Toronto International Film Festival : Day 1

Day 1 (after skipping the actual day 1 to go to Hamilton) was fun-filled and action-packed. Okay seriously it was long and tiring, leaving me very hungry by the end.

9:00AM - After the Day Before

Paramount 2

Unfortunately this was probably the wrong film to choose to see at 9AM. This wilm was a slow (think lonestar or the good the bad and the ugly) non-linear story, and that didn't really mesh well with an under-slept and under-fed me (read: I nodded off a few times). Because the climax of the film is so jarring and out-of-step with the rest of the film it will probably take me a while to figure out exactly my take on it. I wish I could have stayed for the QA session with the director, which would have been really cool. I had to book it to my next film however, since I wasn't 100% sure where the next theatre was. I can say that the cinematography was amazing and beautiful.

12:00PM - Notre Musique

Ryerson

Another good film which I mnaged to stay awake through, largely in part ot the disturbing images of war that make up the first part of the film. Since I want to keep these entries short I won't go into too much detail about the film as many others have said enough. I will say that I found some of the discussions very intriguing/enlightening, and I love the bookending of "purgatory" using an airport. The unique moment for me came when a woman behind me said the opening ("Hell") imagery was making her sick and she had to leave, ironically just at the exact moment she turned to go the scene switched completely.

What struck me about it more was the different levels of desensitization to violence people have and peoples willingness or not to be made to feel uncomfrotable.

2:00PM - Lunch

I managed to hook-up with a co-worker+gf for an abbreviated lunch, and I can safely say running and/while eating phad thai is not a great idea. Luckily I managed to find yet more work absentees in the lineup for the next movie.

3:00PM - Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence

Ryerson

The impression I leave Innocence with is one of slight disappointment. Unlike some other Anime with wonderful storytelling, Innocence relies a little to heavily on long tracts of technophilosophy that for me really ground the movie to a halt (haven't I heard this stuff before?). Beyond that the plot is relatively rudimentary and while there are some great and uniue action sequences, they are for me overshadowed by the dialogue. Although I should go back and watch the first one again, it almost seems this movie is in opposite balance to the first. Still a must-see and the visuals are stunning.

Posted at 10:36 PM to Film By: John Fairley