Toronto Film Fest, Day Three
Sep. 10th, 2005 10:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
przedSurvived my first four film day. And still feel pretty good.
In other news, I have a feeling I missed a Viggo sighting by this much. We were running through Yorkville to meet a friend for dinner when we ran into a crowd mobbing David Cronenberg outside one of the chi chi restaurants in the area. Since tonight was the gala screening of A History of Violence, I gotta reckon Viggo was somewhere in the neighbourhood. Darn my ethical qualms at keeping a friend waiting. I'd clearly never make it as a stalker.
Title: Takeshis'
Director: Takeshi Kitano
Country: Japan
P's Rating: Recommended
Kitano's latest is probably not for newbies to his oeuvre, playing as it does with his taciturn, tough guy persona, but for those who know his other films and are willing to give themselves over to a master filmmaker indulging in cinematic play, it's a fun ride. In the film, Kitano plays both Beat Takeshi, famous film actor, and shlubby Kitano, a clerk in a convenience store doomed to a mundane existence while trying to break into acting. Actor and regular guy break into each other's dreams and realities until it's unclear who's the dreamer and who's the dream. Nowhere near as emotionally rich as some of Kitano's other films, mostly notably Hana-bi, but still definitely worth while.
Title: L'Enfer
Director: Danis Tanovic
Country: France/Italy/Belgium/Japan
P's Rating: Okay
Working from a screenplay by Krzysztof Piesiewicz, a constant collaborator of Kieslowski, Tanovic has constructed an intricate story of three sisters and the way a tragedy in their childhood has damaged them as adults. This kind of film is never going to be a complete hit with me--Kieslowski's Blue has a similar vibe of oh-so-serious French people feeling oh-so-angsty aobut their lives, and it makes me crazy--but Tanovic is a talented enough filmmaker that he takes me along for the ride. The film looks gorgeous, each frame lovingly composed, and the director is assisted along the way by an incredibly talented cast, including the always awesome Emmanuelle Béart.
Title: Linda, Linda, Linda
Director: Nobuhiro Yamashita
Country: Japan
P's Rating: Highly Recommended
When their guitarist injures her finger and their singer quits, a girl band has to either radically re-order their lineup or cancel an appearance in their high school's Holly festival. Rock and roll wins out, and the group decide to take on a South Korean exchange student as their singer and to take the three days before the festival performance to practice a cover of Linda, Linda, Linda, a Japanese punk classic. Driven by an exquisite performance by Bae Doona as the Korean exchange student, the film is a finely wrought study of the growing friendship between four young women brought together by a love of music. There's humour, fumbling attempts at first love and a final, kick-ass concert where all the late nights practicing pays off and then some.
Title: The Quiet
Director: Jamie Babbit
Country: U.S.
P's Rating: Okay
The teenaged Dot has just lost her father. With no other family, she's sent to live with her godparents and their cynical teenaged daughter, Nina. Nina doesn't want the deaf and mute Dot in her home, and does her best to keep the other girl an outsider. But then Dot starts to find the secrets of her new home and school. While I don't think the film is entirely successful all the way through, it does do a fine, disturbing job at portraying the viciousness of teenage girls who are grappling with their own problems. And the always reliable Martin Donovan puts in a chilling turn as a dad who is nowhere near as nice as he first appears.
In other news, I have a feeling I missed a Viggo sighting by this much. We were running through Yorkville to meet a friend for dinner when we ran into a crowd mobbing David Cronenberg outside one of the chi chi restaurants in the area. Since tonight was the gala screening of A History of Violence, I gotta reckon Viggo was somewhere in the neighbourhood. Darn my ethical qualms at keeping a friend waiting. I'd clearly never make it as a stalker.
Title: Takeshis'
Director: Takeshi Kitano
Country: Japan
P's Rating: Recommended
Kitano's latest is probably not for newbies to his oeuvre, playing as it does with his taciturn, tough guy persona, but for those who know his other films and are willing to give themselves over to a master filmmaker indulging in cinematic play, it's a fun ride. In the film, Kitano plays both Beat Takeshi, famous film actor, and shlubby Kitano, a clerk in a convenience store doomed to a mundane existence while trying to break into acting. Actor and regular guy break into each other's dreams and realities until it's unclear who's the dreamer and who's the dream. Nowhere near as emotionally rich as some of Kitano's other films, mostly notably Hana-bi, but still definitely worth while.
Title: L'Enfer
Director: Danis Tanovic
Country: France/Italy/Belgium/Japan
P's Rating: Okay
Working from a screenplay by Krzysztof Piesiewicz, a constant collaborator of Kieslowski, Tanovic has constructed an intricate story of three sisters and the way a tragedy in their childhood has damaged them as adults. This kind of film is never going to be a complete hit with me--Kieslowski's Blue has a similar vibe of oh-so-serious French people feeling oh-so-angsty aobut their lives, and it makes me crazy--but Tanovic is a talented enough filmmaker that he takes me along for the ride. The film looks gorgeous, each frame lovingly composed, and the director is assisted along the way by an incredibly talented cast, including the always awesome Emmanuelle Béart.
Title: Linda, Linda, Linda
Director: Nobuhiro Yamashita
Country: Japan
P's Rating: Highly Recommended
When their guitarist injures her finger and their singer quits, a girl band has to either radically re-order their lineup or cancel an appearance in their high school's Holly festival. Rock and roll wins out, and the group decide to take on a South Korean exchange student as their singer and to take the three days before the festival performance to practice a cover of Linda, Linda, Linda, a Japanese punk classic. Driven by an exquisite performance by Bae Doona as the Korean exchange student, the film is a finely wrought study of the growing friendship between four young women brought together by a love of music. There's humour, fumbling attempts at first love and a final, kick-ass concert where all the late nights practicing pays off and then some.
Title: The Quiet
Director: Jamie Babbit
Country: U.S.
P's Rating: Okay
The teenaged Dot has just lost her father. With no other family, she's sent to live with her godparents and their cynical teenaged daughter, Nina. Nina doesn't want the deaf and mute Dot in her home, and does her best to keep the other girl an outsider. But then Dot starts to find the secrets of her new home and school. While I don't think the film is entirely successful all the way through, it does do a fine, disturbing job at portraying the viciousness of teenage girls who are grappling with their own problems. And the always reliable Martin Donovan puts in a chilling turn as a dad who is nowhere near as nice as he first appears.
