Movie Review by Sergio Martinez
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) celebrated
its 50th edition in a way that reaffirms its status as one of the most
important film events in the world. This year's TIFF has also managed to shake
off its image as a venue for launching major Hollywood productions, instead
putting on screen a wide and very diverse range of notable works by filmmakers
from around the world.
Below, we discuss some of these works:
It Was Just an Accident
Dir. Jafar Panahi (Iran/France/Luxembourg)
Set in present-day Iran, a car carrying a man, his wife, and
his daughter at night breaks down, triggering a drama of revenge reminiscent of
Ariel Dorfman's play Death and the Maiden, also made into a film, in
which, as in that film, a simple coincidence brings a victim of repression face
to face with the person he believes tortured him while he was in prison. Not
without moments of humour, the plot thickens as new characters join the search
for revenge against the alleged torturer. A well-told story, with a good
balance between drama and the absurdity of certain situations that unfold
during the process of identifying the alleged oppressor.
The Man in my Basement
Dir. Nadia Latif (United Kingdom / United States)
Charles Blakey (Corey Hawkins), a black man facing financial
difficulties that could lead to him losing his home—not just a place to live,
but a precious family heirloom—unexpectedly receives a visit from a mysterious
white man (Willem Dafoe) who can solve his money problems in exchange for a
very unusual agreement to rent his basement. It is a story with a very peculiar
development of tensions that, in some way, portrays—in reverse—the conditions
that historically forged relations between whites and blacks.
Good News
Dir. Byun Sung-hyun (South Korea)
Set in the 1960s, when a group of extreme leftists carried
out various armed actions, the plot allows this film to go beyond narrating the
event itself—the hijacking of a Japanese passenger plane during a domestic
flight—and take a critical and ironic look at how the media manipulates
information. The authorities themselves are also involved in this endeavour,
both in Japan and South Korea, where the plane is forced to land, although,
through a ruse, the hijackers have been led to believe that they have arrived
in North Korea. A sharp critique, with ingenious ironic notes, of the
intelligence services and political and military authorities of both countries.
Arco
Dir. Ugo Bienvenu
(France)
An animated film that attempts to play with the notions of
time travel. However, it lacks a clear focus. The story is supposed to take
place in the near future, but the time traveller (a boy named Arco) has
travelled from an even more distant future. On his journey, he meets a girl
named—conveniently—Iris, which leads to a play on words that is supposed to
have some significance. The story is unconvincing and at times confusing.
The Christophers
Dir. Steven Soderbergh (United Kingdom)
When Lori (Michaela Coel), an artist who until then had only
done restoration work and worked in a fast-food restaurant, receives an
interesting offer that could solve her problems, albeit in exchange for a job
of dubious legality, she discovers an interesting character, the eccentric
painter Julian Sklar (Ian McKellen). The film then immerses us in the intricate
business of art. It is a film that, while entertaining us, also makes us
reflect on some lesser-known details of the art business.
Orphan
Dir. Laszlo Nemes
A well-constructed story where loyalty, family values, and
adaptation to what fate has in store intertwine to give us a tale in which a
son who has never known his father searches for identity, which will lead him
to face the inevitable. “The more you hate him, the more you resemble him,” his
mother tells him on one occasion when the boy has taken out his anger on his
alleged father.
Two Prosecutors
Dir. Sergei Loznitsa
(France/Germany/Netherlands/Latvia/Romania/Lithuania)
Set in the darkest days of the Stalinist period, in the late
1930s, a young, recently graduated prosecutor attempts to investigate what has
happened to a prisoner, a former prosecutor who has fallen from grace and is
now imprisoned by the NKVD, the regime's secret police. A well-structured drama
with convincing performances that effectively portray characters who are cogs
in a relentless machine.
Nouvelle
Vague
Dir. Richard
Linklater (France)
Without a doubt one of the best films screened at this
year's TIFF. Shot in black and white, Nouvelle Vague vividly portrays
the vicissitudes and peculiarities of the notable creators of that period in
French cinema history, when Jean-Luc Godard, whose iconic Breathless is
the focus of the film, François Truffaut, Claude Chabrol, and other notable
directors shone. Excellent performances allow today's viewers to be transported
in a very real way to the atmosphere of that movement in the 1950s and 1960s.
