Alright, well the sun has just risen this morning here in Austin, so it is time for me to return to my coffin lest my skin be burnt by the sun. I'll leave ya with Sheriff Buck's wrap up of the Toronto Film Fest and I'll just say... Man... I wish I could have been up there!
Toronto Festival, Post-Game Summary.
Sheriff Buck here once more, I have awoken from my 20-hour slumber following the Fest. My brain
is now finally kicked in to gear, after I basically shut it down 9 days ago, to enter a
popcorn-fed sort of hibernation :-)
Heres a few more reviews for ya. Once again, I have riddled the reviews with spoilers, so
beware....
S
P
O
I
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S
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After the Truth: Here's a really good courtroom drama from Germany. Whats appealing about it is
that its about Nazis, more specifically Josef Mengele. There aren't that many German movies
that deal with WWII, because they're still pretty sensitive about it. This gives the movie
somewhat of a unique perspective on the subject.
The movies centers around a young lawyer, who is abducted and flown to a remote location, to
the home of a man who claims to be Josef Mengele in hiding. When the lawyer returns to Germany,
Josef follows him on the plane and turns himself in at the airport, claiming that the lawyer
will represent him on trial. The lawyer is torn between despising the man, and
wanting to be a good lawyer by ensuring he receives a good defence, and ultimately agrees to
represent him.
The movie proceeds to unfold following a fairly standard courtroom-drama fashion, but the
material is interesting. Also, there is no cop-out ending, the guy really IS Mengele, not an
imposter. I felt however that the movie should have gone even further into the ethical dilemmas
presented in the film, too much of the movie is taken up by cliched sideplots (Lawyers wife is
neglicted, thier house gets vandalized, etc etc). I also felt that the movie could have been
even more "German" than it was, partially due to the fact the original script was penned in the
USA. Still, it was a very good film, especially for those "Law and Order" nuts out there. :-)
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Throne of Death: This is a short (50min) film from India that won a Camera D'Or award at Cannes
this year. The story centers around poor farmer who steals some fruit from his master's lands,
and gets caught. For political reasons, he is also accused of commiting a recent unsolved
murder, and sentenced to die. While in custody, the Electric Chair is introduced to India from
America, and the man is destined to become the first victim.
One of the things I liked best about this film was that it started out very serious, but midway
switches gears and becomes very funny, albiet in a sad kind of way. Much of the humor comes
from the different values these people have, contrasted with North American values. This is
most evident in the fact that nobody seems very interested in proving the innocence of the man,
only in the honor it will bring to the village as being the first customer of the great
"Electronic Chair".
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Just One Time: This film is about Threesomes, how can you go wrong? (Well, ignore the fact that
the movie "Threesome" was dog poo) A pretty basic plot (guy wants to fulfill three-way fantasy
with his fiance before they get married, wife-to-be resists) turns into a pretty funny movie.
Although uneven, there are at least half a dozen TOTALLY funny scenes in this movie that pay
off bigtime. Some good performances, especially by Guillermo Diaz, round out the film, making
it a fun popcorn movie.
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The Big Kahuna: The other Kevin Spacey movie at the festival is also a fine piece of work.
Adapted from the play "Hospitality Suite" by the play's author, this film centers around 3
salesmen for a lubricants company preparing for a schmooze party in a hotel. The goal is to
close a deal with "The Big Kahuna", the CEO of a large machinery firm that could represent the
biggest client the company has seen.
Strong performances from Spacey and Danny DeVito (as well as Pete Facinelli as the "new kid"),
portraying characters that are similar to past work they have done, but still unique and fresh.
In particular, the dynamic the two of them have as long-time salespartners is a joy to watch. A
comment was made after the film that these three people represent the same person at three
different stages in life, and this cohesion drives most of the conflict in the movie to great
effect. The best scene is an exceptional ending monologue delivered by Devito to the kid, on
the nature of life.
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Charisma: A ridiculous story about a lone tree in the forest, that seems to draw conflict. Some
people want to cut it down, some people want to steal it, some people want to protect it. Into
this setting a Cop who is on a soul-searching vaction stumbles.
