MOVIES AT LA PLAZA: THE TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL—MORE GLOBAL THAN EVER (Part 2: Canada and the Rest of the World)

Movie Review by Sergio Martinez

TIFF is also an excellent opportunity to catch up, or rather, get a head start on upcoming releases. Here's a brief look at the Canadian, European, Asian and U.S. film previews.

CANADIAN FILMS

Canadian films, paradoxically, have always had to face distribution difficulties in their own country, especially those made in English Canada. On the other hand, films made in Quebec have had better luck in this respect, although their small market does not necessarily translate into large revenues.

I had the opportunity to see two films from this country and both left me amply satisfied with their remarkable quality.

Seven Veils

Director: Atom Egoyan

(Canada)

Set in the world of opera, this film by the renowned Canadian director weaves together the vicissitudes of a young artistic director (played by Amanda Seyfried), who must debut a daring staging of the opera Salome, while dealing with her dissolving marriage and memories of a disturbing relationship with her father.

Amanda Seyfreid as the young
opera director in Seven Veils

In the background, as she prepares for the opera's premiere, the aspirations of those who hope to go on to sing leading roles, and the abusive outbursts of one of the main stars, are on display. This is a very well-made film, with solid acting and a remarkable creation of atmosphere, all with images that capture the emotions of the characters very well.

Irena's Vow

Director: Louise Archambault

(Canada, Poland)

This is a film based on a true story: on the day the Nazis invade Poland in 1939, Irena Gut (Sophie Nélisse) must leave her position as a trainee nurse at a local hospital and is instead assigned by the occupation authorities, first, to supervise a group of Jews forced to do sewing work for the Nazis; and then, as a housekeeper in the residence of the commander of the occupying forces.

After witnessing a brutal act by one of the dreaded Nazi SS chiefs, Irena vows to herself to save as many Jews as she can. With great determination, the young Polish woman uses her own situation and the fact that she has gained some trust from the Nazis to save a dozen Jews in the most unexpected way.

The film's dramatic development is conventional, but very well executed, and effective in involving the viewer in the story.

Irena's Vow is based on a real story

THE SPANISH MOVIES

Spanish cinema has always been present in good quantity at this festival, due to time reasons, however, I was only able to see two of their productions.

A Strange Way of Life 

Director: Pedro Almodóvar

(Spain)

Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal in this
western directed by Pedro Almodovar

Almodóvar made this English-language film, which is only 31 minutes long, and dabbles, in a dramatic and somewhat ironic way, in the wanderings of two homosexuals in the admittedly very macho environment of the Wild West and cowboys.

Two former lovers (Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal) meet after 25 years, one of them (Hawke) having become the local sheriff. As there are other reasons for the unexpected visit, they will also impact the relationship. Certainly, a very special western, with Almodovar's emotional stamp.

The Rye Horn 

Director: Jaione Camborda

(Spain, Belgium, Portugal)

While not a poor-quality film, this production set in a small Galician village left me the least impressed. Its opening, especially, in which the scene of a woman giving birth goes on for over ten minutes, is overlong, not all that necessary in the context of the story and, to top it off, not very convincing.

Maria, an informal midwife 
is forced to escape after performing
an abortion

In her village, in 1971, when Spain was still living under Franco's dictatorship, Maria (Janet Novas) is an informal midwife, apart from her steady job in fishing. One day, when she decides to help a girl seeking an abortion, she must escape to Portugal. In her escape, she will have to face many difficulties, but she will always find the solidarity of other women.

The narrative is a bit slow, although the story has a certain strength.

THE OTHER EUROPEAN FILMS

The Contestant 

Director: Clair Titley

(United Kingdom)

Watching this film, that assertion that characterizes the television set as the "idiot box" could never be more accurate. This documentary, filmed in Japan, shows the true story of Tomoaki Hamatsu, a contestant on the TV show Denpa Shonen: A Life in Prizes, the brainchild of Toshio Tsuchiya, a famous producer in Japan and the "villain" of the story if that's what we can call an individual willing to subject another human being to ridicule in public for several months in order to make money.  The task is that the contestant must perform an extremely rare, humiliating and ultimately stupid test: to live only on what he earns in magazine contests (the event took place in 1998).

The sad and real story of a contestant in
a Japanese reality show

The contestant must do this completely naked as he/she is supposed to gain items to wear over time, as well as food. All this while being filmed. Since television cannot show their genitals, the technicians must cover them, for which they will eventually use the drawing of an eggplant: nasubi, in Japanese, a nickname they finally hang on the contestant himself, since that's what he was called at school for having an elongated face, something unusual in Japan.

Although in the end Nasubi, as he is now known, achieves his goal, he becomes a celebrity, but for this he has had to pay a high price in humiliating scenes and for being the object of the attraction that "reality shows" arouse, exploiting the stupidity of the people, Japan in this, not being very different from North America.

Wicked Little Letters 

Dir. Thea Sharrock

(United Kingdom)

It's the 1920s and a wave of anonymous letters, containing all sorts of crude allusions, has invaded the quiet town of Littlehampton. When the police begin to investigate, the pious Edith Swan (Olivia Colman) finds a good opportunity to blame her neighbour, Rose (Jessie Buckley), who has a personality opposite to her own: a free spirit, who likes to dance and drink at the local pub. The plot involves the contrasts of the free life versus the hypocrisy prevailing among certain circles.

