August 25, 2004

There will be a Fall Preview, Pt..2, which will be the definitive Fall
Preview for this column. But with the full list of films heading to Toronto finally arriving, it will have to wait for tomorrow.

TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL PREVIEW

There will surely be some titles I have not prioritized that will rise, while some of my must-see entries will fall. But one good look over the list of films headed for Toronto this year yielded 74 must-see films... which of course is impossible. As is the sad case, the Impossible 74 don't include a single title from the festival's top-line Discovery, Wavelengths, National Cinema Programme, Planet Africa, Canada First and The Canadian Open Vault programs. Every year, I feel like I am missing a key part of this key festival. But, alas, reality means that seeing 40-50 films over the 10 day fest is as much as anyone could really hope to achieve. And as the schedule goes, perhaps one or two titles from these programs will fall into my life.

It has long been my contention that festivals would better serve the films in their less well-attended programs by creating a DVD catalog for journalists and key industry folks to take home with them. In the months after Toronto, I can assure the filmmakers that I would make the time to work through, for instance, the Canadian films in the program that I just can't get to during the festival. I'd love to, because every time I do veer away from the mainstream stuff, I find something I really like, like Marion Bridge a few years back. That was a film that I only saw because the press screening time coincided with a surprise opening. God knows that a movie like Ginger Snaps would have been greatly served by American media having a chance to see it, even on tape, after it won an award as the top Canadian film at the fest. Instead, I eventually saw it - and loved it - on video. And by that point, it was too late for me or any of the other writers who would enjoy the film to embrace it and shine a strong light on the movie for potential buyers who either didn't bother to see the film or passed out of misguided advice.

Nonetheless, let's take a look at what's on the big table this year...

There are 27 important titles this year that are coming to Toronto with plans for American distribution already settled.

A Dirty Shame - John Waters' first NC-17 release in many years, this New Line title will be released in New York and L.A. on September 24

Bad Education - The new Almodóvar premiered at Cannes and the rest of the domestic press corps will get their first good look at this Sony Classic release. It is said to be brilliant but less accessible than Almodovar's recent run of films.

Being Julia - This István Szabó film is opening the festival... which is usually a sign of serious trouble. Hum for awards for Annette Bening stir hope.

Beyond the Sea - Kevin Spacey knew he was too old for the role, but his passion for directing the Bobby Darin story overwhelmed any logic. We'll see how it worked out.

Enduring Love - Roger Michell has come a long, long way from Notting Hill, which was very pleasant and all, but the director of studio-style Changing Lanes and the very independent The Mother may have created his finest work to date with this Paramount Classics release about the effects of trauma on love and vice versa.

Head in the Clouds - People at early screenings of this John Duigan melodrama are crying... about having had to sit through the movie. But Charlize Theron is the reigning Oscar winner and she looks so purdy....

House of Flying Daggers - Miramax barely got Zhang Yimou's Hero out of the gate in time to stay out of the way of this Sony Classics Cannes pick-up, which is said by many to be even better than Hero due to a more directed storyline. One thing is sure... it will be sumptuous.

I (Heart) Huckabees - He doesn't make nearly enough films, but David O. Russell is back with another all-star cast to deliver this October release to Fox Searchlight.

Kinsey - Perhaps the most sophisticated and accessible movie about the nature of human sexuality and our passion & fear of same is from
Oscar-winner Bill Condon, whose sense of visual style is just one of the many great surprises about this Fox Searchlight awards season release.

The Machinist - Brad Anderson has been one of the indie world's most eclectic directors. Here he tells the story of a man who is eating himself away from the inside and gets a truly remarkable performance out of Christian Bale, both in body and soul... quite literally. This Paramount Classics release premiered at Sundance.

Millions - Fox Searchlight recently pushed this Danny Boyle family comedy into 2005 to give it time to be seen by enough people to get a good buzz going. The story of two kids who find millions that will become worthless within a short period of time is te director's first since 28 Days Later.

The Motorcycle Diaries - An early favorite for an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, Walter Salles' tale of a journey into adulthood that just happens to center around political legend Che Guevara, but is really about all of us, is Focus Features' best candidate to be this year's Lost in Translation.

Nobody Knows - The great Kore-eda's new film got picked up by IFC after Cannes and now we get to take a look.

Old Boy - This is one of the hottest Asian title sin years after Quentin Tarantino gave this Chan-wook Park two chins up... way up. The dark and violent drama about a man who is jailed in solitary confinement for 15 years without explanation has got all the stuff geeks like about kick flicks, but all the sophistication of an art film. There is no domestic distributor yet, but the American remake is in active development.

P.S. - Dylan Kidd became an instant indie legend with the misogyny comedy Roger Dodger. Now he's back and Laura Linney is said to be in stiff competition for acting awards... with herself... in this film and Kinsey.

Ray - Amazingly, there are already those arguing that this Taylor Hackford telling of the Ray Charles story has peaked out. But the screening at Toronto will tell the tale of this heavy duty Oscar contender.

Return to Sender - I may be in a small group, but any Bille August movie is a movie that I have to see. After The Best Intentions, he has my undying loyalty.

