Toronto Film Festival
Two days into the Toronto Film Festival and your favorite moviejunkie has experienced pleasure and pain in equal measure. When you are a cinephile, the TIFF is an amazing place to meet and greet with like minded movie mavens. Nowadays, going to the movies during the Hollywood-dominated summer can be near torture. However, the TIFF is a motherlode where rare gems of cinematic artistry can still be excavated successfully. A mix of savvy and just plain dumb luck are required to find those gems from among 360 features from more than 70 countries.
So far the movies that have captured my fancy as a perfect example of what makes the fest great. Day one featured the excellent WWII drama Indigenes, about Africans who defended France, the country that colonized them and a country that did not respect their contribution to the war effort. Yet, they fought and died. Volver is the latest bit of insane whimsy from the fabulous Pedro Almodovar.
Day two was an even bigger contrast in styles. White Planet is a another fabulous nature film ala March of the Penguins. Shortbus is a sexually explicit (pornographic grade) comedy drama that provides an unexpected dose of pure hilarity one minute and pathos the next. It will become infamous for a scene where a male character does something we only thought was possible for dogs--use your imagination!-- but in the end it will be remembered for proving that the most important sexual organ is the brain.
I'll check back later with more updates from T.O. Meanwhile go Eagles this Sunday and hang in there Phillies.
Later