September 15, 2003

The sun shined on the Toronto Film festival this year… literally. As the final show of the 2003 fest ended - which also happened to be the final show ever at the Uptown Theater, a center for festival screenings for decades - a cloud seem to move over The T.O., sprinkling a little rain for the first time in 10 days. It was the first time in my five years of attending the festival that I had not had to use an umbrella even once.

But this year of “pleasant and in the 70s” was both a blessing and a curse. There was not too much at crap at this year’s festival. But there weren’t a great number of films that caused breathless passion either. Perhaps the most unanimously praised film at the festival was Paramount’s School of Rock. And doesn’t that tell you everything that you need to know?

As expected, the sales opportunities were tighter than Joan Rivers’ face, with a number approaching a dozen and a significance approaching zip. Cineastes will flock to Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… & Spring and no doubt, The Return will be on many Top Ten lists. And if you add up the box office for both, they will be lucky to crack the seven-figure mark.

Lions Gate, which did, I must admit, get Cabin Fever open, has apparently decided to become the new king of low-budget exploitation film pick-ups, grabbing up Undead and The Grudge. And Miramax picked up yet another key Asian action flick, Beat Kitano’s Zatoichi, a blind swordsman movie, that they will surely edit until Kitano goes after Mr. Weinstein with a sword and even then, will find the film unreleased until third quarter 2006…. That is, unless they dub it and re-title it “Kill Bill, Volume 3.”

After traveling on Sunday, I think I would be doing the films a disservice by writing about each of the 75 titles below tonight (Sun). But I will start to work bright and early on Monday morning and if you come back as the day progresses, you will find added commentary until I have worked through the entire list.

THE MOVIES I LIKED

21 Grams
Alejandro Innaritu's sophomore effort is no slumper. This brutal tale of loss and redemption has one of the most unique movie structures I've ever seen, as the title, 21 Grams, takes on different meanings in each act. But despite quality movie stars, the switch to English, and a more accessible story, this is still very much an indie film. And it is at least 21 minutes too long, as the clever structure becomes grating in the third act, as you realize that it is part of a bigger game.

The Agronomist
Jonathan Demme pieces together the life of Jean Dominique, the man who turned himself from an agronomist into a journalist as he turned Radio Haiti into the only independent voice of journalism on that troubled island. There are imperfections in the documentary, as were inevitable since Demme put the film together from bits and pieces of interviews over the years with this very special man. But it is one of those docs that gives you an insight into a world you probably did not know and in this case, one that will never be open to a non-fictional account again.

Alien
Such a joy to see this one on the big screen again. A classic.

The Best of Youth
Marco Tullio Giordana's six-hour drama, originally made for Italian television, is quite good, though I must admit, the fuss around it seems more than a little overblown. This is not 1900 or even Kieslowski's The Decalogue. Not close, really. But it is well worth seeing… and we'll see how Miramax finally decides to roll it out.

Dogville
I have never liked a Lars von Trier film before…. not even Breaking The Waves. I admired Breaking The Waves more than the others, in no small part thanks to Emily Watson. But I have always felt that von Trier was more interested in provoking people (and himself) than in giving a complete view of human nature. Not so with Dogville. I really liked this movie, which strips away all the artifice of a movie like Dancer in the Dark, and gets down to von Trier's core issue… the abuse of the weak (always a woman) by the powerful as well as by the presumed weak who find ways of gathering some small power for themselves. What makes this different for me is that von Trier's central figure, here played by Nicole Kidman, comes to the film with some power of her own, which she is willing to subjugate, but still has. It does not make the often dark nature of humanity any more pleasant to watch devolve, but it does make the fight more interesting… a speedy middleweight against a heavyweight and not von Trier's traditional heavyweight beating a flyweight to a pulp.

