TIFF 2015, Post the First
Sep. 16th, 2015 11:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
przedI went straight from Ros' soccer tournament into TIFF. Which means running into stuff like this as I traipse around the entertainment district where most of the theatres are.
Unfortunately, I haven't run into any stars yet. I was especially gutted to find out after the fact that one of my faves, the Bean, was in town in support of The Martian. He's one of exactly two actors I would actually stalk on the red carpet. The other, Viggo Mortensen, I did track down a few years back and got his autograph. Ah, well. At least it led to fun photos like this. The Bean and Donald Glover in the same picture is sort of awesome.
I'm only seeing eleven films this year. I was originally supposed to be up to my eyeballs in training at work this week, so I only got eleven tickets. But then the project I was working on imploded, which meant I could take a few days off to see films rather than cramming them all into the evenings, and take it all at a more leisurely pace. Which is nice for a change.
I've seen four films so far, two British, two Chinese. The Chinese ones have been...interesting, but the British ones have both been amazing.
I couldn't resist Dark Horse. It's about a group of working class people in a small Welsh village who kicked in 10 quid a week each to breed a race horse, and ended up with a champion horse who competed in the Grand National. The members of the syndicate are all brilliant, especially Jan, the bar maid who came up with the mad scheme to breed a race horse and dragged everyone else along with her. It's heart-warming, but it's also got real grit, and it takes on the British class system in interesting ways. The syndicate members are all rough around the edges, but they force themselves into the very upper class world of British horse racing by not taking no for an answer.
Here, have a trailer.
Kilo Two Bravo may be relevant to some of your interests. It's about a group of British soldiers guarding a dam in Afghanistan who go on a recce to drive out some Taliban extorting local villagers and wind up caught in the middle of a mine field. It's not the usual sort of war movie. There's no big shoot out, no displays of machismo. There's just a bunch of blokes from the north of England and Scotland who get caught in a horrific situation and then have to figure out how to get out alive. It's unbelievably tense, darkly funny, and just fucking amazing. It's also based on a true story, and at the screening, along with the director, writer and one of the actors, the bloke who was the real medic was there. And he was just amazing.
The trailer gives a really good sense of the film.
Mountains May Depart is the latest from a Chinese director I quite like, Jia Zhang-Ke, but it's not his best. It follows a woman, Tao, and the two men she loves, in three separate time periods, 1999, 2014, and 2025. At it's best, the film is a quiet meditation on what you lose in the course of a life.
This clip is one of the better moments in the film, with Tao taking her son back to Shanghai, to stay with his father, her ex-husband.
But the film sort of loses it in the last sequence, focusing on Tao's now grown son and the Mandarin teacher he develops a relationship with, losing sight of Tao and the man she turned down to marry her son's father who are by far the most interesting characters. And it also irritated me by playing characters who are at most in their early fifties as doddering. Um, no.
Office is directed by Johnnie To, one of Hong Kong's most prolific and diverse directors. His action films tend to the amazing--his Drug War from a few years ago is fantastic--but his track record when he strays into other genres is spottier. This time he's made an office drama musical that's stylistically interesting, but narratively dull. He's filmed on black sound stages with sets made out of colourful steel girders and neon, with a big cast that breaks out into song and dance numbers at regular intervals, which is sort of fun. It also stars Chow Yun-Fat, who I always adore. On the downside, I didn't give a rat's ass about the story or the characters.
This trailer gives a good sense of the style of the film, which is the best reason to seek it out.
Unfortunately, I haven't run into any stars yet. I was especially gutted to find out after the fact that one of my faves, the Bean, was in town in support of The Martian. He's one of exactly two actors I would actually stalk on the red carpet. The other, Viggo Mortensen, I did track down a few years back and got his autograph. Ah, well. At least it led to fun photos like this. The Bean and Donald Glover in the same picture is sort of awesome.
I'm only seeing eleven films this year. I was originally supposed to be up to my eyeballs in training at work this week, so I only got eleven tickets. But then the project I was working on imploded, which meant I could take a few days off to see films rather than cramming them all into the evenings, and take it all at a more leisurely pace. Which is nice for a change.
I've seen four films so far, two British, two Chinese. The Chinese ones have been...interesting, but the British ones have both been amazing.
I couldn't resist Dark Horse. It's about a group of working class people in a small Welsh village who kicked in 10 quid a week each to breed a race horse, and ended up with a champion horse who competed in the Grand National. The members of the syndicate are all brilliant, especially Jan, the bar maid who came up with the mad scheme to breed a race horse and dragged everyone else along with her. It's heart-warming, but it's also got real grit, and it takes on the British class system in interesting ways. The syndicate members are all rough around the edges, but they force themselves into the very upper class world of British horse racing by not taking no for an answer.
Here, have a trailer.
