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TIFF 2014: Gett, The Trial of Viviane Amsalem
In Gett, The Trial of Viviane Amsalem, the title character (played by co-director Ronit Elkabetz) spends 5 years trying to divorce her husband Elisha (Simon Abkarian). In Israel, divorce cases are only handled by the Rabbinical Court, and religious...
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TIFF 2014: The Look of Silence
After making The Act of Killing, Joshua Oppenheimer goes back to the same subject matter for his follow-up The Look of Silence. A brief background: In The Act of Killing, Joshua Oppenheimer followed several people responsible for slaughtering hundreds,...
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TIFF 2014: While We’re Young
Two years ago Noah Baumbach charmed Toronto audiences with Frances Ha, although fans of the whimsical free-form narrative in his last film might be disappointed with the concise structure and fastened script found in his latest film While We’re...
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Viggo Mortenson Shows Off His Linguistic Skills in Venice/TIFF Film ‘Far From Men’
At the precipice of the Algerian War between France and Algerian independence fighters, a reserve soldier for the French military, living in Algeria as a schoolteacher (Viggo Mortensen), is enlisted to escort a prisoner (Reda Kateb) on a two-day trek...
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TIFF 2014: Whiplash
Whiplash has been one of the biggest hits on the festival circuit so far this year, getting rave reviews from Sundance, Cannes, and from many audiences here in Toronto as well. And it’s pretty easy to see why: An...
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TIFF 2014: Cub
Jonas Govaerts’ Cub feels all too familiar, a significant problem given its promising concept and imagery. On a Cub Scout trip to the woods, young scout Sam (Maurice Luijten) sees a feral child with a bizarre mask running around...
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TIFF 2014: Goodnight Mommy
Austrian filmmakers Veronika Franz (wife of auteur Ulrich Seidl) and Severin Fiala first present Goodnight Mommy as a mystery with a horror film premise–two nine-year-old twin brothers question their mother’s identity after a facial surgery leaves most of her...
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Oscar Frontrunners Featured in Mill Valley Film Festival 2014 Lineup
The Mill Valley Film Festival has built a reputation as a showcase for future Oscar winners and emergent independent and foreign filmmakers. The festival has hosted five of the last six Best Picture Oscar winners, rolling out the red...
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TIFF 2014: Two Shots Fired
Two Shots Fired opens with teenager Mariano (Rafael Federman) dancing at a nightclub, going home, doing the chores and then, after discovering a gun in the garage, casually shooting himself twice. The first shot grazes his head, and the...
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TIFF 2014: Hill of Freedom
Hong Sang-soo has made yet another film (his 16th one, to be exact), and for those aware of the filmmaker it should come as no surprise Hill of Freedom shares similar qualities to his other works. Hong’s films, usually...
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TIFF 2014: Fires on the Plain
Shinya Tsukamoto tackles Shohei Ooka’s 1951 novel in Fires on the Plain, a graphic, borderline-exploitative take on the classic anti-war book. Tsukamoto, the extreme Japanese director responsible for Tetsuo: The Iron Man, casts himself as a soldier suffering from...
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TIFF 2014: Hungry Hearts
The opening scene of Saverio Costanzo’s first English language film Hungry Hearts defines the meaning of situational irony. It begins with Mina (Alba Rohrwacher) discovering she has walked into the wrong bathroom at the restaurant she’s dining at, after...
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TIFF 2014: The Keeping Room
Set in the American South in 1865, two rogue Union soldiers (Sam Worthington and Kyle Soller) scout and pillage everything in their path as the Union army lags behind them. Setting the tone early, The Keeping Room opens with...
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TIFF 2014: 1001 Grams
Prominent Norwegian filmmaker Bent Hamer returns to the festival in the Masters program with his latest film 1001 Grams. The film isn’t about drugs, but the premise is equally fascinating. Marie (Ane Dahl Torp) dedicates her life to measurements,...
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