The Five Obstructions
Two von Trier successes (for me) in one festival?!?! Wow! In many ways, these two films were perfectly matched for me. In this documentary, in which von Trier conspires with Jorgen Leth, LvT shows himself and his way of approaching art. And Leth shows his very different approach to the work, even as a filmmaker who inspired von Trier with an experimental film - The Perfect Human - that Leth made in 1968. As I wrote before, for me, this is a film about the possibilities of the process, which I consider a lost topic in today's film industry and in most criticism. Von trier's obstructions have intent, as do Leth's methods of getting beyond them. And both reach beyond our bottom line attitude about film these days.

The Fog of War
Errol Morris is one of the truly original voices of documentary filmmaking in the world. His specialty is showing his audiences the façade we know and then, digging behind the façade in ways that few filmmakers, doc or "feature" manage. Here, the subject is Robert McNamara, who served as the U.S. Secretary of Defense from 1961-1968. How did the "fog" shape his decisions and reactions and those of the people of power around him during those extraordinary years in the history of world politics? Has the fog moved on since and what will Mac do to clear his vision as the years go on. The film is absolutely fascinating from start to finish.

Gun-Shy
This German film from Dito Tsintsadze is one of those tiny festival gems you occasionally run into… the kind that you might rent by mistake or see on cable at 11:30p some night and absolutely fall in love with. Like so many films this year, it is a study of a person of inaction who is drawn into being a person of action, exposing the desire that was there all along. The German title of the film, Schussangst, and its tonal difference from its slightly tortured English title, is very expressive of the alternate realities within the film. It is a story of love and lust and kindness and violence and availability and denial. Fascinating.

I’m Not Scared
Some coming of age movies are about sex. Others are about war. And others are about a great challenge. But rarely have you seen a coming of age movie about a young man of great honor who grows stronger in his beliefs as the story unfolds. The film reminded me in many small ways of Guillermo del Toro's The Devil's Backbone, only here, the ghost is real.

Intermission
One of IFC's great pick-ups, Intermission was the Big Fun movie of the festival. I'm not surprised that Zatoichi won the audience award. The winners always seem to be a bit more cult-y than Intermission, but this film left the crowd with that happy hum that you tend to hear when a smart audience had a really, really good time. And it has Colin Farrell as a dangerous prick to boot!

Lost In Translation
Sofia Coppola's tone poem of love and being lost. How much more can I write in praise of this movie? I'll just repeat again… if you want to force your ideas of story onto this experience, you will be bitterly disappointed. If you find yourself asking "Why didn't they go out for really good sushi?" you have missed the point. It is a puzzle, but one of the heart, not the mind.

Matchstick Men
I love this movie. It is a real one-off, much in the spirit of old Mike Hodges flicks, but with an unexpected heartbeat that is not a trick, but not what you expected. In the end, it is more Sexy Beast than it is The Sting. But having Ridley Scott at the helm is an added treat with some really lovely directorial strokes that the expected second-film-after-a-festival-hit-indie director could bring.

Nathalie…
It is not polite to ask a woman's age. Finding an age on director Anne Fontaine has proven more than a little difficult. The reason I was looking is that it occurred to me that just as Patrice Leconte found a new level in his work when he made Monsieur Hire at the age of 42 and has remained a more interesting and self-challenging filmmaker since, it seems that Ms. Fontaine has hit a time in her life when she is reaching for a profoundly interesting voice as a filmmaker. Ms. Fontaine is certainly in her 40s, if not in her 50s, and I guess that this is somehow seen as a death sentence for women in Hollywood. But I hope that this brilliant filmmaker, who is not clinging to her pubescent sexuality like Catherine Breillat, but rather is showing profound insight into a mature life, will raise her age like a flag sometime soon, as an example for Hollywood to follow. This film is about a married couple that is nearly perfect on the surface, but has lost some of the fizz underneath. Spurred on by her husband's admitted minor affairs, the wife hires a high end call girl to seduce him and to report on what happens, as she searches for a way to get back in touch with herself, as a woman and as a wife. Things twist from there. Fanny Ardant, Emmanuelle Beart and Gerard Depardieu populate the triangle with seeming effortlessness. A beautiful, intimate tale, following up last year's remarkable How I Killed My Father. This is a great, young, emerging filmmaker.

