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Toronto International Film Festival 2019 Mini Film Reviews for Day 4

I’m at the Toronto International Film Festival this week, so I thought I’d post some mini reviews of the movies I’ve seen so far. I’m breaking up the posts by the days on which I watched the movies. Descriptions by/from TIFF.net. Reviews are my own rambling opinions.

Weathering With You

An old tale taken from Japan’s ancient Shinto myths and projected onto a bleak near-future of floods, pollution, and global warming, Weathering With You follows the difficult lives of a runaway and a lonely girl who has recently lost her mother.

Sixteen-year-old Hodaka arrives penniless in rainy Tokyo and finds shelter and employment with Suga, a detective who runs a sketchy occult magazine. Working on the urban legends column, Hodaka is asked to track down a rumoured hare onna, or “clear-weather woman,” someone with the magical powers to part the clouds and let bright rays of sunlight shine through. His investigation leads him to Hina, the kind-hearted, gentle girl who works at a burger shop and offered him food when he was starving. Hina has the power to control the sky — a gift that could bring unexpected wealth in a perpetually wet and overcast city like Tokyo.

My take:

(Full disclosure: I dozed off during the first 10-15 minutes of this movie. I’d had one and a half drinks during the day, and the lure of a dark theater was too much for me to handle. I managed to snap out of it and stay awake for the rest of the movie, though.) I loved the animation style, and the story was interesting, rooted in the urban legend of the sunshine girls (and boys). I genuinely cared about Hodaka and Hina, as well as the supporting characters, particularly Hina’s younger brother, Nagi, a pint-sized lothario. The movie had a good balance of realism, fantastical elements, and humor.

Worth seeing in a theater?

Yes. The attention to detail in this anime film is amazing. The story is made richer for it, so it deserves the big-screen treatment.

Pelican Blood

Wiebke (the ever-dynamic Nina Hoss, also at TIFF in Ina Weisse’s The Audition) is a horse trainer and adoptive mother to Nicolina (Adelia-Constance Giovanni Ocleppo). The two share a strong bond and live an idyllic life in the countryside. Together they plan on expanding their family to include Raya (Katerina Lipovska) and travel to the young girl’s native Bulgaria to bring her home.

Shortly after that trip, Wiebke learns that her new daughter suffers from an attachment disorder and cannot build emotional connections to those around her — further, she begins exhibiting shocking behaviour and grows increasingly violent, claiming her actions are motivated by the provocation of a dark spirit. After a specialist explains that Raya will have lifelong issues and does not feel empathy, Wiebke must decide whether she is willing to keep her new child and simultaneously risk Nicolina’s safety.

My take:

I found this movie interesting, but it didn’t rock my world. I found Raya unsympathetic enough that I didn’t want Wiebke to try and “fix” her. That said, young Katerina Lipovska is an amazing child actor, particularly for one so young. Other movies have tried and done better with the “evil” child aspect of this story.

Worth seeing in a theater?

No. It’s interesting enough to hold your attention, but wait until it’s streaming online.

 

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Toronto International Film Festival 2019 Mini Film Reviews for Day 3

I’m at the Toronto International Film Festival this week, so I thought I’d post some mini reviews of the movies I’ve seen so far. I’m breaking up the posts by the days on which I watched the movies. Descriptions by/from TIFF.net. Reviews are my own rambling opinions.

Love Me Tender

Seconda (Barbara Giordano) is certainly not lacking in inspiration or energy, though she is bound to her family apartment and her cloistered routines. She is a 32-year-old woman with acute agoraphobia. One day, her mother dies and her father deserts her, leaving Seconda to battle her demons and fend for herself. She has sporadic connections with the outside world: a little girl who verbally attacks her from the courtyard and abusive phone messages from Henry (Gilles Privat), a debt collector who threatens action. Preoccupied yet burdened with her own survival, Seconda gets a chance for release when a homely bottle collector named Santo (Antonio Bannò) visits, but she must play her cards right. A maelstrom of circumstances changes everything and, after a lot of determination and gusto, anything is suddenly possible.

My take:

This movie got off to a slow start, as can be expected when your main character is an agoraphobe who won’t leave her home. Once she does leave, though, it gets much more interesting — and a lot funnier. I would have liked a more defined ending, although I can live with what I got. The movie’s saving grace is lead actress Barbara Giordano, who is captivating enough to hold your interest while using simple body language to get big laughs.

Worth seeing in a theater?