Kilo Two Bravo may be relevant to some of your interests. It's about a group of British soldiers guarding a dam in Afghanistan who go on a recce to drive out some Taliban extorting local villagers and wind up caught in the middle of a mine field. It's not the usual sort of war movie. There's no big shoot out, no displays of machismo. There's just a bunch of blokes from the north of England and Scotland who get caught in a horrific situation and then have to figure out how to get out alive. It's unbelievably tense, darkly funny, and just fucking amazing. It's also based on a true story, and at the screening, along with the director, writer and one of the actors, the bloke who was the real medic was there. And he was just amazing.
The trailer gives a really good sense of the film.
Mountains May Depart is the latest from a Chinese director I quite like, Jia Zhang-Ke, but it's not his best. It follows a woman, Tao, and the two men she loves, in three separate time periods, 1999, 2014, and 2025. At it's best, the film is a quiet meditation on what you lose in the course of a life.
This clip is one of the better moments in the film, with Tao taking her son back to Shanghai, to stay with his father, her ex-husband.
But the film sort of loses it in the last sequence, focusing on Tao's now grown son and the Mandarin teacher he develops a relationship with, losing sight of Tao and the man she turned down to marry her son's father who are by far the most interesting characters. And it also irritated me by playing characters who are at most in their early fifties as doddering. Um, no.
Office is directed by Johnnie To, one of Hong Kong's most prolific and diverse directors. His action films tend to the amazing--his Drug War from a few years ago is fantastic--but his track record when he strays into other genres is spottier. This time he's made an office drama musical that's stylistically interesting, but narratively dull. He's filmed on black sound stages with sets made out of colourful steel girders and neon, with a big cast that breaks out into song and dance numbers at regular intervals, which is sort of fun. It also stars Chow Yun-Fat, who I always adore. On the downside, I didn't give a rat's ass about the story or the characters.
This trailer gives a good sense of the style of the film, which is the best reason to seek it out.
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Date: 2015-09-17 06:11 am (UTC)I am sending one of my friends (bluegerl) along to your post because she shares your obsession with Sean and Viggo. I agree on Sean but not Viggo quite so much - prefer Depp.
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Date: 2015-09-17 10:58 am (UTC)Enjoy!!
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Date: 2015-09-17 01:38 pm (UTC)Beany of course I fell in love with when he was wearing those sexy green pants when he first appeared on TV... Richard Sharpe. Life was 'orrible at the time, but HE made an impression... good story, lovely looking bloke and that always pause and looking back at the end of the episode.... teehee. that's the way to catch 'em!!!
Darling Beans - He's me Beanboy... as I'm old enough to be his mother with room to spare... they could be my KIDS for gods' sake! teehee. Doesn't change the way I drool over either.
I DO DO seriously love Bean's Acting. He doesn't paint on the person, or 'say the words' - he IS the character. It seems to be that he doesn't have ANY of the outside Real Bean left. HE IS Martin Odum, Richard Sharpe, Ryan or Bryant... he IS - and dammit the acting and the pain and a whole load of that understated, subtle brilliant acting that is so underestimated. Some of his stuff is crap, but then.... but he does have to keep on and on,.... seems to be a workaholic -just hope his current girlfriend keeps up what seems to be the good work she's doing right now. He looks tons better than he has done for years.
Viggo.. well, what can one say ... he lives as a human SHOULD live every day. Not losing a moment. He has to take it ALL in and there is so much ALL! poor love, he's burning candles at both ends, and I just hope he's left enough in the middle to stay alight for years and years more to come.
Mrs. Moth didn't say whether you're into fanfic... Vigbean stories and stuff.. I'll read almost anything about them, as a pairing especially as they seemed to be 'together' so well in Lotr as long as it is well-written. Some fanfic is just...eeewwwwww.
Are you a Film Critic... and how to you come to haunt TIFF?!!! Yersss, you missed the Bean this time. But he's so hard to FIND!!! very private man.
I shall have to see Kilo 2 Bravo... as long as the acting is natural and GOOOD... that sort of eeeeeek I can take. Nicholas Cage.... erm .... nope.
I quite like Beans Bravo 2 Zero...
The horse one - I WATCHED THAT HOSS WIN!!! Wasn't it the MOST! I probably won't see the film as I shall sob all over the place. Stuff like that brings out the floods in me. (being once rather horsey meself)
Nice to meet you, and Mrs. Moth is such a honey.. Am going to meet up with her in the UK in OCtober... bags of gossipping!!!! teehee.
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Date: 2015-09-17 03:26 pm (UTC)Ah, The Bean. I was re-reading some interviews with the LOTR cast, his is really the most fun. He talks about how well he got on with Viggo (heh *g*) and the helicopter ride in the storm where he 'kept an iron grip on Orlando's thigh' throughout, which is just so hilarious because if something *did* go wrong clutching Orlando's thigh wouldn't really help, but very human *g*
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Date: 2015-09-17 05:52 pm (UTC)I have a bit of a thing for overly-ambitious musicals ultimately made of fail. Yes, this is a real thing. :D
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