Another year of the Toronto International Film Festival came to an end today. I've really gone all out this year with the movie watching. I managed to squeeze in 11 movies during the 10 day festival (plus a regular movie release - Contagion - terrible movie, don't go see it, Outbreak was way better).I've decided to include a brief synopsis of all of the films I was able to watch in this post and I highly recommend all of them to you...well, the large majority of them. Here are my films (from most to least favourite):
(1) Friends with Kids. An incredibly funny story about two best friends, surrounded with friends who have kids, make a deal to have a kid with one another without getting married. The film takes us through their trials and tribulations and the emotional baggage that comes along with making such a serious commitment to another person by having a child. Great casting (pretty much 1/2 of Bridesmaids was in this movie), well-written witty banter and human insights that hit the emotional button of anyone in the audience, I'm super happy to find out that this film will be distributed next year in April. My favourite film by far - I laughed throughout the entire movie. 10/10.
(2) Last Call at the Oasis. What a great way to start off my festival this year. Last Call at the Oasis was the only film I had a chance to review before I got wrapped up in all the movies I had to go to. This film takes a look into our world's deepening water shortage issues. Contamination, shortages, waste are all contributing to us using up our fresh water supplies at an alarming rate. The one part of the movie that hit home for me was my industry's involvement in getting people to think that tap water was somehow dirty and that bottled water is a cleaner choice. If you've liked An Inconvenient Truth, Food Inc, or any other documentary that exposes a truth about how we're contributing to our planet and our own demise, you have to go see this one when it comes out in theatres. 10/10.
(3) In Darkness. A foreign film (combined effort from Poland, France and Germany) that brings us into the horrors of the Holocaust and the brave actions of a Polish sewer worker who hides Jews in the sewers of Lvov after the ghetto was cleared. It is an intense movie that portrays the raw emotions of those involved and the unbelievable struggles that the Jews who hid in the sewers had to go through when they lived there for 14 months. An incredible surprise at the end of the movie during the Q&A with the director, she brought the little girl who survived in the sewers on stage. She wrote the book that inspired the movie. I'm hoping the movie gets distribution so that all of you get to watch this gripping story. 10/10.
(4) Where Do We Go Now? This year's winner of the People's Choice Award (and joins the company of The King's Speech, Precious and Slumdog Millionaire) certainly delivers on the entertainment front. This foreign film (from Lebanon) is the story of a small town that deals with the challenges of tempering the peace between the Christian and Muslim men and the women of the village are the only way that peace is able to last. Funny dialogue between the women juxtaposes the tense moments where violence begins to erupt between the two factions. The movie deals with the sensitive issue of religious differences and brings hilarious moments while mixing in a couple of musical numbers - one in particular about baking hash cakes. Again, hoping this gets distributed! 9.5/10.
(5) Dark Girls. This documentary opened my eyes to a problem I wasn't aware existed - the intercultural discrimination amongst the black community, based on skin tone. Some really shocking perceptions of how darker is seen as being bad, being stupid or being worthless and how that does particular damage to the self-esteem of black girls. There are some heartfelt moments, in particular, those girls who have overcome their insecurities and are able to see beyond what others say about their skin colour. Not sure if it'll get distribution, but if you do get a chance to see it, I'd highly recommend it. 9.5/10.
(6) The Oranges. A brilliant cast with Hugh Laurie, Leighton Meester, Allison Janney and Oliver Platt tells the story of two suburban families that has to deal with one of the fathers (Laurie) having an affair with the other family's daughter (Meester). Besides the stomach churning thought that this couple was almost two decades apart in age, but it's also the thought that the father saw Meester's character grow up. There are hilarious moments and the film breaks down some interesting and controversial actions. A good movie to watch if you're looking for an older person version of Juno. 8.5/10.
(7) Pink Ribbons Inc. This documentary takes aim at corporations that pinkwashes their brands so they can peddle their goods to "support" breast cancer fundraising. While there are some really negative points of the movie - including the debate about the use of the term "cancer survivor," like any good documentary, it helps reveal the truths that us regular consumers, too lazy to investigate corporate cause programs, need to know. One great thing to note is that this film is co-produced by the National Film Board of Canada. Go Canada go! 8/10.
(8) Take This Waltz. Sarah Polley's second stab at directing produced a fun character driven film starring Michelle Williams, Sarah Silverman and Seth Rogan. Williams, a writer, is married to Rogan and starts having an emotional affair with a neighbour (played by Luke Kirby). There are some great moments including a pool exercise scene that made Williams pee herself. It is a bit slow for my liking, but for those who love lengthy dialogue and character heavy plots, this film is right up your alley. 7/10.
(9) The Lady. Speaking of dialogue heavy, character driven and a bit slow, The Lady follows Take This Waltz in the same path. The Lady is a biopic of the life of Aung Saan Suu Kyi - the leader of the Burmese Democracy Movement. Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), portrays the Nobel Peace prize winner who's life started with the assasination of her father, the man who established modern Burma. The film really builds the suffering Kyi went through during her years of house arrest (which ended in 2011) but it did get really slow - a renter for anyone interested in biopics or Asian history. 7/10.
(10) Violet & Daisy. Incredibly conflicted about this movie. Starring Alexis Bleidel and Saoirse Ronan, the story is about two teenage girls who are trained assassins. Filmed very much in the same way as Kill Bill, there are funny moments that are unfortunately outplayed by utterly weird moments. The back and forth banter does save the movie from being too slow, and the good news is that it is not extremely gruesome. Nonetheless, I had fun and now I know how to do an internal bleeding dance. 6.5/10.
(11) Samsara. My friend described this movie as if we watched a 2-hour screen saver. Think Planet Earth and take away the narration. It was beautifully shot and the music was incredible, but narration was so necessary to help identify what we were watching. A bit too artsy fartsy for me. 6/10.
So in wrapping up, I had a great time at the festival this year. Not that much starsearching but a lot of enjoyment over the movies I picked and curated for my friends.
Here's to waiting another 354 days until the start of the next festival!
