September 20, 2005

TORONTO WRAP UP. PART 2

Before we get to the top 20, a look at a few films that kind of defy categorization.

THE CULT FILMS

Brothers Of The Head needs some work. Directors Louis Pepe and Keith Fulton, who gave us Lost in La Mancha a couple of years ago, created their own documentary out of whole cloth this time, but they do it with an earnestness and skill that creates its own category. This fake doc is no mock. The only problem is that because we don't know the story going into the theater, some of the conventions of docs that they left behind put a little too much responsibility on the audience. But if they can get past this with some more post-production, it could be the kind of film that has a 20th reunion re-release where people dress up as the twins.

Romance And Cigarettes - John Turturro's third film is a fabulous freak show. But people who take movies seriously will probably be thrilled by the chance to see James Gandolfini, Kate Winslet and Susan Sarandon singing and dancing. It is, like One From The Heart, a tiny, tiny story in the middle of a high-strung musical. But if there was a way to sell it, Kate Winslet would not be an unlikely candidate for a Best Actress nod for the silliness of her slut dance and the beauty of her song in the tank.

Tristam Shandy: A Cock & Bull Story - Michael Winterbottom tries to get around the allegedly unfilmable British lit classic by making a movie about a movie about the novel. Fortunately for him, he has Steve Coogan - playing Steve Coogan playing Tristam Shandy - to pull a lot of fat out of the endless fire. And fortunately for us, we don't have ot watch Mr. Coogan in nine sexual escapades. But the moments that are there have a very specific appeal… which equals "cult."

Bubble - Steven Sodebergh's most recent experiment has journalists with no actual depth of insight who were outraged by previous experiments flip-flopping and somehow embracing this one… and vice versa. There is something interesting going on in Bubble. But it is still little more than an experiment. Soderbergh is not the only filmmaker at the festival to use non-actors to embody realistic characterizations. Live and Become was a more successful version of this. However, the intricacies of this effort will catch the eye and the mind over and over as it arrives on cable outlets, which will probably be tomorrow afternoon in Mark Cuban's plan.

THE EDGE PUSHERS

Bee Season - I've seen Siegel & McGehee's film twice and I am still feeling ambivalent. And really, it's not because I don't like it and don't want to say it. There are some really fascinating things here as well as some of the David & Scott directorial flourishes that I have long admired. I found less perplexing moments the second time around… I liked it more. But I am still not sure quite what to make of Richard Gere's character and when I got a moment with him in Toronto, it was quickly interrupted by someone who wanted to lick the hem of the garment. Of course, a movie should not require that you have the access to Mr. Gere or McGehee or Siegel to fully understand the movie. On the other hand, I would like to know the answers I seek and I have a feeling that others, perhaps with the help of having read the book, will have that insight.

Harsh Times - This movie is like speed metal. But it's sticking with me, I must admit. It's not as complex as Fight Club or Falling Down, but the sheer intensity of Christian Bale's performance and, interestingly, the real fear that Freddie Rodriguez adds to the mix, makes it a memorable film. (On the other hand, someone give Eva Langoria a sandwich already! Ten pounds heavier and she'd be one of the all-time dark beauties. That said, she acquits herself well here.)

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - Shane Black does Shane Black. If Quentin can masturbate publicly and get endless praise, why not Shane. At least Mr. Black is more original. There is a lot of great stuff here… too much, really. But for those who don't mind overindulgence, this is a very watchable movie.

The President's Last Bang - This South Korean political satire based in reality is all the rage (in both meanings) in South Korea. Even the title is multi-entendre. But this combination of Dr. Strangelove, Godfather II's Cuba sequence, and Blake Edward's SOB, all with the straight face that Koreans manage through all things, is an imperfect but compelling little thing. If it had decided what it wanted to be, it might have been even better… or maybe it would have lost its charm.

THE TOP 20 (in alphabetical order)

Banlieue 13 - As Jackie Mason would say, "If it's such a hit, why are buyers staying away in droves? French, English, Spanish, Portuguese… if it's a hit, it's a hit. If it's not a hit, it's not a hit. You can't make a slap into a hit or a hit into a miss or a miss into a mister, unless it's Breakfast on Pluto and what's that all about… if you have the pupik, you don't wear the dress, but if you wear the dress and you have the pupik…" Thanks, Jackie. Someone should be smart enough to buy this film and to pull a Hero… don't admit its foreign language in the ads. There's an $8 million opening weekend waiting out there for some smart distributor.