Touching The Void
IFC's other home run at the festival, this documentary is probably the best loved of all films I saw at the festival this year. There was not a negative word to be heard. And none was deserved. It is a remarkable story that just plain works the way you want a movie to work. Getting people into the theater will not be easy, but it's one to root for.

Les Triplets De Belleville
Sylvain Chomet's animated masterwork is an undeniable joy. How young can the audience for this smart, nearly spoken-word-free film be? Good question. It is a great marketing challenge for Sony Classics, but it is also a film that will be close to the hearts of those who have seen it for a long, long time.

Tom Dowd & The Language of Music
Another great doc about a man behind the music you have loved over the years. Anyone who can go from Mingus to Clapton is someone you want to know. And a movie about him is one you want to see.

The Yes Men
From Dan Ollman, Sarah Price and Chris Smith, this tale of two men who use their devious intelligence to burst the bubble of the alleged intelligence of powerful political groups is irresistible. From the gold jumpsuit used to manage workers from a distance to the plan to recycle McDonald's hamburgers for third world countries… after they have been consumed here in America… the boundaries of what we are willing to believe are amazing. (For a sneak peak at the mischief, visit The Yes Men at their website.)

THE MOVIES THAT I HAVE RESERVATIONS ABOUT

The Brown Bunny
I have little respect for a man who continually goes on about a film critic's personal illness as though it was deserved and no respect for a man who takes the position based on a movie review. I misspoke… he is not a man, but a pathetic little boy who is terribly desperate for attention. Brave though Chloe Sevigny was for performing fellatio on screen with the intent of serving art, I see it as little more than a form of abuse from a man who likes to take advantage of people who want to support his aspirations.

That said, they should be calling this one "The Sixth Blowjob," since for all intents and purposes, it is a pathos-enriched version of the Shyamalan movie, shot through a gauze of self-indulgence. The rage about the film is a bit of a mystery, but I am guessing that the limit on irritation in Toronto is a result of a full 30 minutes cut from the movie. The movie is essentially one long whine followed by a last second revelation that is, indeed, a somewhat satisfying payoff. And like prayer, there is some value in experiencing the journey. It's hard to say how significant that value really is. I don't think any of us will really know until it is 2am some morning next year when the film turns up on Cinemax and we choose to sit or not to sit through the 75 minutes.

Casa de los Babys
A John Sayles film that is all too brief. Great actresses giving great performances and not quite enough time to spend with them all.

Dallas 362
Scott Caan is going to be a good director. He needs a more focused writer to work with.

Easy
Jane Weinstock is really an hour-long TV person, judging from the work here. But part of good TV is great casting and Weinstock has a great eye for talent that is just about ripe… well, at least with the women. Her lead, Marguerite Moreau is good looking in the Jennifer Jason Leigh range… not a drop dead beauty by Cosmo cover standards, but beautiful enough and deeply compelling from the heart out. Emily Deschanel, currently best known for having a sister named Zooey, has her own unique thing going on, with much of Zooey's on-screen intelligence, but with a more conventional look. Weinstock does not do as well with the guys, who are fairly boring. And perhaps that is why the film does not fly as it should.

Go Further
Ron Mann's alleged hemp doc is really just a Woody Harrelson & Friends roadtrip, which is compelling enough, but not what the doctor ordered. As it turns out, the most compelling character on the trip is the young co-ed that gets picked up for a portion of the trip… she is the only character in the movie with an arc. It is entertaining and it will make you thing, but it is not the movie you hoped for when you sat down in the theater.

Haute Tension
The English title for this one is Switchblade Romance, which is kind of off the point. Essentially, this is an odd combination of Dressed To Kill and Halloween. It is a kind of fun, bloody romp, if you are up for that kind of thing. But I can't day it was as good as it should have been. There is room for a 20% improvement in a remake, which would put it on the top shelf of kill flicks.

