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The 32nd Toronto International Film Festival
While others may lament that the warm weather of the summer succumbs to the brisk winds of autumn, most film enthusiasts exult in the potential that these upcoming frigid months hold within cinemas across the country. Often neglected in favor of other seasons, autumn storms into September wielding countless eclectic offerings that provide the possibility of more mature material in comparison to the bullying blockbusters that terrorize theatres throughout the summer. Unfortunately, if they are lucky enough to find a method for distribution, many of these fascinating films will not appear in local neighborhoods for months. Luckily, September also marks the arrival of fall film festival circuit, which provides viewers the opportunity to view an abundance of movies from across the world and thus celebrates the diversity of cinema.
With Labour Day behind us and winter approaching within weeks, the Toronto International Film Festival seems like the ideal location for the fall film festival season to launch. In its 32nd year, the TIFF has long since established itself as one of the preeminent film festivals in the world, with a program rivaling Sundance, Cannes, and Venice. Thankfully, amidst the glamour and spectacle that frequently serve as distraction during film festivals, the atmosphere at TIFF remains unmistakably Canadian, by avoiding competition in favor of admiration and by featuring an assortment of Canadian filmmakers within its program. The 2007 TIFF program boasts more than 350 films from 55 countries, including over 70 feature directorial debuts, with screenings taking place at historic locations, modest venues, and modern multiplexes across Toronto.
Spain’s Carlos Saura will open the festival with Fados, an exploration of urban musical traditions that features numerous performances from celebrated contemporary artists. Afterwards, the festival will continue with diverse entries from across the globe, including the latest work from acknowledged masters such as Eric Rohmer, Jacques Rivette, Claude Chabrol, and Dario Argento, as well as films directed by festival veterans such as Barbet Schroeder, Volker Schlöndorff, Peter Greenaway, and Ermanno Olmi. The festival will also welcome a number of contemporary filmmakers such as Roy Andersson, Anton Corbijn, Gillian Armstrong, and François Ozon. Meanwhile, Alexander Sokurov presents his highly anticipated film Alexandra, Cristian Mungiu arrives with Palme d'Or winner 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days, Mira Nair offers us Four Views on AIDS in India, and prolific filmmakers Takeshi Kitano and Takashi Miike will allow screenings of their latest projects.
This year’s program will certainly include plenty of provocative works, perhaps from controversial directors such as Carlos Reygadas, Catherine Breillat, and Ken Loach, or from American mavericks such as John Sayles, Paul Schrader, Harmony Korine, and Gregg Araki who might confound expectations when he stops by with a stoner-comedy, Smiley Face, starring Anna Faris. TIFF will also feature a number of documentaries created by some high-profile filmmakers, including Jonathan Demme, Werner Herzog, Jia Zhang-ke, Julian Schnabel, Scott Hicks, and even one from film critic Todd McCarthy.
Attendees of the 2007 TIFF will also have the opportunity to watch Hungarian director Béla Tarr’s first film in almost seven years, entitled The Man from London. In an astoundingly appropriate occurrence of scheduling, this year’s TIFF program will also include Paranoid Park, the latest film by Gus Van Sant, who has often announced his admiration of Tarr’s distinctive style and has appropriated Tarr’s trademark techniques into many of his recent films. Fittingly, Van Sant’s friend and protégé, Todd Haynes, will arrive amidst a frenzy of anticipation for his latest film, I'm Not There, which promises to be an unique exploration of 60s culture, inspired by the various personalities wielded by Bob Dylan during the decade.
Of course, no TIFF schedule would be complete without some Hollywood heavyweights entering the fray hoping to build some hype for the upcoming awards-season. This year’s TIFF will include offerings from Joel & Ethan Coen, Brian De Palma, Woody Allen, Kenneth Branagh, Noah Baumbach, Sean Penn, Julie Taymor, Jason Reitman, Sidney Lumet, Michael Moore, Neil Jordan, Tony Gilroy, Vadim Perelman, Richard Attenborough, Helen Hunt, Alison Eastwood, and Paul Haggis. As well, Ang Lee will exhibit his racy film Lust, Caution, which has already received attention for its undisputed NC-17 rating. As an alternative, the TIFF is also committed to providing viewers a retrospective of classic films throughout the festival. This year’s selection of noteworthy pieces include Martin Scorsese’s Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, William Wyler’s The Best Years of Our Lives, John Ford’s Bucking Broadway, Jirí Menzel’s Closely Watched Trains, Chris Marker’s La Jetée, Jean Renoir’s La Grande Illusion, and Ingmar Bergman’s The Virgin Spring.
Finally, the festival will devote some attention towards films created by a few noteworthy Canadian filmmakers, including David Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises, Denys Arcand’s L'Âge des Ténèbres, Bruce McDonald’s The Tracey Fragments, and Guy Maddin’s latest semi-autobiographic fever-dream, My Winnipeg, which is guaranteed to be a twisted and traumatic history lesson of his/my hometown.
The 32nd Toronto International Film Festival will commence on Thursday, September 6th and will conclude on Saturday, September 15th, 2007. Next week we will begin presenting reviews of a number of films from the TIFF, providing a sample of films that audiences may anticipate in the coming months.
Films
Eastern Promises / 23 September
The film is seemingly content to function as a demonstration of Cronenberg’s proficiency and expertise, as he masters the guidelines that the genre imposes upon any director. Thus, while Eastern Promises is undoubtedly fascinating enough to be considered a fitting appendage to Cronenberg’s body of work, it still feels like a synthetic enhancement amassed through some sort of cinematic cosmetic surgery. Of course that doesn’t mean it’s not mesmerizing to behold.
No Country for Old Men / 01 October
An ideal amalgamation between the substance within the written word and cinematic style, No Country for Old Men is a rare occurrence within contemporary American cinema of a faithful adaptation of a literary work that conveys the spirit of its source, while simultaneously being infused with the distinctive traits and inclinations of its filmmakers. Essentially, No Country for Old Men manages to embrace and accommodate two divergent perspectives without incurring any friction.
Into the Wild / 11 October
In establishing McCandless as a character, the film describes his industriousness and good nature; later, his desperation becomes unveiled, and it is this desperation that determines his final actions. It is easy to celebrate the figure of Chris McCandless because it embodies an unfamiliar independence; more difficult is it to demean this figure, for fear of downplaying his noble intentions.
Margot at the Wedding / 11 October
The rest of the film is a maddening mix of deliberate cruelty and tepid affection, with characters determined to inflict agonizing humiliation upon each other, but also urgently eager to reconcile out of necessity. Any discomfort we experience while witnessing the degradation and embarrassment that these people endure, whether via premeditated actions or unanticipated consequences, is presumably alleviated by Baumbach’s highbrow humor, though the director’s dark brand of wit sometimes feels as unsettling as his characters’ emotional malice.
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days / 21 October
Once Mungiu blends this grave sense of urgency with the ominous sensation of inevitable despair that permeates through his film, the result is an extraordinarily unusual horror film, in which the presence that continually threatens our protagonists is inescapable simply because it has completely ingrained itself into the surrounding environment.
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford / 13 November
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford appears to have opened across North America without much promotion or fanfare. Dominik’s ambitious tome joins a multitude of recent period pieces by markedly modern directors (Fincher’s Zodiac; Haynes’ I’m Not There), that examine similar themes associated with how our culture constructs and sustains the myths that surround prominent personalities.