-
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...
-
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,...
-
Silvered Water, Syria Self-Portrait (TIFF Review)
As Silvered Water, Syria Self-Portrait opens, a title card claims “1,001 Syrians” helped make the film. The reason for such a bold and unconfirmed claim is because of co-director Ossama Mohammed’s reliance on footage from online sources. Mohammed, a...
-
Patricia Clarkson Changed Herself Completely For ‘Last Weekend’
A handful of siblings and their significant others gather at their wealthy parents’ home in Lake Tahoe for a weekend of awkward arguments, divulged dark secrets, and a couple of near-death experiences in Last Weekend, the debut feature by co-directors Tom...
-
They Have Escaped (TIFF Review)
Finnish filmmaker J.-P. Valkeapää comes up with a wild take on a boy-meets-girl story in They Have Escaped, which appropriately premieres in the offbeat Vanguard section of the Toronto International Film Festival. Using intriguing camera techniques, the film expends...
-
TIFF 2014: Backcountry
Opening with the camera tracking towards an unseen but, based on the sound design, grisly sight, Backcountry immediately foreshadows a nasty outcome for its characters. Corporate lawyer Jenn (Missy Peregrym) reluctantly tags along with boyfriend Alex (Jeff Roop) on a...
-
TIFF 2014: Wild Tales
Wild Tales consists of six twisted short stories, all written by writer/director Damian Szifron. Most anthology films tend to use different directors for each story, but Szifron handles every single one here. Having one writer and director gives Wild Tales...
-
‘God Help The Girl’ director Stuart Murdoch & star Emily Browning Had a “Skype-Off”
On Stuart Murdoch’s 46th birthday, an early morning chat with media members failed to best his favorite gift. “I must admit my highlight of the day was that my wife sent me a birthday greeting with my wee boy...
-
TIFF 2014: The Duke of Burgundy
It’s hard to discuss what exactly goes on in The Duke of Burgundy because it might ruin writer/director Peter Strickland’s surprises. Following the relationship between two entomologists, Cynthia (Sidse Babett Knudsen) and the younger Evelyn (Chiara D’Anna), the film...
-
TIFF 2014: Meet Me in Montenegro
It’s been seven years since Alex Holdridge directed the Independent Spirit Award winning film In Search of a Midnight Kiss. His latest film, Meet Me in Montenegro, is about just that–a filmmaker who hasn’t made a film in nearly...
-
Tom Dolby and Tom Williams On The Serendipitous Casting Process For ‘Last Weekend’
A handful of siblings and their significant others gather at their wealthy parents’ home in Lake Tahoe for a weekend of awkward arguments, divulged dark secrets, and a couple of near-death experiences in Last Weekend, the debut feature by co-directors Tom...
-
Bird People (TIFF Review)
Bird People begins with a montage of people coming and going on subway trains throughout Paris. It’s a bit of an odd start until the perspective changes: suddenly everyone’s thoughts on the train can he heard, the camera profiling...
-
TIFF 2014: Phoenix
Christian Petzold and Nina Hoss return for their sixth collaboration in Phoenix, a well-done post-WWII German drama. Hoss plays Nelly, a Holocaust survivor with severe damage to her face. The only survivor in her family, Nelly inherits a large...
-
The New Girlfriend (TIFF Review)
If there’s anything we’ve learned from François Ozon‘s past work it’s this: The man is unafraid to explore boundaries of sexuality. And he does it extremely well (see: Young & Beautiful, 8 Women, In the House, Swimming Pool). While...
Click Here to Advertise!