In The Cut
This one's not an unmitigated disaster, but it is kind of a mess. You can see what drew Jane Campion to this Looking for Mr. Good Cop, circa 2003, but there is too much story for a movie that is all about mood. We never really get to the core issues, even though they are more compelling than the police procedural we are often stuck watching. And from what I am told, the ending of the book is much, much more interesting than what we get stuck with here.

Love Actually
The film needs some restructuring and pruning, but regardless, many will fall in love with this one. As I wrote before, the difference is between success and the next level… $140 million versus $190 million… Oscar nominations vs. a big February video release…

Mayor of the Sunset Strip
A very good doc about a sprite who made Sunset Strip his sycophantic domain. But something was missing. Maybe it is the sense of celebrating the pathetic, which occasionally turns its teeth on its subject, who seems like a lifelong success victim.

Noi Albinoi
Not really my cup of comedy. But if you loved Songs From The Second Floor, you will surely love this one too.

Nine Souls
The very best remake opportunity of this year's film festival. It is so well designed that and American indie version budgeted under $10 million would not only be highly profitable, but could well turn out to be legendary. The story about nine convicted murderers who escape and go on a road trip is both a well-structured character comedy and a drama of redemption and loss. I don't know what kind of business the film can do in America in its current version. But the version loaded with young, hip, indie talent is a small dunk.

Osama
I wish I could like this one more. But the tale of a girl who must pretend to be a boy to assist in her family's survival is intense, interesting and really, really dusty. And no, it has nothing to do with bin Laden.

Out of Time
This Carl Franklin film tries really hard to find its own place at the thriller table and in some ways, it works like a charm. Denzel is excellent, as is Eva Mendes in her first real role in any movie. But it is a tropical version of No Way Out that only works in stretches. That was enough to entertain me and not leave me frustrated, but it wasn't quite all the way there. That said, I expect it to make a significant dent in the domestic box office when it arrives here.

The Return
Much like Osama, a proud foreign effort that just didn't rock my world. There is more here to appreciate and the film kept my interest. But in the end, it seems to me that this is a classic Critic's Movie.

Shattered Glass
A great Showtime movie… a really good HBO movie… and underappreciated A&E movie. The performances are good. The story is interesting…. but more to press people than to real human beings, I fear. Only a writer could really spend this much time considering the details of a self-aggrandizing liar for any longer than it would take to throw him out of the bar... or to get him to exec produce your movie.

The Singing Detective
Robert Downey, Jr. and Mel Gibson are standouts in this posthumous return to the land of Dennis Potter. But the narrative balance and the emotional structure never quite come together. If you love Potter, you will want to see this film. It's imperfections are part of its many charms.

The Station Agent
Plays like a short…. ha ha ha.. I crack myself up. The ultimate festival film, this one meanders charmingly and seems to be in no rush to get anywhere. It's not easy being short… or dumb… or the parent of a dead child.

Undead
Sometimes, you just need a good zombie movie. What the Spierig Brothers did with less than $1 million and PC-made effects is remarkable. And unlike Cabin Fever, it really does deliver everything it claims. Perhaps too much so, as the film goes off into an alien tangent that is clever, but that noise you hear in the theater is the kitchen sink being removed so the guys can throw it in there. And while there is not a bit of female nudity to peruse, the mountain man guy goes the full monty.

Underworld
It is certainly the loudest movie of the year. There was a great idea here and I expect the sequel to be an improvement. Len Wiseman has first time directors disease in a big way… every frickin' thing is in close up. Scott Speedman gets better as the movie goes on, his acting moving from balsam to pine. Kate Beckinsale is lovely, but the constant close-ups of her face make her beauty boring after a while. And why in God's name did you put her in the latex pants if you aren't going to light her ass? I mean, really. This is not an art film… it's a vampire/werewolf showdown. You could put a shot of her ass in frame by itself for minutes at a time and I guarantee you, this audience would be thrilled. Instead, you spend the entire movie being teased, like a fan trying to find a non-Vaseline shot of Warren Beatty in a post-1976 film. Bill Nighy KILLS!!! He is great, as he is in Love Actually. On the flip side, Shane Brolly, who is very good looking, may be the single worst actor in the history of talking movies.

