By Amanda Gilmore
Flora and Son is the feel-good film of the year.
Dubliner Flora (Eve Hewson) is a young mother struggling to connect with her teenage son Max (Orén Kinlan). Max has stolen and been caught one too many times. If caught again he’ll be sent to juvie. Knowing Max has an interest in music, Flora brings home an acoustic guitar with the hopes it’ll keep him out of trouble. Unfortunately, Max doesn’t take the bait. Stuck with the guitar, Flora decides to learn it and takes online lessons from Jeff (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a soft-spoken teacher and mildly talented musician who lives in Los Angeles. Slowly, Flora and Jeff begin to fall for each other with each lesson.
No stranger to the musical genre, Writer-Director John Carney is in top form delivering a film about the power of music. Flora and Son stands out from his prior work because it focuses on the touching relationship between mother and son. Hewson is a revelation and gives a star-making performance as the direct, caring and angry Flora. As Flora learns the guitar, Max begins exposing his own musical talents to her. Music breaks down the walls between the two and becomes the bridge that connects them.
Carney furthers the theme of music connecting each of us through Flora’s relationship with Jeff. The two are on different continents, with an 8-hour time difference between them. However, the music they make together creates an intimate and deep connection. One Flora — possibly — has never experienced romantically before. Carney shows this connection smartly by removing the laptop Jeff is on and placing him in the room with Flora.
Overall, Flora and Son is funny, affecting and uplifting. An instant classic.
Flora and Son screens at TIFF ’23:
Tuesday, September 12 at 9:30 PM at Roy Thompson Hall
Wednesday, September 13 at 9 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto
Saturday, September 16 at 2:45 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto
By Amanda Gilmore
Australian auteur Ivan Sen delivers a slow-burning Crime Drama that plays as a commentary on the justice system.
Detective Travis Hurley (Simon Baker) arrives in the Southern Australian mining town of Limbo to investigate the 20-year-old cold case of Charlotte, a local Indigenous girl. Travis has a hunch that the killer may still live locally.
Charlotte’s murder was met with apathy by the investigating officers and the non-Indigenous townsfolk at the time…and still 20 years later. The girl’s siblings Emma (Natasha Wanganeen) and Charlie (Rob Collins) have lost hope in justice. So when Travis arrives and claims he’s there to help find the killer, they both doubt he’ll solve the case. Especially since there’s little evidence and there appears to be little — if any — community support.
Limbo is beautifully-shot with black-and-white Cinematography and works as an important critique of the failures of colonial law enforcement and judicial systems in serving Indigenous peoples. Baker turns in a strong performance as the drug-addicted detective determined to close the case. Although, the Film does lag at times.
Limbo screens at TIFF ’23:
Tuesday, September 12 at 5:45 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto
Wednesday, September 13 at 3:45 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto
By George Kozera
Germany’s official entry for Best International Feature for the 2023 Academy Awards, THE TEACHERS LOUNGE is an extraordinary movie that tackles issues as diverse as racism, teenage rebellion, and misinterpreted events or comments with aplomb and startling finesse. Due to a series of thefts at a high school, a seventh-grade Turkish student is interrogated by school executives, where new math teacher Carla Nowak (Leonie Benesch in a hypnotic performance) is an unwilling participant. Believing the young boy’s parents’ explanation of why there was a large amount of cash found in his wallet, Carta is on a mission to discover who the actual thief is. She sets up a “sting” in the teachers’ lounge and it appears that the school’s administrator may be the thief. Ironically, this person is also the mother of Oscar (Leo Stettnisch, a performance so accomplished, it belies his young age), a student that Carla has taken a special interest in.
THE TEACHERS’ LOUNGE genuinely made me feel off-kilter. Exceptionally well-written with nary a false note, Director and Co-Writer Biker Catak plays with and manipulates the cinematic Thriller genre with her own incomparable vision. I strongly urge everyone to see this remarkable piece of art.
THE TEACHERS’ LOUNGE screens at TIFF ’23:
Tuesday Sept. 12-3:30 pm-Scotiabank 4 Wednesday-Sept. 13-9:45 pm-Scotiabank 14
By: Amanda Gilmore
Kate Winslet delivers another superb performance in this biopic about model-turned war-correspondent Lee Miller.
The Film follows Lee from the start of her photography career in 1938. The Second World War is just beginning and Lee has a desire to be more than a former model. When she moves to London with her partner Roland Penrose (Alexander Skarsgård), the blitz begins and Lee knows she must show the destruction of war.
She became a Photojournalist for British Vogue, getting to publish her photos that capture the impact of the war in London. However, she’s determined to go to continental Europe as a war correspondent. Thanks to her determination, her renowned photographs show what happened inside concentration camps and on the ground during WWII.