Only if you’re an art-house movie lover. I did enjoy the film, but I don’t think it’s one that needs to be seen on the big screen to be enjoyed.

The Giant

Charlotte’s (Odessa Young) life is changed forever when the teenager’s small Georgia town is shaken by the beginning of a series of murders on the same night that her missing boyfriend coincidentally reappears. As an unknown killer on the loose preys on young women over the course of a summer, Charlotte has to navigate this new danger while also struggling to recover from the trauma of her mother’s recent suicide.

My take:

Oh, where to start? The extreme close-ups that had me feeling more like a dermatologist than a moviegoer? The flared-up cinematography that didn’t really allow for much cinematography? The story that was so confusing I still don’t know what parts of the story even happened — the murders? Joe’s return? The blaring sound design that telegraphs a scene change or shift with a deafening crescendo? I kept waiting for something, anything to happen, but nothing ever did.

Worth seeing in a theater?

Hell no. Not unless you’re a film student and want to learn what NOT to do with your first feature-length film. Other than that, this was a waste of almost two hours of my life I can never get back.

Color Out of Space

When an iridescent meteorite plummets from outer space and into the property and foundations of a remote New England estate, a malignant force begins to insidiously permeate the lives of an unassuming family. The effects are gradual — time begins to dilate, nature assumes an otherworldly hue — and all things bright and beautiful eventually mutate and corrupt under its influence. So proceeds this eerie adaptation of the short story by H.P. Lovecraft, one of horror’s most haunting, here presented by the enigmatic South African filmmaker Richard Stanley. … The patriarch of this doomed brood is none other than Nicolas Cage, continuing his recent renaissance as a midnight-movie staple with an increasingly unhinged performance that reliably ricochets among every technique in the Stanislavski playbook. The rest of the ensemble, which includes Joely Richardson and Tommy Chong, play effective foils to Cage’s delirium, but the real star of the show is the alien entity itself. This all-consuming, dispassionate menace manifests itself in a series of grotesque, body-horror, and psychedelic spectacles, worthy of its ineffable literary origins.

My take:

I should have read the short story instead.

Worth seeing in a theater?

Only if you’re a die-hard Nicolas Cage fan or special effects aficionado.

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Toronto International Film Festival 2019 Mini Film Reviews for Day 2

I’m at the Toronto International Film Festival this week, so I thought I’d post some mini reviews of the movies I’ve seen so far. I’m breaking up the posts by the days on which I watched the movies. Descriptions by/from TIFF.net. Reviews are my own rambling opinions.

The Personal History of David Copperfield

From the imaginations of Oscar nominees Armando Iannucci, director of TIFF 2017’s The Death of Stalin, and Simon Blackwell, who co-wrote Iannucci’s breakthrough feature In the Loop, comes this gloriously frenetic adaptation of one of Charles Dickens’ most beloved novels. Starring Oscar nominee Dev Patel and featuring an august supporting cast that includes Oscar winner Tilda Swinton and Golden Globe winners Hugh Laurie and Ben Wishaw, The Personal History of David Copperfield is gloriously entertaining, careening through 19th-century England as it tracks its hero’s zigzag destiny.

Born six months after the death of his father, David (Patel) is lucky to be raised by a loving mother. But when Mum weds the dour Edward Murdstone, David is shipped off to the cottage — actually a capsized boat — of his housekeeper’s family. These peculiar accommodations prove to be only the first of David’s numerous temporary abodes, which include an oppressive boarding school and the home of his eccentric aunt Betsey Trotwood (Swinton). Wherever David goes, whether living in poverty or comfort, he writes pithy impressions of all those he encounters — impressions that will one day constitute his autobiography.

My take:

This movie is perfection, from the cast to the writing to the visuals and cinematography; it’s a feast for the mind and for the eyes. (And no, it’s not about a certain magician, it’s based on the Charles Dickens novel.) It’s lush to look at, and you’re invested in David’s story and rooting for him throughout, from precocious child to young adult. I can’t say enough about the cast. Led by the amazing Dev Patel, Tilda Swinton, Hugh Laurie, and Peter Capaldi just about stole every scene they were in. There are too many other cast members/characters to list here, but they’re all memorable.

Worth seeing in a theater?

Yes. Absolutely. See above re: a feast for the mind and for the eyes. Also, I went in to the movie liking Tilda Swinton and came out worshipping her.

