2019 TIFF Movie Review

2019 TIFF Movie Review: DISCO (NORWAY 2019)

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Disco Poster
When a champion dancer begins to falter, her family questions her faith and prompts her to search for more radical solutions.

Director:

Jorunn Myklebust Syversen

Writer:

Jorunn Myklebust Syversen

Stars:

Josefine Frida Pettersen, Nicolai Cleve Broch, Fredericke Rustad Hellerud

DISCO is the opposite of the Christian faith movies.  By showing the practices of fanatic Christian groups, the harm that over zealousness does to the individual is recorded. 
 The trouble is that everyone knows of the fact, except perhaps the fanatics themselves, so taking the story to its predictable end shows neither insight or novelty.  DISCO follows a young dancer, Mirjam who fails to reach the heights of her Christian parents expectations.  Her step-father is an over easy target being the leader of the church and also having a history of child molestation. 
 The film that never ends up going anywhere after the long toil has only good thing going for it, which is the spirited disco music. 

2019 TIFF Movie Review: THE TWENTIETH CENTURY (Canada 2019) ***1/2

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The Twentieth Century Poster
Renowned for his mesmerizing, gonzo biographical shorts Mynarski Death Plummet and The Tesla World Light, Matthew Rankin doubles down on his signature blend of historical and aesthetic …See full summary »

Director:

Matthew Rankin

Writer:

Matthew Rankin

Stars:

Dan Beirne, Sarianne Cormier, Catherine St-Laurent

In Mathew Rankin’s feature debut THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, he draws his inspiration from the old movies in terms of German impressionism and from more recent fellow Winnipeg filmmaker Guy Maddin’s gothic films.  The film has a refreshing humour and it a laugh-out loud moment every minute or so, that one does not want the film to end. 

 In short, the film is a bizarre biopic of William Lyon Mackenzie King (David Beirne), which reimagines the former Canadian Prime Minister’s early life as a series of abject humiliations, both professional and sexual.  Though cartoonish in its looks, beware as there are segments of S&M, violence, sex, humiliation and other assorted nasties that should all be taken with a grain of salt.  

The film is set in Toronto and likely with too Torontonian references like the Baron of of Mississauga and Ossington Apartments that might be over the heads of audiences not living in Toronto.  Still the film is a most original delight.  

2019 TIFF Movie Review: DESERT ONE (USA 2019) ***1/2

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Desert One Poster
Using new archival sources and unprecedented access, master documentarian Barbara Kopple reveals the story behind one of the most daring rescues in modern US history: a secret mission to free hostages of the 1979 Iranian revolution.

Director:

Barbara Kopple

Writer:

Francisco Bello

Stars:

Jimmy Carter, Ted Koppel, Walter Mondale

In 1976, director Barbara Kopple made the Oscar Winner HARLAN COUNTY, USA about unionization of coal miners which is one of the most moving documentaries ever made.  DESERT ONE is the named of the failed operation endorsed by then President Jimmy Carter to rescue the American hostages held in the American Embassy in Iran under control by Ayatollah Khomeini. 

Khomeini would release the hostages only if the U.S. return the Shah which the U.S. refused.  In the accident during the execution of DESERT STORM several soldiers lost their lives and the rescue aborted.  

The film pays tribute to the dead soldiers.  Director Kopple recognizes that women are just as important as men are the unsung heroes themselves.  She organizes the pick of the interviews for the wives of the deceased as she did centring on the wives of the coal miners, many widows after mining accidents in HARLAN COUNTY U.S.A.  

Kopple also has a heart for Jimmy Carter who graces the film with lots of screen time.  A moving film that demands to be seen.

2019 TIFF Movie Review: THE OTHER LAMB (Ireland/Belgium/USA 2019) ***

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The Other Lamb Poster
A girl was born into an all-female cult led by a man in their compound begins to question his teachings and her own reality.

