tiff 2018

TIFF 2018 Capsule Review: EL ANGEL (Argentina/Spain2018) ***1/2

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Movie Reviews of films that will be playing at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) in 2018. Go to TIFF 2018 Movie Reviews and read reviews of films showing at the festival.

El Angel Poster
Carlitos is a seventeen-year-old youth with movie star swagger, blond curls and a baby face. As a young boy, he coveted other people’s things, but it wasn’t until his early adolescence that…See full summary »

Director:

Luis Ortega

Writers:

Sergio Olguín, Luis Ortega | 1 more credit »

Stars:

Lorenzo Ferro, Chino Darín, Daniel Fanego

Not since THE OMEN has evil been given a more deliciously portrayal as in the angelic innocent face of Damien the satanic child.   Loosely based on the infamous Argentinian serial killer dubbed “Death Angel”, EL ANGEL (THE ANGEL) follows an innocuous-looking, all blond hair and cherubic face but deeply sinister thief whose lawlessness escalates exponentially when he takes up with a career criminal. 

 Carlitos (Lorenzo Ferro) has decent parents who discouragers him from stealing but Carlitos does so because he revels in it.  Trouble really begins when he meets Ramon (Chino Darín), the son of criminals, the attraction he feels (for both crime and also for Ramon as evident in one homo-erotic scene) causes him to up the ante and engage in more serious criminal activity.  Soon, the young men are killing.   

Director Ortega is surely fascinated with subject and the film shows mostly the glamour that goes with the killing and robbing.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfNtW7xkvzM

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TIFF 2018 Review: BIRDS OF PASSAGE (PAJAROS DEVERANO) (Colombia/ Denmark/Mexico,/France 2018) ***

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Movie Reviews of films that will be playing at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) in 2018. Go to TIFF 2018 Movie Reviews and read reviews of films showing at the festival.

Birds of Passage Poster
During the marijuana bonanza, a violent decade that saw the origins of drug trafficking in Colombia, Rapayet and his indigenous family get involved in a war to control the business that ends up destroying their lives and their culture.

Directors:

Cristina Gallego, Ciro Guerra

Writers:

Maria Camila Arias, Jacques Toulemonde Vidal

Stars:

Natalia Reyes, José Acosta, Carmiña Martínez

 

BIRDS OF PASSAGE plays like a Colombian style GODFATHER epic.  Both films begin with a young couple’s love.  In BIRDS OF PARADISE, Raphayet (José Acosta) is captivated by Zaida (Natalia Reyes) at her “coming out” ceremony, and is determined to come up with the enormous dowry her mother and family matriarch Úrsula (Carmiña Martínez) demands.  This where the trouble starts.  He gets the dowry from drug money involving wats between clans that eventually is too difficult to solve.  The film is good study of how things get seriously totally out of control from a small incident which in this case is Rapha’s trigger happy outsider Moisés.

BIRDS OF PARADISE is a colourful film (though a lot of colour is blood red) showing Colobia as many have not seen before, especially with the indigenous Wayuu customs, traditions, and celebrations  In addition there is the classic tragedy  arising from pride, greed, and the clash between the old and new worlds.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cbzb4pXZT0

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TIFF 2018 Review: LET ME FALL (Iceland/Finland/Germany 2018) ***1/2

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Let Me Fall Poster
Drawing on true stories and interviews with the families of addicts, this harrowing portrait of addiction follows Stella and Magnea through the decades as precarious teenage years morph into perilous adulthoods.

Director:

Baldvin Zophoníasson

Writers:

Birgir Örn Steinarsson, Baldvin Zophoníasson

Stars:

Þorsteinn Bachmann, Atli Oskar Fjalarsson, Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson

LET ME FALL follows the downward spiral of Magnea through decades from teenager to adult through drug addiction.  The trouble with Magnea is that she never ever genuinely wishes to turn her life around.  

She is happy to give blow jobs in to fat, ugly blokes in order to earn a fix.  In the film, there is an almost unwatchable scene in which she is forced to give one even before she showers and after that, gets punched up instead of him keeping his promise.  “Nobody wants you, you are ugly,” he says to her at another point in the film before throwing her out into the street.  One cannot but still feel sorry of Magnea.  

Magnea’s parents have given up on her because she has constantly lied to them and has failed to show any gratitude for their care.  LET ME FALL is understandably a very difficult film to watch.  It is set in the Icelandic capital of  Reykjavik.  Diretcor Baldvin  Z (LIFE IN A FISHBOWL) draws his film on true stories and interviews with the families of addicts.  Magnea and her friend Stella are portrayed by two different sets of actresses for their teen and adult years.  

The film alternates between their teen and adulthood, which sometimes  get a bit confusing.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PO_-KcTMQnU

TOFF 2018 Review: ENDZEIT (Germany 2018)

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Movie Reviews of films that will be playing at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) in 2018. Go to TIFF 2018 Movie Reviews and read reviews of films showing at the festival.

