
P's Rating: Okay
The lives of six Parisiens, three men and three women, become gradually entwined in this drama from French master Resnais. Not Resnais' best - there ultimately doesn't seem to be much there there - but there are nice revelations of character throughout.
Title: Alatriste
Director: Agustin Diaz Yanes
Country: Spain
P's Rating: Recommended
Set in the fading days of the Spanish empire and based on Arturo Perez-Reverte's Captain Alatriste novels, this is a grand swashbuckling tale. Alatriste is a infantry soldier of great integrity and competence, who lives in penury though he has the ear of some of Madrid's most eminent grandees. The film is lovingly shot, with composition and lighting that simulaneously evokes both the squalor and the richness of the period. The one problem I have is the filmmaker's decision to cram the events of all the Alatriste novels into one, admittedly long film. It makes the narrative a bit choppy and episodic, not to mention difficult to follow if you're not familiar with the novels.
Title: The Last King of Scotland
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Country: U.K.
P's Rating: Highly Recommended
Attempting to escape from the practice of his earnest and sedate father, a young Scottish physician, Nicholas Garrigan, decides to travel to Uganda on a whim, and accidentally ends up as the personal doctor of newly-installed dicator Idi Amin. At first Garrigan is charmed by the charismatic Amin, but he gradually allows himself to see the horrors his patron is committing and the way he is complicit in them. This is a fascinating film, not the least for the stunning performances of Forest Whitaker as Amin and James McAvoy as Garrigan. McAvoy is immediately likable as Garrigan, playing him as a young man who enthusiastically embraces whatever experiences cross his path. Whitaker is particularly brilliant as Amin, by turns charming and monstrous.
Title: Coeurs
Director: Alain Resnais
Country: France
P's Rating: Okay
The lives of six Parisiens, three men and three women, become gradually entwined in this drama from French master Resnais. Not Resnais' best - there ultimately doesn't seem to be much there there - but there are nice revelations of character throughout.
Title: Alatriste
Director: Agustin Diaz Yanes
Country: Spain
P's Rating: Recommended
Set in the fading days of the Spanish empire and based on Arturo Perez-Reverte's Captain Alatriste novels, this is a grand swashbuckling tale. Alatriste is a infantry soldier of great integrity and competence, who lives in penury though he has the ear of some of Madrid's most eminent grandees. The film is lovingly shot, with composition and lighting that simulaneously evokes both the squalor and the richness of the period. The one problem I have is the filmmaker's decision to cram the events of all the Alatriste novels into one, admittedly long film. It makes the narrative a bit choppy and episodic, not to mention difficult to follow if you're not familiar with the novels.