Breakfast On Pluto - Speaking of Neil Jordan's latest masterpiece, I wish some of the people who don't get it got it. I have to admit, it was a much improved experience for me the second time around. And that may be the case for many, which doesn't help the film's awards prospects. But we'll see. It's also possible, as some have suggested, that the film is not harsh enough in a political era of great edge. But as time goes by, the genius will be comprehended and anyone who tried to put the film in some dark corner will pretend that they were always a fan.

Brothers Of The Head - Been here before in this column, but even as much as I want some changes to come to this film, it was still one of the most compelling, interesting experiences of Toronto this year.

Capote - Bennett Miller, Dan Futterman and Phil Hoffman (and I'll be calling him that a lot in the column not because we are best friends, but because three names is too many and he is really more of a Phil than a Phillip Seymour) were high school chums who made one of the most intimate, quietest impact films of this year or any other. We'll be discussing this movie for months to come.

The Devil & Daniel Johnston - Jeff Feuerzeig's masterpiece about the deeply challenged, deeply brilliant musician/fine artist whose art is about the every personal and the completely universal at the same time. Feuerzeig's filmmaking is on the highest level of the docs that "do it differently." But it is really Johnston, who is a real-life Napoleon Dynamite, who can change your perception of the world after spending a couple of hours with him. His story is so sad, yet so hopeful. The film is Oscar qualified, so I hope it will be heading for the short list. In the meanwhile, don't let the sun go down on your grivience.

The District! - This Hungarian animation is something you haven't seen, either in content or in style. My head was spinning half the time, but every 60 seconds or so, there was a landmark to grab on to and to ride that sucker out. It's got sex, violence, absurdism, politics (including a wicked parody of Western European and American leaders) and lots and lots of drugs. I'm quite sure that I would see more and more as I watched the film a few times more.

A History Of Violence - David Cronenberg's best film yet. I've written about it before. I'll write about it again. Just see it.

L'Enfer - The latest from Oscar-winner Danis Tanovic, this film has almost no clear connection to his first film, No Man's Land. But Tanovic is clearly not one to stand on his laurels and here he shows, sometimes more successfully than others, that he may one of the most important filmmakers of his generation. This movie starts with one of the best opening sequences in memory… and it does end up being key to the movie. But what is fascinating is that the ambiguities, in what seems like a very unambiguous sequence, last all the way into the third act. I sense that this film will move higher and higher on my list as I get another look or two.

Live And Become - One of the few great surprises of this year's TIFF, director Radu Mihaileanu challenges the audience with a somewhat obscure issue - Ethiopian Jews moving back to Israel - and manages to make it completely personal and human. It is a perfectly timed exploration of morality in light of America's place in Iraq as well as the Louisiana flooding. What is "the right thing," who do we allow to create those standards for us, and what about the very real human beings who are not just pawns on the geo-political chessboard.

Mrs. Henderson Presents - Shame on me (and so many others) for doubting a film from Stephen Frears, no matter how treacle-y it seemed from a distance. Thanks to the old fashioned tone, a mortal lock Oscar nod performance by Dame Judi Dench, a strong role for Bob Hoskins and a lovely piece of directing from Frears, this film is a sure winner for adult audiences - no need to chase them, thanks - and a possible Best Picture nominee. Sure, it's a little slight. But in the "feel good" slot, the fight between this film, The Producers and The Family Stone could be intense. This is really the only Oscar title that was really launched via Toronto this year. The others were already well down the road.

No Direction Home: Bob Dylan - Scorsese's Dylan doc was deconstructed by Larry Gross on MCN a couple of weeks ago. Je is a heavy duty Dylan fan. I was not. But this film is up there with the best of the found-footage docs on performers, other titles of which include The Compleat Beatles, The Kid Stays In The Picture, and some of the great South Bank Shows, which used to run on Bravo, and are one of the great missing TV series on the DVD shelves. I don't really buy DVDs, but the collection of South Bank Shows would be worth many hundreds of dollars for me to have to browse through at any time I like. But I digress… Scorsese's assembly here is the very highest level of storytelling. You really can't watch the film without going out and filling out the Dylan part of your CD collection. And though I was very happy to see the film on screen, particularly because focus is much stronger in a theatrical setting, I will be pretty much as happy seeing the film on PBS next week.