Saw - Lions Gate's hardcore horror film has bounced around the fall schedule. But it is one of the top screamers available in the ol' TO.

The Sea Within - This Alejandro Amenábar drama (based on a true story) about a quadriplegic fighting for his death is powerful and subtle and guarantees that Javier Bardem (and New Line) will be in Hollywood on Oscar night.

Shark Tale - Will the next "S" titled animation from DreamWorks be a Shrek or a Sinbad? We'll know shortly.

Sideways - Perhaps Alexander Payne's finest work in a rather wondrous young career, his latest collaboration with Jim Taylor manages to be smart and quiet and also contains one of the funniest nudity gags (with due respect to Chloe & Vince) in the history of film. From Fox Searchlight.

Silver City - John Sayles channels Altman in his newest film. The story behind the scenes of a political campaign is worth seeing for Chris Cooper's channeling of George W. Bush alone. But Sayles packs a lot into the film. He doesn't quite have Altman's sense of humor, but a strong picture.

Stage Beauty - Lions Gate delivers this Elizabethan romance from Sir Richard Eyre with an eye towards awards.

Tarnation - Jonathan Caouette's personal home video archive turned feature film has won audience awards almost everywhere it has played. And Wellspring will finally put the film into release just as soon as they play the second day of the New York Film Festival to fill out the entire run of key U.S. festivals.

Undertow - David Gordon Green may not have been able to get his version of A Confederacy of Dunces underway, but UA is scheduled to release this drama from one of the hottest young filmmakers of his generation.

The Woodsman - This Sundance hot title from newcomer Nicole Kassell is one of Newmarket's awards hopefuls, with Kevin Bacon starring as a child molester trying to reform his ways.

Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession - Xan Cassavetes (yes, one of those Cassavettes) made this film about a rather remarkable piece of Los Angeles film history from the early days of cable television.

THE DOCS - I've grabbed nine of the documentary titles that I expect to be "must sees." Double Dare is a fun doc about female stunt doubles that was Oscar qualified last year, but never found a proper home. George Butler is a top-notch documentarian, probably best known for Shackelton, who did a film about his close pal, John Kerry. The from-the-eyes-of-the soldiers doc Gunner Palace is the best film I've seen about Iraq so far. Isn't This A Time is a real version of Chris Guest's fictitious A Mighty Wind. The Heaven's Gate doc might be inside baseball, but it's out ball and we'll watch what we want. And I went to high school with once Oscar nominated Susan Kaplan, so I'm going to see her film for sure.

- Andrew and Jeremy Get Married - Don Boyd
- Double Dare - Amanda Micheli
- Final Cut: The Making and Unmaking of Heaven's Gate - Michael Epstein
- Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry - George T. Butler
- Gunner Palace - Michael Tucker, Petra Epperlein
- Isn't This a Time! A Tribute Concert for Harold Leventhal - Jim Brown
- Lightning in a Bottle - Antoine Fuqua
- Mondovino - Jonathan Nossiter
- Three of Hearts: a postmodern family - Susan Kaplan

ENGLISH LANGUAGE WITH POTENTIAL - Whether because of a strong directorial voice, famous actors or sheer audacity, these fifteen titles are going to draw lots of attention. The heavy sexuality of Yes and 9 Songs will bring them running.

- 9 Songs - Michael Winterbottom
- The Assassination of Richard Nixon - Niels Mueller
- Crash - Paul Haggis
- Dead Man's Shoes - Shane Meadows
- The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things - Asia Argento
- Hotel Rwanda - Terry George
- Human Touch - Paul Cox
- Innocent Voices - Luis Mandoki
- Keane - Lodge Kerrigan
- The Merchant of Venice - Michael Radford
- Mysterious Skin - Gregg Araki
- Noel - Chazz Palminteri
- Sucker Free City - Spike Lee
- Palindromes - Todd Solondz
- Yes - Sally Potter

DIRECTORS TO WATCH - These foreign language titles are still critical to your festival scheduling because any one of these directors could hit a home run at any time.

- 5 x 2 - Cinq fois deux - François Ozon
- À tout de suite - Benoît Jacquot
- Anatomie de l'enfer - Catherine Breillat
- Childstar - Don McKellar
- Cinévardaphoto - Agnès Varda
- Clean - Olivier Assayas
- Eros - Wong Kar-wai, Steven Soderbergh, Michelangelo Antonioni
- Ferpect Crime - Alex de la Iglesia
- Five - Abbas Kiarostami
- A Hole in My Heart - Lukas Moodysson
- Ils se marièrent et eurent beaucoup d'enfants - Yvan Attal
- Kung Fu Hustle - Stephen Chow
- Land of Plenty - Wim Wenders
- Libertine, The - Laurence Dunmore
- L' Intrus - Claire Denis
- Low Life - Im Kwon-taek
- Modigliani - Mick Davis
- Niceland - Fridrik Thor Fridriksson
- Ninth Day, The - Volker Schlöndorff
- Notre Musique - Jean-Luc Godard
- Promised Land - Amos Gitaï
- Salvador Allende - Patricio Guzmán
- Zebraman - Takashi Miike