I was not very impressed with this one. Its by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, who is the featured director
at the festival this year. As such, I went in with high hopes, but was let-down. The script was
written 10 years ago, and then re-written recently before filming it. The result seems pretty
awkward, with many elements that simply made no sense. 3/4 of the way through the movie, it
switches gears (or rather, elevates to another level of ridiculousness), and really ruins any
hope of a good ending.
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The Hurricane: I *bought* my ticket for this one :-) As such, I have no problems giving a small
review of it. Besides, its a favourable one all around, so I dont think anyone will be
offended.
This movie follows the story of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a black boxer in the 60s/70s who is
falsely accused of a triple-murder. A racist police officer (who has been giving Rubin trouble
since he was 11) concocts evidence and persudes witnesses to convict him. In prison, Rubin
writes an autobiography, a second-hand copy of which is later found and purchased by Lesra
Martin, a teen in Toronto. He is so moved by the book that he takes up the fight to free Rubin.
What can I say except that, even in a work-print form, this film is a masterpiece. From start
to finish, the story is told with such intensity and compassion that the result is profoundly
moving. Denzel Washington turns in another exceptional performance as Rubin, Liev Schreiber is
great as a sympethetic prison guard, and the rest of the cast gives competent performance.
(Admittedly, the material for the supporting cast is slim, the movie really focuses on Denzel)
What really elevated the evening beyond simply a screening to an "Event", was that both Rubin
Carter and Lesra Martin were in attendence. As I (and we, the whole audience) watched the film
with them, it was impossible not to be touched emotionally.
The movie clocked in at 2 hours, 20 minutes. I'm sure it will be trimmed a little for release,
but I dont envy anyone that task. The movie was never slow, there wasnt a single scene that
cried out to be cut. Lines of dialog here and there I felt could be trimmed, but those
instances were few.
Perhaps the only critisism I would level at this time is a uniquely Canadian one. There are a
bunch of lines in the movie that have an American character referring to "The Canadians" or
"You Canadians". Each time there was a line like this, it provoked what I felt was unintended
laughter from the audience. It just sounded wierd. Think of the movie "Canadian Bacon" where
the characters refer to "The Royal Canadian Mounted Police" or "The Canadian National Tower" in
an obviously-humorous fashion to get an idea of what I mean. On the other hand, there is a
priceless and extremely subtle joke involving a certain canadian department store box that was
brilliant (ie. this scene provoked the biggest laugh of the night, but at the same time will be
*invisible* to an American audience.) Please, Norman, dont let this one end up on the cutting
room floor!
Overall, the best film at the festival this year for me (Yep, it bumped Deterrance to #2).
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Fever: I must admit, I didnt really give the latest movie from Alex "Excellent! Bogus!" Winter
a fair chance. Why? Because I fell asleep 25 minutes in :-)
What I saw was pretty slow, and very dark, both in mood and visually. Slow and Dark + 12am +
6th movie of the day + 9th day of the festival just didnt play in my favor for this one.
And thats the kind of week its been. Heres my ranking of everything I've seen this year:
The Top 5
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1. The Hurricane
2. Deterrance
3. Fucking Amal
4. Dogma
5. American Movie
The Rest of the Good Ones
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6. Top Of The Food Chain
Wonderland
julian donkey-boy
7. Big Kahuna
Freeway 2
Miss Julie
8. Throne of Death
After The Truth
9. Why Does Herr R Run Amok? (Hard to rank)
10. Just One Time
All The Rage
The Limey
11. Envy (decent australian white-suburban-rage movie)
12. Wadd
Third Miracle (Anne Heche, Ed Harris, decent film)
Guts (Dutch struggling-writer meets girl-of-his-dreams movie, pretty fun)
The Stinkers
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13. Komodo (Close but no Cigar)
14. Black and White
Splendor
15. rollercoaster (bad canadian movie)
Charisma
16. History Is Made At Night
17. Kill By Inches (bad French new-wave movie)
99. The Item
N/A: Fever (Its unfair to rank the first 25 minutes of it)
Well, thats it. Cant wait for next year, although next time I'll make sure not to schedule so
many of those damned 9am showings....
Buck.
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