Director:

Malgorzata Szumowska

Writer:

C.S. McMullen

Stars:

Michiel Huisman, Raffey Cassidy, Denise Gough

Cults make great premises for movies.  This year alone, there has been films like MIDSOMMAR, MARIA’S PARADISE and ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD that tackled the evils of cults and their leaders.  WE THE LAMB (former title: THE OHER LAMB) adds in the additional female component where this cult is made up only of one male the leader who calls himself the shepherd and the others his women who are either his wives or daughters.  

Films like WE THE LAMB require audiences to put their total belief in their premise and when they do, the film tears the concept apart.  Director Malgorzata Szumowskareally gets into the skin of the lead character who knows nothing about the outside world.  Her mother was one of the leader’s wives and she is about to become one.

  Though one can predict what happens at the end, director Malgorzata Szumowska still scares his audience with her creepy tale of a creepy male.  Cinematography of the countryside and the ‘Eden’ that the cult finally finds looks stunning.

2019 TIFF Movie Review: THE PLATFORM (EL HOYO) (Spain 2019)

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The Platform Poster
In a future “dystopia”, prisoners housed in vertically stacked cells watch hungrily as food descends from above, feeding the upper tiers, but leaving those below ravenous and radicalized.

Director:

Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia

Writers:

David Desola, Pedro Rivero

This is a prison movie.  The prison: The Pit — a provocative permutation of a panopticon whereby hundreds of cells are vertically stacked, and hollowed out through the middle. Each day, a platform adorned with a decadent feast descends through the tower from its summit. It stops on each level for a few minutes, keeping those near the top well-fed, and those at the lower levels fighting for leftovers.  

 A citizen of a not-too-distant dystopia voluntarily incarcerates himself with the promise of increased social mobility upon release, but becomes so radicalized by his captivity that he will risk everything to ride a devilish dumbwaiter on a one-way ticket to protect a pannacotta, a symbol for an important message for the authorities.  Every prison needs an escape plan.

 THE PLATFORM has one where the pannacotta has to survive going down to ground level.  Director Gaztelu-Urrutia’s production sets are superb, the atmosphere chilling and creepy while his characters desperate and dangerous.  The trouble is that the logic does not make sense, especially the pannacotta message.  A good premise that fails to follow through.

Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bsyicj2qdqs

2019 TIFF Movie Review: THE GIANT (USA 2019)

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The Giant Poster
A teenager’s small town life is changed forever when a series of murders begin on the same night that her missing boyfriend suddenly reappears.

Director:

David Raboy

Writer:

David Raboy

Stars:

Odessa Young, Ben Schnetzer, Jack Kilmer

Writer/director David Raboy tackles for his debut feature after shorts THE GIANT and BEACH WEEK an ambitious dark suspense thriller.  Charlotte’s (Odessa Young) life is changed forever when the teenager’s small Georgia town is shaken by the beginning of a series of murders on the same night that her missing boyfriend coincidentally reappears.  

As an unknown killer on the loose preys on young women over the course of a summer, Charlotte has to navigate this new danger while also struggling to recover from the trauma of her mother’s recent suicide.  With his cinematographer Eric Yue, Raboy creates an eerie atmosphere with stunning visuals aided with a solid soundtrack.  

But Raboy’s choppy narrative, often inane dialogue and fondness of  beginning each segment vaguely lends to a film that is both difficult to understand or make sense.  The introduction of the supernatural element only near the film’s end adds to the confusion.  A good-looking disappointment!

2019 TIFF Movie Review: NOBADI (NOBODY) (Austria 2019) ***

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Nobadi Poster
The story of two people who have nothing in common but share everything for just a few hours.

Director:

Karl Markovics

Writer:

Karl Markovics

Stars:

Heinz Trixner, Borhanulddin Hassan Zadeh, Konstanze Dutzi |

An elderly citizen aids a refugee migrant.  The premise was used in Aki Kaurismaki’s THE OTHER SIDE OF HOPE and re-visited again in this Austrian version entitled NOBADI.  Here, a grumpy old white man enlists the help of an Afghani migrant to bury his dead dog.   

