TIFF 2011, Day Two
Sep. 10th, 2011 01:21 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
przedThe madness of the Toronto International Film Festival has started for another year. For the next ten days I'll be seeing twenty films, and hopefully posting capsule reviews. I'm starting on day two of the fest, since the Sweetie got his turn first.
As a bonus, not only was Willem Dafoe at the screening of his film, but Sam Neill was there as well. And both were entirely lovely in person.
Title: Land of Oblivion
Director: Michaele Boganim
Country: France/Germany/Poland/Ukraine
Zed's Rating: Not-so-good
A young couple, Anya and Piotr, are married just as the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear plant happens. Piotr is a fireman, and is pulled away from his wedding to go fight what he's told is a forest fire. The next thing Anya knows, Piotr is at the hospital, dying of radiation exposure. Ten years later, Anya leads foreign tourists around the irradiated Zone around the power plant as she still struggles to deal with the ramifications of the accident. I picked this one mostly because it was actually filmed inside the exclusion zone of Chernobyl, and as a portrait of a dead city, it's fascinating. As drama, however, it's sadly lacking. It's a shaggy dog story of a drama, with not much pay off, though it does have the advantage of being nicely shot.
Title: The Hunter
Director: Daniel Nettheim
Country: Australia
Zed's Rating: Recommended
Willem Dafoe plays a professional hunter hired by a shadowy biotech firm to track down the supposedly extinct Tasmanian tiger. Along the way, he becomes reluctantly involved with the family he'd renting a room from, and drawn into the conflict between the "Greenies" protesting the logging of the remote area of Tasmania he finds himself in, and the loggers trying to save their livelihood. This is a nicely low key story, with fabulous cinematography of absolutely stunning landscape, and a wonderful main performance from Dafoe. The ending perhaps doesn't have the emotional kick that it should have, but it's still a lovely film.
As a bonus, not only was Willem Dafoe at the screening of his film, but Sam Neill was there as well. And both were entirely lovely in person.
Title: Land of Oblivion
Director: Michaele Boganim
Country: France/Germany/Poland/Ukraine
Zed's Rating: Not-so-good
A young couple, Anya and Piotr, are married just as the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear plant happens. Piotr is a fireman, and is pulled away from his wedding to go fight what he's told is a forest fire. The next thing Anya knows, Piotr is at the hospital, dying of radiation exposure. Ten years later, Anya leads foreign tourists around the irradiated Zone around the power plant as she still struggles to deal with the ramifications of the accident. I picked this one mostly because it was actually filmed inside the exclusion zone of Chernobyl, and as a portrait of a dead city, it's fascinating. As drama, however, it's sadly lacking. It's a shaggy dog story of a drama, with not much pay off, though it does have the advantage of being nicely shot.
Title: The Hunter
Director: Daniel Nettheim
Country: Australia
Zed's Rating: Recommended
Willem Dafoe plays a professional hunter hired by a shadowy biotech firm to track down the supposedly extinct Tasmanian tiger. Along the way, he becomes reluctantly involved with the family he'd renting a room from, and drawn into the conflict between the "Greenies" protesting the logging of the remote area of Tasmania he finds himself in, and the loggers trying to save their livelihood. This is a nicely low key story, with fabulous cinematography of absolutely stunning landscape, and a wonderful main performance from Dafoe. The ending perhaps doesn't have the emotional kick that it should have, but it's still a lovely film.
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no subject
Date: 2011-09-10 01:42 pm (UTC)Because I am cultured, I went to see 'Friends With Benefits' last night on a whim and actually found it rather fun - certainly miles and away better than the godawful 'No Strings Attached' (although I would rather watch a Twilight film than see 'No Strings Attached' ever again).
no subject
Date: 2011-09-10 05:39 pm (UTC)I totally would have seen Friends with Benefits if I'd have had more time this summer. I adore Emma Stone. And I have a growing admiration for Justin Timberlake. (I can't imagine ever watching a Twilight film, so No Strings Attached must be truly vile. *g*)
no subject
Date: 2011-09-10 10:04 pm (UTC)Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake, by contrast, have actual chemistry, a decent script that had the whole cinema laughing steadily and whilst the plot isn't mind-blowing, it delivers solidly as a romcom. It passed my 'I'm too engaged to notice my legs hurting in this seat' test with flying colours. Emma Stone has a tiny role but does it well and it's directed by Will Gluck who directed her in 'Easy A' (which was similarly clever and pleasing)
no subject
Date: 2011-09-11 05:11 am (UTC)