Lee is an inspiring story of a woman breaking barriers in a male-dominated world, and risking her life to change the way we see it. Winslet shines as the courageous Lee, exposing her courage, fear and grief.
The story is told through Lee later in her life speaking to her son Antony (Josh O’Connor). It’s these intimate moments of listening to her tell the story that we see the longing effects of anguish and trauma Lee carried her whole life. The moments of Lee on the frontline are impactful. Showing the grotesque nature of war upon women rather than the men who are fighting.
Lee is an important film about a monumental woman in our history.
Lee screens at TIFF ’23:
Saturday, September 9 at 6 PM at Roy Thompson Hall
Sunday, September 10 at 5:30 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto
By George Kozera
A DIFFICULT YEAR opens with a series of televised clips, spanning decades, where French government officials warn the citizens of France that they will be facing a difficult year. The audience then is thrown into a frantic “Black Friday’ sales event at a store where shoppers stampede over each other in a frenzied attempt to score a big screen TV or air fryer at affordable prices. We see Albert (Pio Marmai) get one of the last televisions, then arrive at the home of Bruno (Jonathan Cohen) who was to pay for the TV. Instead, Albert arrives to see creditors removing everything from Bruno’s home as he staggers to the bedroom and passes out due to a lacklustre suicide attempt. Albert and Bruno are compulsive consumers, deeply in debt, and as they await to see if a debt-reduction expert (Matthieu Amalric) can help them to have the government forgive their overwhelming backlog of money owed, the two men go to a meeting held by young environmental activists, where free beer and food (repurposed snacks that expired years ago) is offered. It’s an idealistic group with big dreams and the two men are bemused, but when Albert sees group leader (Noemie Merlant), he immediately is smitten and convinces Bruno to tag along with him and join the group.
Whereas comedies from France tend to be simplistic, the French filmmakers excel at satire and social commentary. Writers/directors Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache succinctly and successfully tackle a variety of topics with panache and loads of humour. A DIFFICULT YEAR shines.
A DIFFICULT YEAR screens at TIFF ’23:
Wednesday. September 13, 9:30PM, Princess of Wales Theatre
Thursday, September 14, 5:30PM, Scotiabank
By Amanda Gilmore
Director Kitty Green and Actor Julia Garner, who worked together on critically-acclaimed The Assistant, reunite to deliver one of the most intense films of the year.
When Hanna (Garner) and Liv (Jessica Henwick), who are backpacking across Australia, run out of money they take the only job available which is at a pub in the outback. Every day the two are forced to serve rowdy, sexist men who come into The Royal Hotel. Soon, Hanna becomes unsettled by the unwarranted male advances and aggression aimed at them that grows more sinister by the day.
With this follow-up to her feature debut, Green continues her examination of the power dynamics between men and women but this time using a bigger setting to delve deeper and more explicit. As soon as Hanna and Liv arrive at The Royal Hotel tension hangs in the air. The suspense grows through Hanna who becomes increasingly anxious about staying at this isolated and toxic testosterone-loaded pub.
Garner turns in a towering performance as Hanna. Her subtle, nuanced performance has us gripped by the anxiety that consumes Hanna. Green’s assured direction enhances this headspace, creating tension in every corner and conversation within the pub. This tension builds with each frame leading to one of the most engrossing, stressful viewing experiences of the year.
The Royal Hotel screens at TIFF ’23:
Monday, September 11 at 9:30 PM at Roy Thompson Hall
Wednesday, September 13 at 12:05 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto
By Amanda Gilmore
Sasha (Sara Montpetit) is a teenager — who is really a 68-year-old vampire stuck in a teenage body because vamps age slowly — who has an empathy problem. This problem started at a childhood birthday party when her entire family drank and killed a clown she adored. Now in teenage form, Sasha hasn’t killed a single human. She survives on blood bags from victims of her family.
With the hopes of getting Sasha to finally kill someone, her parents send her to live with her Aunt. But still, Sasha doesn’t want to kill anyone…except herself. That brings her to a depression and suicide meeting where she formally meets Paul (Félix-Antoine Bénard). Previously, she observed him standing on the ledge of a building. Coincidentally, this event developed her vampire teeth. Following the meeting, the two hatch a plan for Sasha to kill the consenting meal: Paul. But will she be able to do it?
This delightful deadpan Horror-Comedy delivers an inventive coming-of-age story and a top-notch performance from Montpetit. The Vampire-Romance subgenre has kind of gotten a bad rap and has since been buried. But Director Ariane Louis-Seize has come and resurrected it well.
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicide Person reminds us all of the importance of finding someone worth living an eternity for.
