One of the all-around better days of the festival. It started out with a lot of laughs and ended with a real gem, if I had just walked out of You Bet Your Life before the loop it would have been bar non the best day. It rained today and yes that sucked a little bit. This was also a very long day and probably the last well-rested day of the festival. From here on out I was pretty beat most of the time.
4/5 Old people will like it
Now right-off I'll admit to never even having seen a whole episode of the Chapelle Show. The main reason I picked Block Party was because of Michel Gondry. That said I thought it was very good, there's no question Chapelle is seriously funny, but we get a real behind the scenes look at him, and how he interacts with others both citizen and celeb. One of my favorite quotes from the film (which I will mangle a bit) is: "if old people like you you're doing something right". So true :) The version shown at the Film Festival wasn't a final cut, so it's hard to know what will happen between now and the final edit. That said I thought it was very close to complete, paced very well, and told a good story. Worth it for young and old alike.
4.5/5 Gripping
The Last Hangman is a biopic of Albert Pierrepoint, the most prolific Chief Executioner of England who served from 1934 to 1956 and hung over 450 individuals including England's prisoners of war. The most noted of those being the Butcher of Belsen. WHat this film does best is show how quickly morality can change over such a short span of time. Before the war Pierrepoint takes great pride in his professionalism at work, a family tradition. He thinks of himself serving a vital public service. After the war he has to go to Nuremburg, where he hangs something like 40-50 men in one week. This clearly marks a turning point as from here both he and the public become less and less sure about the Capitol Punishment system. I can't say enough about Timothy Spall, who does such a great job with a complex character.
4/5 Modern morality tale
There's a central point to The Willow Tree, which is: "You might not truly know what's important until you lose it." Blinded in youth and now given the gift of sight again Youssef, an Iranian professor, discovers that the idyllic life he had created for himself in his head does not exist. Instead of an estate with a stream he lives in a small house and the stream is the sewer. He goes on to forsake all those close to him in order to attain the life he thought he had - throwing everything away in the process. I won't spoil the ending for anyone, but of course in a morality play someone has to get their due. I liked this movie, I thought the main character and those around him were played very well. Most importantly it kept me awake.
3/5 One chance too many
My only problem with You Bet Your Life was that I got it. See now that will carry you through most of the film just fine, and something will be itching at the back of your head, then BAM! The last 10 minutes of the film will just have you wondering where it all went wrong - except it went wrong exactly 10 minutes ago. That's what happened to me. Basically the point is that at any given moment any decision we make affects the course of our life. Yes it's and Austrian version of the Butterfly Effect, but with compulsive gamblers. So I'd say go see it, and right when you think it should be the end - walk out.
Also I think an alternate translation of the title would have been better: - "Gambling Life" - "Game of Life" - "Playing Life"
4.5/5 Tragedy upon tragedy
I was *this* close to skipping Mother of Mine [ official site ]and catching some needed sleep, but wow am I glad I didn't - that would have been a terrible mistake. There are so many unknown tragedies from the second world war, this one happens be about the displacement of a generation of Finns. We follow one child's journey from Finland to Sweden watch through his eyes as he has to leave his mother and fit into a new society in Sweden. Just when he has formed another relationship with his "new mother" the war ends and he has to be sent back home.
The facts themselves are very interesting but really this is another movie about motherhood, what it means to be a mother and all the joy/heartache that can entail. The acting was superb: Maria Lundqvist who played the Swedish mother was so compelling as a damaged by loss who has to learn to love again (sounds corny - but it isn't). I'd recommend checking out the website and seeing the film. Some of the facts: This is the biggest known movement of children (70,000) from one country to another. 15,000 of the children stayed in Sweden, for various reasons including the fact the Swedes had better lawyers and a lot more money than the Finns.
| 04 Sep 07 | No TIFF this year | |
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| 11 Sep 06 | Toronto International Film Festival '06: Halftime | |
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| 11 Sep 06 | Toronto International Film Festival '06: 1st Quarter | |
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