Veronica Guerin
A well made, well acted film that comes up a little short because of the truth of this true-life story. As right as feeling sympathy for the death of Veronica Guerin is, she is not a very sympathetic character. She went looking for trouble and found it. Was she really a crusader? Not really. A good person? Absolutely. But it's not the kind of story that leaves you full of righteous indignation… and I think it wanted to. Cate Blanchett is, as always, perfection.

Wilbur Wants To Kill Himself
I kind of which he had succeeded in the first act. There is a lot of lovely stuff here, but I didn't find the sad tale of a man who wants to kill himself and another who has to die to make life easier for others terribly compelling. I wanted to. And I liked all of the actors. But it felt like a long story in an AA meeting (I am guessing), not really like a movie. I guess that I am demanding more of the film than it chose to offer, but I felt like the aspirations were clear and they just weren't reached.

THE MOVIES I FOUND VERY DISAPPOINTING

The Barbarian Invasions
Like a stripper wearing a wetsuit, this psuedo-sequel to The Decline of the American Empire teases with all kinds of deep emotions and threatens to be naughty, when all it really wants to do is to be left alone. No problem.

Bon Voyage
I was quite excited about this one, since the director rarely works and when he does, I admire the richness of his efforts. But this time, he reaches for too many things, leaving a hodgepodge of acting styles and tones that never quite come together. This seems to have been a recurring theme at this year's festival.

Bright Young Things
Expected to be the "must buy" film of the festival, Stephen Fry gets caught in the "trying too much" trap and never quite gets down to the nitty gritty. Even when one bright young thing is put in the psych ward, there is a shiny surface even in her sadness. Think of All That Jazz' "I got insight into you, Gideon" hospital sequence and take away the commentary by the doctors and even by that fake Dustin Hoffman character played by Cliff Gorman. We know that the façade is a façade, but the message has to be more than that.

The Cooler
A disappointment for me from way back at the LA Film Festival. It's a true festival film. Some great actors doing some real stretching in a story that loses its way and meanders drunkenly down a video store alley.

The Event
Billed as a sure audience favorite, this story about a group of friends euthanizing a friend "in the best way possible" is not only obvious and overly sentimental and maudlin… it contains the first truly horrible Parker Posey performance ever, as the New Yawk-accented investigator/cop chasing down the truth about this death. Paging Dr. Kervorkian.

Girl With The Pearl Earring
Love the cast, like Vermeer, if I had been able to allow myself to sleep, it might have been the most comforting lullaby of the year. As a movie, it was much like watching paint dry… or not. The reason that Shakespeare is Shakespeare and "Friends" is "Friends" is that some things are iconic and last forever and some things are not. A period movie that does not reach beyond the moral issues of its time is a movie that will not find a modern audience. Making beautiful images is not enough… not even for those of us who embrace the artistry of film.

The Human Stain
"Sir Tony, you mah beeeest friend!" Sorry, couldn't resist. The real downfall of this movie and the real reason to move it into a wider release is so it can at least get one decent weekend of box office in, because as a film, it is more schizophrenic than its lead character. Essentially, it is two movies, either of which might be interesting, and which fit together like Ben Affleck and a low profile. I would have been interested in a movie about an esteemed college professor who loses everything because of a false charge of racism (though in this story, the idea that this man, who is hiding his race, being a bit of a self-hating racist is where it really might have gotten interesting) and then takes up with a "white trash," uneducated, young lost soul and in that relationship, finding his soul again. Great. And I would have been interested in the movie about a man who hid his race and then found his life changed by that. But much as I enjoy shrimp and chicken in hot garlic sauce, neither fish nor foul is a problem here… no matter how much Nicole or Jacinda Bares-It.

Nicotina
This one was all hyped up as another brick in the growth of new Mexican cinema. Instead, it was a bloody episode of some WB action show… but not as well directed, written or produced. Behavior is funnier. It is funnier when there is some foundation in reality.

Pieces of April
A lovely effort by a lovely group of people leads to very little. As with Tadpole, the DV here had the effect of making the film look even more like a lost kinescope of a very special episode of "My Mother The Car."