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicide Person screens at TIFF ’23:
Monday, September 11 at 6:30 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto
Tuesday, September 12 at 4 PM at TIFF Bell Lightbox
…
By David Baldwin
The year is 1990. Benny (Keir Tallman) lives in the city but has just been informed by his parents that he will be spending the summer at his Grandmother’s house on Navajo Nation. She only speaks Navajo and all the customs and activities are a mystery to Benny. When his bilingual cousin Dawn (Charley Hogan) – or as she is known to the rest of the family, Frybread Face – comes to stay unexpectedly, things start tense and then slowly dissipate into a strong familial bond neither expected.
Writer/Director Billy Luther’s narrative debut feels authentic and lived-in from the moment Benny steps foot on the reservation right up until the end credits roll. The soft photography conveys the time period well (taking place in 1990 makes this a period piece, really?!), and the acting by Tallman and Hogan is wonderful. They both bring a sense of innocence, naïveté and sadness to their roles, and their chemistry and banter is quite lovely. And I loved how much Dawn was a fan of both Jeff Bridges and Starman.
I liked the slice-of-life style Luther is going for here, breezily moving along from moment to moment over the course of that summer. It’s the stuff that exists on the outside that made me want more from it. We never really get to know any other characters, and we barely know who Benny is outside of loving Fleetwood Mac and not understanding his culture and heritage. Yet there is so much more to that living in the margins and never really explored, and the nostalgic narration does not help massage that so much as it just tells us what we can already see. It is a totally fine movie for all intents and purposes; I just was left wanting it to be much more than that.
FRYBREAD FACE AND ME screens at TIFF ’23:
Monday, September 11 at 6:45 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto
Wednesday, September 13 at 12:15 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto
By David Baldwin
Middle schoolers Amina (Léah Aubert), Djeneba (Médina Diarra) and Zineb (Salma Takaline) have been best friends since childhood, despite their difference in economic, racial and social backgrounds. At a birthday party, Zineb tells her friends that her older brother’s friend Zak (Oscar Al Hafiane) has been sexually harassing her. The girls get an instance on camera and when Amina decides to post it online without letting her friends know, it sets off a world of trouble they never could have expected.
SISTERHOOD is an incendiary and bold feature debut from Writer/Director Nora El Hourch. It captures that not-so innocent dynamic between adolescent males and females perfectly, and is provocative in the moral quandaries it explores (specifically with social media). It is undoubtedly a feminist piece and brings up #MeToo, yet feels like a post #MeToo examination where things are supposed to have changed for the better. Except they really have not and SISTERHOOD feels all the more lived-in and authentic because of it. While some may take El Hourch to task for how she depicts her male characters, she does not go easy on her female characters either. And while the progression of time is not always clear, she guides the Film’s complicated thesis with top-tier precision.
The core trio of Aubert, Diarra and Takaline are terrific in their roles, showcasing a veritable kaleidoscope of emotions that grow stronger with each passing moment. They command the screen together and apart, easily stealing moments from seasoned vets like Mounir Magroum and Oscar-nominee Bérénice Bejo. And credit where credit is due, Al Hafiane is very good at playing the kind of slimy shit weasel that makes your blood boil. A scene between him and Takaline late in the Film is a masterclass in restraint and tension. It will leave you just as angry as you are amazed.
SISTERHOOD screens at TIFF ’23:
Monday, September 11 at 2:30 PM at TIFF Bell Lightbox
Wednesday, September 13 at 3:35 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto
Saturday, September 16 at 12:15 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto
The Critic
By Amanda Gilmore
Set in 1934 London, The Critic follows Jimmy Erskine (Ian McKellen) who’s a ruthless Drama Theatre Critic for the Chronicle. When the main editor of the paper dies, his son David Brooke (Mark Strong) takes over the company. Brooke isn’t a fan of Jimmy’s recurring written cruelty of theatre star Nina Land (Gemma Arterton). Thus, giving him a month’s notice before he’s let go. But Jimmy will stop at nothing to save his position.
Screenwriter Patrick Marber adapts the novel from Anthony Quinn and delivers a story of ambition and blackmail. It takes place during the rise of the British Union of Fascists. A period where Jimmy needs to live in hiding for who he is. He’s been given a position that most only aspires to achieve. It’s his most prized accomplishment.
McKellen gives a mesmerizing performance as the scathing critic. In other hands, we’d wish for Jimmy’s demise.
Yet, McKellen’s heavyweight talent causes us to often side with this often despicable anti-hero. He’s equally matched with the bewitching Arterton. At times The Critic lags, particularly in the beginning, but once their characters meet the energy ignites to the finish.
Overall, The Critic is a rollercoaster ride through blackmail, betrayal and murder within the theatre and newspaper world. The entire ensemble give powerhouse performances including Leslie Manville who makes an impact in a few short scenes.
The Critic screens at TIFF ’23:
Monday, September 11 at 12 PM at Visa Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre
Wednesday, September 13 at 4 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto
Saturday, September 16 at 3 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto
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