Review by Siobhán Rich for Mr. Will Wong
I am about to ask you to trust me to tell you something so astounding and odd that at first it will seem somewhat unbelievable. Trust me on this because I would not lie or steer you wrong: there is a 162 minute German, subtitled Movie at TIFF that you simply MUST see. Please don’t run away or scoff because I would not lie about the brilliance Writer/Director Maren Ade’s Film Toni Erdmann.
Winfried Conradi (Peter Simonischek) and his daughter Ines (Sandra Hüller) don’t understand each other. He wants her to learn to be happy and she wishes he would learn to grow up. He “likes to make jokes” and she thinks “happiness is a strong word.” In order to find a place in his daughter’s life he becomes Toni Erdmann: a gregarious stranger with bad teeth and an even worse wig. The people in Ines’ life know he’s fake and slightly off-key but they accept this strange man into their circle more willingly than they do Winfried; and to her own amazement, so does Ines.
This unconventional comedy will have you reassessing everything you thought you knew about German Cinema. This oddly-sentimental Film will you have you laughing and smiling for days.
Toni Erdmann screens:
Thursday, September 8, 2016 at 5:30 PM Ryerson Theatre
Friday, September 9, 2016 at 12:15 PM TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX 1
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