Small-town intrigues
in this delicious British comedy

It is a well-made comedy, with convincing performances and a message that, although not original, it is important to keep in mind at a time when repressive attitudes are being reborn in some societies.

The Critic

Director: Anand Tucker

(United Kingdom)

One of the films one heard about before the festival, the plot seems interesting, in fact it is, until a certain point. The period is 1936, Jimmy Erksine (Ian McKellen) is the theatre critic of the London Chronicle newspaper and is well known for his comments that can be devastating, he simply can't stand a bad performance. This is precisely what he writes about the actress Nina Land (Gemma Artenton), to such an extent that she, outraged, decides to confront him directly.

Ian McKellen as acerbic theatre critic
Jimmy Erksine

Until that moment the story is interesting and plausible, however, soon the critic and the actress will conspire to achieve an objective that is supposed to benefit both of them. The complication will not last long and this leads to a new and very implausible outcome. In short, what started out as a good story, closer to comedy than drama, turns into tragedy, but in a forced and not very credible way.

ASIA AND THE MIDDLE EAST

A Road to a Village 

Director: Nabin Subba

(Nepal)

A story set in a small Nepalese village that has only recently come to have a rural road and bus connection to the nearest town. The film combines the tender relationship of a father, Maila (Dayahang Rai) with his son Bindray, a curious, quick learner who has asked his father to buy him a television set, a luxury for the family's modest income. 

Shot in rural locations, this film impresses with the sincerity of its story, the transparency of the central characters, and at the same time, the rawness of human relationships in the small village setting.

A moving story of paternal love in this 
beautiful Nepalese film

Very good cinematography and solid performances make this film one of the unknown gems of the festival.

The Teacher 

Director: Farah Nabulsi 

(Palestine, United Kingdom, Qatar)

Filmed in the occupied territories of Palestine, Basem El-Saleh (Saleh Bakri) is a high school teacher who takes a special interest in two of his students, who also live nearby. One is studious, the other more defiant. A British social worker (Imogen Poots) who helps the troubled youngsters at the school will also become somehow involved in the events that will unfold after an act of violence unleashed by Jewish settlers in the area. At the same time, a former U.S. diplomat is in Israel, worried that his son –an Israeli soldier but also a U.S. citizen— has been kidnapped by a Palestinian commando.

A dedicated high school teacher 
faces a complex decision

The interweaving of the two episodes, the teacher, the social worker, and the family members seeking justice for the death of the Palestinian boy at the hands of the Israeli settler, and the parents of the kidnapped Israeli American soldier, provide a good basis for the drama that unfolds.

Undoubtedly, this is a film with strong political content, given the conditions in the Palestinian territory, but at the same time, with a healthy humanistic emphasis.

UNITED STATES

American Fiction 

Director: Cord Jefferson 

(USA)

This film was voted the People's Choice Award at the Festival and it is indeed an interesting film. This is because it points to one of the evils derived from certain political correctness, which the film portrays in an ironic, almost sarcastic way; undoubtedly something very healthy at times when –sometimes with the best of intentions— one wants to highlight and publicize the work of writers and other artists, underrepresented because they belong to a minority, in this case, because they are black.

A black writer is fighting stereotypes
 in this sarcastic comedy

The problem is that this is often done from the white gaze, from the stereotypes that whites have about blacks and, consequently, about the type of literature they are expected to produce.

A very good film with great acting and just the right amount of sarcasm to make it clear that in the end, what is really important when someone writes, is to be authentic.

Memory 

Director: Michel Franco

(USA, Mexico)

Much has been said about the subject of memory in recent times, in various contexts and circumstances. In this film the theme is related to the two central characters in a very different way, but in both cases with striking effects. Silvia (Jessica Chastain) works in a home for people with mental health problems, she lives alone with her daughter, maintaining very little contact with the rest of her family, except for a sister whom she sees occasionally.

Peter Sarsgaard and Jessica Chastain 
deliver solid performances in Memory

After a reunion of former students from her high school, Silvia meets Saul (Peter Sarsgaard) who is gradually slipping into dementia. From there the film takes us into this sharp reflection on memory, in Saul's case, how it is being lost and the effects it has on both his family relationships and his personal life. For Silvia, on the other hand, it is the lingering presence of memory, in the form of a childhood experience that haunts her and that at some point had also thrown her into the pit of alcoholism, a situation from which she has now emerged. However, there was still a piece of her memory to be completed in the form of an action: to confront the one who had been a silent accomplice in the traumatic episode that still haunts her memory.

A story of powerful content has been brought to the screen with an excellent performance by Jessica Chastain.

Reptile 

Director: Grant Singer 

(USA)

An interesting debut for this director who presents us with a story in the best tradition of cinema noir full of twists and turns and unpredictable events. Homicide detective Tom Nichols (Benicio del Toro) must investigate the murder of a young real estate broker in one of the houses she had for sale. Suspects abound, but in addition to this, there is a combination of strange dealings in the real estate business, drug trafficking and a certain amount of police corruption as well.

Benicio del Toro as Detective
Tom Nichols

A very good police story, with convincing performances and a good narrative development that keeps the audience's interest for the two-and-a-half hours of its duration.

THE NEXT FESTIVAL

The 49th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival will take place September 5-15, 2024.