North Country - It's a good movie, but it's as fat as Charlize Theron is lean. It should be the tight little woman-against-oppression drama that it wants to be, complete with a potential awards performance by Ms. Theron, a career kick-off for Michelle Monaghan and a great character actor love fest for Richard Jenkins. But horrifyingly, I read a piece with Niki Caro expressing her love of the lingering beauty shots of the billowing smoke and rough edges of the coal mine. There is a nice movie in there… it could use some Pilates… or in the parlance of the film, it should have switched to the light beer.

The Notorious Bettie Page - A lovely surprise at the festival, this HBO movie is due in March, so we'll be revisiting at Sundance. But a really nice performance by Gretchen Mol that is full of the charm that got her onto the cover of Vanity Fair… only this time, it tuns up in full force on screen… perhaps because she is more than "the girl friend" here. Some people got on it for not being edgy enough, but fuck them. Is that edgy enough?

Paradise Now - A really fine piece on a tough, tough subject… suicide bombing. Surprisingly, the film didn't generate a lot of chatter at Telluride or Toronto. Every audience seems to respect and admire the movie, but I kind of expected fist fights in the aisles of the theaters. Have we really become bored by this issue or are we just weather-distracted?

Romance And Cigarettes - I wrote about it above… I loved experiencing it, even if you could drive a logic truck right through it.

Shooting Dogs - Michael Caton-Jones' $3 million Rwanda film, actually set in Rwanda… oh, Rwanda was last year? Shame on us. This is a classic white man in a black world way into the story of the massacre with a far tougher view than Hotel Rwanda and far more intellectual and emotional complexity. And even if American's don't care anymore, plenty of other countries do, where it is selling quite well. We do get over hundreds of thousands of dead bodies in a hurry, huh?

Thank You For Smoking - A really good HBO movie from first-timer Jason Reitman, son of Ghostbustermeister Ivan Reitman. Really good. Aaron Eckhart is terrific. It's smart. It's funny. It ain't Chayefsky, but it was good, clean fun.

Time To Leave - I adore this movie. Francois Ozon never repeats himself and this is a very small, personal portrait of a man of just 30 who is facing his death. What do you do when your life is suddenly at an end? A beautiful little movie.

Twelve and Holding - Perhaps my favorite find of the festival, this film from L.I.E. director Michael Cuesta is a funny, painful, profane, truthful look at three 12 year olds, best friends each of whom faces their own challenge. And these aren't Bad News Bears challenges. Death, sex, obesity, jail, fear of your parents self-destruction, dangerous precociousness, and taking responsibility before we are ready to are all addressed in great detail. There is a fear of the $1 million box office that Mean Creek did in spite of great reviews and awards, but this is another animal. These kids are icons. And you laugh a lot in this film.

Walk The Line - I keep a close watch om this heart of mind. But I have to say, I am falling deeper and deeper in love with this film, in no small part because I keep discovering new elements as I keep hearing things in the ether. For instance, I am now thinking that "Get Rhythm" is referred to obliquely by a brief beat in the first act of the film when Cash sees a kid shining shoes. And that occurred to me as I listened to that whole song apart from the film. "A little shoeshine boy, he never gets low down..." etc. I know it seems like a little thing, but James Mangold seems to have loaded the film up with these subtle references (One that isn't subtle is when June screams at "the boys," "You can't walk no line!" Oh well, nothing is perfect.) Anyway, the film grips my heart a little more each day, which is a shocker for me, I have to say. But clearly not for Toronto festivalgoers.

And that's it. I have meant for two weeks to do a lengthy tribute to Gabrielle Free, who is leaving TIFF after a decade, but the moment hasn't come. Toronto will not be the same without Gabrielle. Democrats should be pleased that she hasn't been recruited by the Bush Administration or the hurricane in Louisiana would be downgraded to a thunderstorm and the devastation would be reported on as "some local trouble." On the other hand, maybe Gabi should run FEMA. The Canadian government is lucky to have her. She is smart, she is funny and she is brilliantly political… even when it exhausts her.

We'll miss you… really miss you.

But we won't miss TIFF. It is now the most important festival for the North American film market in the world. Happy 30th birthday.

E-ME.