Palestine 36
Dir. Annemarie Jacir (Palestine / United Kingdom / France /
Norway / Qatar / Saudi Arabia / Jordan)
A powerful story that, although fictional, presciently
portrays the tragedy that had been unfolding since 1936 for the Palestinians,
then in a territory administered by the British as mandataries of the League of
Nations. The gradual displacement of Palestinian communities for the benefit of
Jewish settlers was already underway with the tacit complicity of the British
authorities. A convincing performance portrays very well this period in the
history of a people who are still suffering the consequences of losing their
land.
Unidentified
Dir. Haifaa Al Mansour (Saudi Arabia)
A very pleasant surprise at this festival was the presence
of this crime thriller with an unpredictable ending and an ingenious plot. When
the body of a young student is found in a desert area, police chiefs request
the support of the only woman available at the police station, the young
archivist Nawal (Mila Alzahrani). Apparently empowered in her new role as an
investigator, even though she is not an agent, Nawal will devote herself with
particular zeal to the task of discovering the perpetrator of the crime.
However, a twist in the outcome of the investigation will leave all viewers
surprised—a brilliant ending.
The Wizard of the Kremlin
Dir. Olivier Assayas (France)
Another ingenious film, albeit set in a completely different
scenario: what goes on behind the scenes of Kremlin politics. Incidentally,
this is a fictional story in which the invented character of Vadim Baranov
(Paul Dano) also becomes a central figure in Vladimir Putin's (Jude Law) rise
to power. A story that touches on situations that could be probable, sometimes
with humorous or ironic overtones, and at other times in a more dramatic way.
Another of the high-quality films presented at TIFF.
Two Pianos
Dir. Arnaud Desplechin (France)
This French film deserves a very different assessment, as it
is the worst one seen by this critic. After an extended stay in Asia, pianist
Mathias Vogler (François Civil) decides to return to his native Lyon, invited
by his former mentor, pianist Elena (Charlotte Rampling), who is about to
retire and with whom he hopes to give a series of concerts. However, from there
on, a series of highly implausible events unfold. While walking in a park,
Mathias encounters a child who bears a striking resemblance to himself at that
age. Strangely obsessed by this discovery, the event leads him to meet a lover
from his youth. The boy would then be his son. All this amid far-fetched
coincidences and chance encounters. Add to that a mediocre dialogue.
Easy’s Waltz
Dir. Nic Pizzolatto (United States)
Set in Las Vegas, this film explores the dilemma of
balancing family loyalty with the pursuit of personal success. Easy (Vince
Vaughn) is a talented singer, but not very ambitious in pursuing a successful
career. In contrast, his brother Sam (Simon Rex) has the qualities to promote
his brother. The opportunity arises when a powerful businessman (Al Pacino)
discovers Easy and brings him to his casino as a star attraction. Things look
good until Sam, who is actually a criminal, causes a situation that will force
Easy to make a difficult decision.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Dir. Rian Johnson (United States)
Another notable film at this year's TIFF. Detective Benoit
Blanc (Daniel Craig) travels to a small town where he attempts to solve a crime
with certain macabre elements. A young priest (Josh O'Connor), who had been a
boxer before entering the priesthood, had been sent to the town some time
earlier. The parish priest is an authoritarian and eccentric priest (Josh
Brolin), while the church is assisted by a woman (Glenn Close) who also has her
peculiarities. When the old priest is strangely murdered in the church itself
shortly before giving his Easter sermon, the small congregation is embroiled in
a series of intrigues and conflicts. To make matters even stranger, at one
point, the murdered clergyman's body disappears from its grave and security
camera footage records his apparent resurrection. Although some of the events
are somewhat exaggerated, the film is very entertaining and keeps the audience
interested until the end.
Frankenstein
Dir. Guillermo del Toro (United States)
As he did previously with Pinocchio, the director has rewritten Mary
Shelley's novel, with mixed results. On the one hand, there is a very good
recreation of the atmosphere of the story; on the other hand, the fact that it
has been reimagined, particularly the part where the “creature” (Jacob Elordi)
tells his version of events, is probably the most controversial aspect. For
some, it is a kind of vindication and “humanization” of the creature created by
Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac). In contrast, for others it is a departure
from the original story and loses the novel's sense of denunciation of a
scientific quest that ultimately becomes a threat.