Ever After Poster

Director:

Carolina Hellsgård

Writer:

Olivia Vieweg

Stars:

Trine Dyrholm, Yûho Yamashita, Barbara Philipp

Carolina Hellsgård’s occasionally chilling second feature is a zombie philosophical film that follows two women fighting for their lives in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by zombies.  

The voiceover informs the audience at the beginning that a plague has swept the world and that Weimar and Jura are the only surviving cities left.  The two women are Vivi (Gro Swantje Kohlhof), vulnerable and numb and Eva (Maja Lehrer), whose icy indifference make the two initial enemies that eventually bond because Vivi can repair cameras, having experience working on eBay.  It all sounds too silly. 

 The premise of the zombie-ed world is too far-fetched to be believable and who really cares about these two women anyway.  What about the rest of the surviving population?   The only thing going for the film is the cinematography by Leah Striker with nicely shot countryside landscapes.  

The zombie attack scenes are well done though.  The mix of horror and philosophy of friendship does not work.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_nPQ4Inzbw

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TIFF 2018 Review: DONBASS (Germany, Ukraine, France, Netherlands, Romania, 2018) **

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Movie Reviews of films that will be playing at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) in 2018. Go to TIFF 2018 Movie Reviews and read reviews of films showing at the festival.

Donbass Poster
In eastern Ukraine, society begins to degrade as the effects of propaganda and manipulation begin to surface in this post-truth era.

Director:

Sergey Loznitsa

Writer:

Sergey Loznitsa

Stars:

Valeriu Andriutã, Natalya Buzko, Evgeny Chistyakov

DONBASS is a series of highly charged vignettes set in various locations (command post; community centre) in occupied Ukraine directed by Sergei Loznitsa’s (The Trial).   It is an often scathing political commentary following the ugly war that has been raging in Eastern Ukraine for years, wielding both artillery and propaganda as weapons.  

Not all the vignettes make sense and they are loosely connected – a sort of interpretation of events by Loznitza.  They are very well acted and with conviction by unknown actors that are repeatedly seen in more than one vignette.  The best segment is the first one with two ladies arguing fiercely after one of them pure a bucket of shot over an official during a community conference. 

 The film would have been more effective if it made more sense and the audience could see what the director is aiming for.  Still, DONBASS won the director Best Director at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard Section.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndKO_2tPfLI

 

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TIFF 2018 Review: STYX (Germany/Austria 2018) ***

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Movie Reviews of films that will be playing at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) in 2018. Go to TIFF 2018 Movie Reviews and read reviews of films showing at the festival.

Styx Poster
“Styx” depicts the transformation of a strong woman torn from her contented world during a sailing trip. When she becomes the only person to come to the aid of a group of refugees …See full summary »

Director:

Wolfgang Fischer

Writers:

Wolfgang Fischer, Ika Künzel

Stars:

Susanne Wolff, Gedion Oduor Wekesa, Felicity Babao

In Greek mythology STYX is the river that separates the human world from the underworld.  Wolfgang Fischer’s second feature, STYX, begins with a well filmed night accident in Gibraltar where an emergency doctor comes to the rescue.  This doctor is the film’s subject. Rike (Susanne Wolff) leaves for on a solo voyage across the Atlantic (reason not given).   

She decides to take on the high seas with her 12-metre yacht but gets more then she bargained for.  She encounters a monster storm followed by a mammoth human decision on a moral scale as to what to do when she encounters a sinking refugee ship.  

Not much story and with minimal dialogue so that the film lags a little, but still occasionally full of emotional impact, STYX is magnificently shot with stunning cinematography by Benedict Neuenfelsthat that will leave one spellbound.  The night storm scene demands mention.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nms5HUNbQ4

 

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TIFF 2018 Movie Review: COLETTE (UK 2018)

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Movie Reviews of films that will be playing at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) in 2018. Go to TIFF 2018 Movie Reviews and read reviews of films showing at the festival.

Colette Poster
Trailer

Colette is pushed by her husband to write novels under his name. Upon their success, she fights to make her talents known, challenging gender norms.

Director:

Wash Westmoreland

Writers:

Richard Glatzer (screenplay by), Wash Westmoreland (screenplay by) |2 more credits »

Stars:

Keira Knightley, Eleanor Tomlinson, Dominic West

COLETTE tells the story of Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (Keira Knightley), celebrated French writer and gay icon, not the average early-20th-century woman.
  The film follows her rise to fame while her writing credit is stolen by her husband.  One cannot help but side with Colette against her obnoxious and cowardly husband, Willy (Dominic West) but the script makes him a too easy target to hate.  Knightley prances about as if she is the best actress o the planet playing Colette, even more so giving the impression that it is just such a huge thing when she bears her breast in a scene onstage.
  Giving the impression of being totally staged and manipulative, the film gets more monotonous during the second half when it could have become more exciting. 

