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Toronto Film Fest, Day Six
Los Angeles in the movies, Taiwanese drama, Canadian comedy and a Japanese ghost story...
Title: Los Angeles Plays Itself
Director: Thom Andersen
Country: U.S.
P's Rating: Recommended
A fascinating film essay about the portrayal of the city of Los Angeles in the movies. The director uses the film to discuss aesthetics, history, politics and anything else that strikes his fancy. Even at three hours, it's a fascinating trip. (Note to self: Track down the namesake of this film, the gay porn flick L.A. Plays Itself.)
Title: Goodbye Dragon Inn
Director: Tsai Ming Liang
Country: Taiwan
P's Rating: Not-so-good
Yet again, Tsai Ming Liang has taken material that would have made a good 30 minute short and turned it into a 90 minute feature. Not generally a recipe for success. Which is too bad, because he's not without talent. There are perfect and funny moments scattered throughout this film, but there is way too much dead space between them. Tsai seems to think that if holding a shot on an empty movie theatre for one minute is good, doing it for five minutes is even better. Well, it's not, actually.
Title: Nothing
Director: Vincenzo Natali
Country: Canada
P's Rating: Recommended
What would happen if everything outside your house suddenly disappeared? If all you could see for miles around was a glowing white landscape of nothing with the consistency of tofu? That's what happens to Dave and Andrew on the worst day of their lives. Dave's been framed for embezzlement by his now ex-girlfriend, Andrew's been falsely accused of, ahem, interfering with a stroppy Fireside Girl and the city has just decided to knock down their house. Then everything disappears and suddenly they don't have to deal with the world, just each other. Natali's latest film is a completely unique and wacko comedy that, in many ways, could only have been made in Canada.
Title: Ju-On
Director: Takeshi Shimizu
Country: Japan
P's Rating: Highly Recommended
No one does creepy horror like the Japanese. Starting with Ringu, the Japanese have been creating a cycle of compelling horror films that depend on imaginative images and ideas rather than shock and gore. Ju-On is a superior entry in the cycle. It all starts when a young volunteer is sent on an assignment, only to find an elderly woman abandoned in her son's house. Then she finds out that they are not in the house alone. A ghostly little boy appears to her with his cat, and the shadowy figure of a woman appears over her sleeping charge. From there, it just gets creepier, as it turns out that the house is a focus for horror that touches anyone who enters it. The curse of the house (the grudge of the film's English title) spreads further and further, destroying anyone it comes in contact with. Don't expect a Sixth Sense style happy ending, either.
Title: Los Angeles Plays Itself
Director: Thom Andersen
Country: U.S.
P's Rating: Recommended
A fascinating film essay about the portrayal of the city of Los Angeles in the movies. The director uses the film to discuss aesthetics, history, politics and anything else that strikes his fancy. Even at three hours, it's a fascinating trip. (Note to self: Track down the namesake of this film, the gay porn flick L.A. Plays Itself.)
Title: Goodbye Dragon Inn
Director: Tsai Ming Liang
Country: Taiwan
P's Rating: Not-so-good
Yet again, Tsai Ming Liang has taken material that would have made a good 30 minute short and turned it into a 90 minute feature. Not generally a recipe for success. Which is too bad, because he's not without talent. There are perfect and funny moments scattered throughout this film, but there is way too much dead space between them. Tsai seems to think that if holding a shot on an empty movie theatre for one minute is good, doing it for five minutes is even better. Well, it's not, actually.
Title: Nothing
Director: Vincenzo Natali
Country: Canada
P's Rating: Recommended
What would happen if everything outside your house suddenly disappeared? If all you could see for miles around was a glowing white landscape of nothing with the consistency of tofu? That's what happens to Dave and Andrew on the worst day of their lives. Dave's been framed for embezzlement by his now ex-girlfriend, Andrew's been falsely accused of, ahem, interfering with a stroppy Fireside Girl and the city has just decided to knock down their house. Then everything disappears and suddenly they don't have to deal with the world, just each other. Natali's latest film is a completely unique and wacko comedy that, in many ways, could only have been made in Canada.
Title: Ju-On
Director: Takeshi Shimizu
Country: Japan
P's Rating: Highly Recommended
No one does creepy horror like the Japanese. Starting with Ringu, the Japanese have been creating a cycle of compelling horror films that depend on imaginative images and ideas rather than shock and gore. Ju-On is a superior entry in the cycle. It all starts when a young volunteer is sent on an assignment, only to find an elderly woman abandoned in her son's house. Then she finds out that they are not in the house alone. A ghostly little boy appears to her with his cat, and the shadowy figure of a woman appears over her sleeping charge. From there, it just gets creepier, as it turns out that the house is a focus for horror that touches anyone who enters it. The curse of the house (the grudge of the film's English title) spreads further and further, destroying anyone it comes in contact with. Don't expect a Sixth Sense style happy ending, either.