As expected, the two dredge through prejudices to find common ground, their day taking an unexpected turn.  Robert (Heinz Trixner) is a 91-year-old, set-in-his-ways pensioner, living on a small allotment in Vienna while the migrant is Adib (Borhanulddin Hassan Zadeh), from Afghanistan. It is the gaping, unattended wound on Adib’s foot that the situation suddenly becomes life-or-death.  NOBADI is a leaner, more serious version but still not without its humour.  

Though no match for Kaurismaki, Makovic’s film still has its moments, many of which are provided by the candid performances by both Trixner and Zadeh.  Watch out for the film’s last 15 minutes that will knock you off your seat!

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUGaDZuqHPQ

2019 TIFF Movie Review: THE VIGIL (USA 2019) ***

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The Vigil Poster
A man providing overnight watch to a deceased member of his former Orthodox Jewish community finds himself opposite a malevolent entity, in writer-director Keith Thomas’ electrifying feature debut.

Director:

Keith Thomas

Writer:

Keith Thomas

Stars:

Fred Melamed, Dave Davis, Menashe Lustig

This Jewish horror seems ripe for terrorizing audiences with plenty of opportunities.  A shomer is a family member or paid person if the family member is unavailable to sit the night through with a corpse before burial to chant the evil spirits away.  The young shomer (Dave Davis) is guilty for letting a young boy under his watch bullied and die.  

 

The house where he is shoming is kept by the deceased widow who has Alzheimer’s and who expresses cryptic reservations as to the man’s ability to carry out the task.  The man begins to imagine things or are the things really happening?  Director Thomas in his debut feature takes 30 minutes to set up his film before scaring the audience with the usual  

 

THE VIGIL is a straight forward scary tale with noises in the dark, shadows in dark space etc. The Orthodox Jewish setting is a welcome one.

2019 TIFF Movie Review: COMETS (Georgia 2019)

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Comets Poster
Three decades after their separation, Irina and Nana remain mesmerized by memories of earlier days, but when Irina returns to the small community she left to reconcile with the past and their complex feelings.

Director:

Tamar Shavgulidze

Stars:

Nino Kasradze, Ketevan Gegeshidze, Nina Mazodier

This is a rare film from the Republic of Georgia and one is advised to find out where the country is before watching the movie.  It is three decades after their separation and 55-year olds Irina and Nana remain mesmerized by memories of earlier days. But when Irina returns to the small community she left — where Nana stayed to start a traditional family — the women must reconcile with the past and their complex feelings, in director Tamar Shavgulidze’s emotive drama.  
Be forewarned that the film is extremely talky and nothing much is going on except emotions being verbalized.  More often than not, director Shavgulidze leaves her camera steady with her actors moving into the frame, facing the camera and talking their hearts out. 
 They talk about their past, lost opportunities and such.  Super-boring unless you really get into it!

2019 TIFF Movie Review: LINA DE LIMA (Lina From Lima) (Chile/Peru/Argentina 2019) ***

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Lina from Lima Poster
A woman travels from Peru to work as a housekeeper in Chile.

Director:

María Paz González

Writer:

María Paz González

Stars:

Emilia Ossandon, Magaly Solier

A South American musical about a domestic servant makes an interesting premise which hopefully will attract audiences wishing for something different.  Documentarian María Paz González tackles the tale of a Peruvian woman working as a domestic helper for a wealthy Chilean family. 

 

 She is preparing for a trip home to visit the son she left behind.  She loves her son but as young people go, they seldom appreciate the love and care given by their parents.  Junior seems more concerned about getting an authentic soccer jersey than reuniting with his mother.  Things are not going to well with her employment either.  

 

LINA DE LIMA is an entertaining enough film with a look at life in Peru.  The film works as a whimsical musical but no one is really concerned about how the future of Lina will turn out.