Toronto International Film Festival : Day 2

Day 2 was long but worth it, nothing but good solid films today. The first two were more independant and at a *very* high level shared some similarities. The last one was more commercial with a ensemble hollywood cast. So far my favorite aspect of the festival is getting to hear from the directors about their work, and hear their reactions to the audience reaction.

9:00AM - Undertow

Paramount 2

Undertow could probably be seen several ways, but I really liked Director David Gordan Green's stance that its heart lay in being a modern story with roots through Huckleberry Finn back to the Brothers Grimm. The first half of the story is a returned family member brings up bad memories from the past causing conflict in the present story which has enough unique/magical elements to be good on its own. The climax of that story leads to the second half, the journey/escape. This sets the stage for some interesting encounters but not much revelation. That said I can't say I knew how it would end and that's always a good thing. As a whole for me this is a movie about brothers and how they relate, how they can protect each other or envy each other, and how those relationships formed in youth can extend into adulthood.

Maybe even better than the plot are the atmoshpere and characters themsleves. There is a palpable sense that these people are real and this is how they live.

After this I literally walked 50ft out of the theatre and right back into the lineup for the next film.

12:00PM - In my Father's Den

Paramount 2

I really liked this movie, the characters are deep and their relationships are believable. Again the basic premis (at a high level) could be said to be the returning brother and the opening of old wounds. This movie takes that so much deeper in such a sometimes moving and ultimately disturbing way that it really stood out for me among the films I've seen so far.

I'm not going to give anything away and I'm not trying to do a "real review" or anything. I'm not a reviewer, I'm just expressing how I felt after it was all over. That said I was riveted to the screen for the full 126 minute running time. Emily Barclay the female lead was in attendance for the screening and answered some questions afterwards.

5:00PM - Crash

Varsity 8

First-off I was so glad this was at the 8 not the 7; The 8 is a nice big theatre with very comfortable seats. After a brief introduction by Director Paul Haggis, one word he said stuck in my mind throughout the film: "Predjudice". The various interconnecting stories (a la Magnolia) really show deep layers of predjudice in various types of relationships between diverse ethnicities. It begins to seem like this film will simply be an examination of predjudice of varying forms, but we know it can't be that simple.

What you really have to look out for are "the good guys", the "unprejudiced". As the older experienced officer played by Matt Dillon tells new fresh Ryan Phillipe, "You think you know yourself, but you don't". It really comes down to what would you do in a givne situation, how would you behave. It's easy to say one thing but who can really say in the moment.

If you like movies like Magnolia, but maybe without the voice-overs, then this will be a good choice. The ensemble cast is strong and in some cases surprising (Marina Sirtis as the shopkeepers wife: "When did Persians become Arab?") Oh and I almost forgot, Paul Haggis would like to appologize to David Cronenburg for not thinking up a more original movie title ;)

Posted at 08:53 PM to Film By: John Fairley