 

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TIFF 2018 Movie Review: FLOAT LIKE A BUTTERFLY (Ireland 2018) ***1/2

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Movie Reviews of films that will be playing at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) in 2018. Go to TIFF 2018 Movie Reviews and read reviews of films showing at the festival.

Float Like a Butterfly Poster
From the producers of Once and Sing Street, Float Like a Butterfly is a powerful and timely story of a girl’s fight for freedom and belonging. In a gender-reversal of classic film Billy …See full summary »

Director:

Carmel Winters

Writer:

Carmel Winters

Stars:

Hazel Doupe, Dara Devaney, Johnny Collins

FLOAT LIKE A BUTTERFLY is a well-made female version of the underdog making good, a role reversal of BILLY ELLIOT, this film set in rural Ireland with boxing replacing dance.  

The film tells the fictitious tale of an Irish girl, Frances (Hazel Doupe) who hero worships the great boxer and herself becomes one.  The film open with her as a kid punching away, on top of her father, Michael’s (Dara Devaney) shoulders.  FLOAT LIKE A BUTTERFLY is a feel good comedy/drama on an underdog making good.  It could be classified was a family film but there is a lot of swearing in the dialogue.  Few films have been made around Irish tinkers.  

What distinguishes FLOAT LIKE A BUTTERFLY from the average feel-good film is the screen time and effort put into the story’s background.  Frances’ family especially the influences of her father, late mother and nana, the rich Irish background of tinkers, the rural Irish beauty and solid drama of Frances always being classified as a social reject all contribute to making Frances’ story a strong one and one that the audience will root for.  

The result obviously is a solid and satisfying feel-good and entertaining drama.

Trailer: (unavailable)

 

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TIFF 2018 Review: WHAT THEY HAD (USA 2018) ****

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Movie Reviews of films that will be playing at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) in 2018. Go to TIFF 2018 Movie Reviews and read reviews of films showing at the festival.

What They Had Poster
Trailer

 .
Bridget (Hilary Swank) returns home at her brother’s (Michael Shannon) urging to deal with her ailing mother (Blythe Danner) and her father’s (Robert Forster) reluctance to let go of their life together.

Director:

Elizabeth Chomko

Writer:

Elizabeth Chomko

Stars:

Taissa Farmiga, Michael Shannon, Josh Lucas

Playwright and theatre actress Elizabeth Chomko delivers a gut wrenching directorial debut with her award winning screenplay.  The film is fortunate to have four top notch actors delivering unforgettable performances – Hilary Swank and Michael Shannon playing duelling siblings trying their utmost best to look after their parents, Robert Forster playing the father looking after his dementia stricken wife played by Blythe Danner.  Bridget (Hilary Swank) returns home at her brother Nicki’s (Michael Shannon) urging to deal with her ailing mother, Ruth (Blythe Danner) and her father Burt’s (Robert Forster) reluctance to let go of their life together. 

 The drama works as the script offers each of the family’s point of view on the problem.  And each member is right and has sacrificed in her or his own way.  There is no one correct solution.  As the Burt character talks about love: “You find someone you can commit to, and then you work at it.”  This line is also true even if you one finds ons soulmate or love at first sight.  One has to work at it.  The film contains many dramatic sets-ups with excellent dialogue and tearful moments.  WHAT THEY HAD has a Gala Presentation at TIFF and might be a likely shoo-in for the People’s Choice Award.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kBGxsyp__o

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TIFF 2018 Review: THE SWEET REQUIEM (India/USA 2018) ***

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Movie Reviews of films that will be playing at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) in 2018. Go to TIFF 2018 Movie Reviews and read reviews of films showing at the festival.

The Sweet Requiem Poster

Directors:

Ritu Sarin, Tenzing Sonam

Writer:

Tenzing Sonam

Stars:

Tenzin Dolker, Jampa Kalsang Tamang, Lhakpa Tsering

The film begins with a father and daughter having a very difficult journey travelling in mountain terrain in the snow for a better future, similar to the famous Turkish film YOL.  The two are Tibetans escaping the Chinese who are stealing their land.  The next scene shows a young lady in South Delhi, India, celebrating her birthday, attending dance classes and working in a beauty parlour.  It is then revealed that this lady is the young girl that was traveling with her father in the snow at the beginning of the film.  

Through multiple flashback the journey is shown turning sour.  But the lady escapes to India while the father is killed thanks to their local guide abandoning them.  In South Delhi, a chance encounter brings the lady to meet the same guide now claiming to be a Tibetan rights activist.  She intends to expose him.  A staring flaw in the film is the fact that very few Indians are shown in a film supposedly set in Delhi.  But the film is well paced and an absorbing watch.

 

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