Sea Fever

Siobhán (Hermione Corfield) is a brilliant young marine biology student, more at home amidst laboratory equipment than people. As a component of her studies, she boards a trawler overseen by a couple (Dougray Scott and Connie Nielsen) whose amiable demeanour shields both financial worries and profound grief. Siobhán is not exactly welcomed aboard: her cool, scientific perspective is at odds with that of the salty, superstitious crew of “fishmen,” and her red hair is considered bad luck. Not long after setting sail, the old ship’s hull is glommed onto by a bizarre, bioluminescent creature of unknown genus.

My take:

This movie is a bit more of a slow burn than what’s usually in today’s horror movie scene, but I liked it. Everything that can go wrong on a fishing boat expedition does, and then the weird things begin happening. Are they all hallucinating? Is there something else at play? And how can they survive it? The long takes on open seas and from underwater angles help add to the feeling of isolation felt by those on board the ship. Thanks to its premise and the director’s steady hand, the climax avoids the usual everything-thrown-at-the-wall chaos of most modern horror.

Worth seeing in a theater?

Yes, for the beautiful cinematography that adds to the sense of claustrophobia and isolation felt by the ship’s crew, but I don’t think anything will be lost in translation if you watch it at home.

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Toronto International Film Festival 2019 Mini Film Reviews for Day 1

I’m at the Toronto International Film Festival this week, so I thought I’d post some mini reviews of the movies I’ve seen so far. I’m breaking up the posts by the days on which I watched the movies. Descriptions by/from TIFF.net. Reviews are my own rambling opinions.

The Whistlers

Corrupt cop Cristi (Vlad Ivanov) travels to the Canary Island of La Gomera, where he collaborates with mobsters in order to try and free a shady Bucharest businessman named Zsolt (Sabin Tambrea), who is believed to know the whereabouts of a mattress containing millions in cash. Under heavy surveillance on the island, Cristi is taught by the local gangsters and a femme fatale, appropriately named Gilda (Catrinel Marlon), to communicate in an indigenous whistle language called “El Siblo,” which is unintelligible to the police because it sounds like bird calls. Full of double-crossings and unexpected twists and turns, Porumboiu’s neo-noir thriller is an intelligent, entertaining, deadpan-funny caper that explores the limitations of language while at the same time using it as a poetic form of resistance.

My take:

I chose this movie because it sounded interesting and fairly different from my standard fare, and it did not disappoint. The locations were gorgeous, the characters were fascinating, and it was funnier than I expected. I found myself really rooting for Cristi, despite his obvious character flaws, and the gorgeous, kickass Gilda. I liked the movie’s structure in that there were “chapters” devoted to each main character’s story, with very little overlap between segments. Well edited, it put together a cohesive, linear story. I also learned from the director during the post-screening Q&A that there were/are in fact civilizations that use(d) a whistling language, which the actors were trained in, which added another layer to the movie as a whole.

Worth seeing in a theater?

Yes. The Whistlers was entertaining enough and beautifully filmed so that I appreciated the big-screen treatment.

Blood Quantum

Jeff Barnaby’s astutely titled second feature is equal parts horror and pointed cultural critique. Zombies are devouring the world, yet an isolated Mi’gmaq community is immune to the plague. Do they offer refuge to the denizens outside their reserve or not?

The term “blood quantum” refers to a colonial blood measurement system that is used to determine an individual’s Indigenous status, and is criticized as a tool of control and erasure of Indigenous peoples. The words take on even more provocative implications as the title of Jeff Barnaby’s sophomore feature, which grimly depicts an apocalyptic scenario where in an isolated Mi’gmaq community discover they are the only humans immune to a zombie plague. As the citizens of surrounding cities flee to the Mi’gmaq reserve in search of refuge from the outbreak, the community must reckon with whether to let the outsiders in — and thus risk not just the extinction of their tribe but of humanity, period.

My take:

I felt like the social/political critique aspect of the movie was oversold. While it was great to see an ensemble cast comprised of Indigenous actors, not a lot was done with that fact other than the characters’ immunity to the zombie plague. I felt like more time could have been devoted to really expressing what the filmmakers intended to say, but didn’t quite convey. Most of the main characters were easy to root for (Bumper was my favorite), while the villainous ones were easy to hate. That said, this was a fun zombie movie entry with impressively gruesome, extremely gory kills (done creatively on a budget, it turns out).

Worth seeing in a theater?

Yes and no. Yes to support the underrepresented Indigenous community, and yes if you really enjoy your gory horror movies on the big screen. No because other than some imaginative kills, we’ve seen this type of zombie movie treatment already.

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