The Saddest Music In The World
Some ideas are better in small doses. This was one of those ideas.

Wonderland
This opportunity to revisit this small piece of the Johnny Wadd Holmes story, covered in Boogie Nights, but with the likeable Mark Wahlberg in the Holmes role, should have been great. Val Kilmer was perfect casting and delivers a solid performance. Lisa Kudrow is one of the best "loving shrew" actresses in the game. It's hard to keep up with Alfred Molina as the drug kingpin, but as with most elements of this movie, Eric Bogosian plays a darker version of the same role, in the same underwear... and in this case, is also excellent. All that said, this Rashamon -style movie doesn't let you in on the gag until the second act and by then, you are already a little bored. Instead of Kate Bosworth's young, still excitable character being the audience's doppelganger, it is Kudrow's disgusted, over it, still-stuck-in-it character that we identify with.

Young Adam
Everyone wants a ride on Ewan's knob! Thrilling, huh? I'm still not sure quite what the point was here. It is one of those movies that doesn't flinch from showing you a reality that you really don't care about in the least. And it is not exaggeration to say that in this film, all Ewan McGregor has to do is to walk in a room and the panties start coming off. And maybe it is that way in real life. But who cares, really?

THE MOVIES I AM REALLY UPSET I MISSED

16 Years of Alcohol
It sounded amazing in the program and word of mouth was strong, but it got lost in the front loaded festival of 2003.

Distant
Good word of mouth… I still am not even quite sure what it is about… but many people recommended it.

Dying at Grace
After recently discovering the genius of documentarian Allan King, I was anxious to see his latest. No time. Soon, I hope.

Elephant
Van Sant knows how to piss people off. This Columbine riff sounds fascinating.

Jesus, You Know
Uli Seidel's doc about individuals who are highly religious, a subject I always find fascinating.

Los Angeles Plays Itself
This was a major buzz movie, especially with Angelenos. It sounds really interesting and I hope it will play here in L.A. sometime.

My Life Without Me
A well liked film that I just couldn't get to. Fortunately, it is still screening in Los Angeles.

Ong-Bak Muay: Thai Warrior
A new kind of movie fighting… cool.

The School of Rock
You never would have seen it coming, but a lot of serious critics and a lot of not so serious ones seem to have fallen in love with this movie. I was supposed to go on Tuesday night, but I am on a plane to Cabo instead. Sigh…

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… & Spring
Sounds like one of those breathtakingly beautiful arty-farties, but beauty alone would be worth the time.

The Story of The Weeping Camel
The arthouse gang adored this one. Maybe it is pretentious, maybe it is accessible. I'd like to decide for myself.

Zatoichi
For one thing, everyone expects Miramax to cut this one up, especially the seeming non-sequitor of a dance sequence at the end. But beyond that, a good Beat Takashi movie is always a joy to behold.

MOVIES THAT I DID NOT SEE, BUT THAT I FEEL I HAVE SOME CONSENSUS ON

Bus 174
People have great respect for this heavyweight tale of poverty and suffering.

Coffee & Cigarettes
Light doc, Jim Jarmusch in the easy going mode.

The Company
Robert Altman's mostly dissed work for hire

Falling Angels
You know how I feel about quirky Canadian sister comedies...

Festival Express
A journey across Canada with a rock show… fun…

A Good Lawyer’s Wife
Lots of sex the Asian way… who will cheat on whom next?

Gozu
Loud, long and violent

The Grudge
Ditto.

Japanese Story
Toni Collette carries movie on her shoulders, but perhaps a little too heavy.

The Principles of Lust
Raunchy Brit flick

The Tessaract
High expectations led to great disappointment in the screenplay, in particular.

Twenty-Nine Palms
More sex…. lots of sex…. some additional sex… no movie, apparently… and some sex.

THE MOST SURPRISING NON-STARTER

The Trigerstreet Project
Why didn't anyone care about Kevin Spacey's empowerment game? Kevin who?