One Last TIFF 40

I finished off my last day at TIFF on Thursday with a double feature. I originally had a ticket for a film today (Naomi Kawase's An), but since we leave for vacation today i traded in that ticket for another film on Thursday. The main draw for Thursday's trip was an advanced 3D screening of Ridley Scott's The Martian. The film plays out like something of a mash up of Interstellar, Gravity, and Cast Away. The elements all fit together well, with a surprising amount of humor blended in. It's nice to see that Science Fiction seems to be making a bit of a come back lately after so many years of 'science fiction that can't avoid also being horror' that seemed to have been so popular lately. An entertaining film that's worth catching in the theatre if you get a chance, with decently executed 3D.

The 2nd film of the double feature ended up being Sergei Loznitsa's documentary, The Event. The Event was created using found footage that had been filmed during a failed Coup d'etat in The Soviet Union in 1991. All the footage comes from 4 days of filming in Leningrad, and is presented without any real commentary. Thankfully, like so many TIFF screenings, the director was present for an introduction, as well as some Q&A after the film. Of the 5 films i saw at TIFF, The Martian was the only one where the director was not present and available for questions. It's a great way to explore films, but it does make going to regular theatres feel a little less robust afterwards.

Sion Sono!

Apologies for the terribly unflattering picture of me, but it's Sion Sono! At TIFF last night was the world premiere of one of Sono's many (i count 7) 2015 releases, The Whispering Star. They kept talking about how this film was unlike anything else Sono has done previously, but I feel like you could say that about almost any of Sono's films. This one was filmed in the restricted area of Fukushima, much like his 2012 film The Land Of Hope, but the similarities end there (although both films do star Sono's wife Magumi Kagurazaka). The Whispering Star is a fairly minimalist black and white science fiction film. People always ask which Sono film makes the most sense to try and get into The Criterion Collection. I'd love to see them do a double feature of The Land Of Hope and The Whispering Star, and maybe include a documentary about 3.11 (There are several out there) as a bonus feature.

Koreeda!

I felt lucky enough that I was getting a chance to see the North American premiere of Hirokazu Koreeda's latest film Our Little Sister. I didn't know that he'd be there as well to introduce the film and give a small Q&A session afterwards. As you can see, i even got to snag a quick photo op with him afterwards.

The movie was tremendous, reminding me a bit of his Excellent Stll Walking. While his style of filmmaking is much different, if there is any director that kids able to continue the spirit of Yasujiro Ozu's Japanese family dramas, It's Koreeda. There are a few of his films that have yet to find their way into my collection, but I'll be rectifying that soon!

TIFF!

One of the perks of living where i do is being able to make my way each year to The Toronto International Film Festival. It's a great way to see movies that i might otherwise not get to see for a long time (if ever). In the past I've gotten to see such great films as The Drop, Still The Water, The World of Kanako, and even the North American premiere of Hayao Miyazaki's The Wind Rises. Sometimes you see things like The Drop, which was in theatres locally barely a month after TIFF. Other films like Still the Water, still haven't been released anywhere in the world with English subtitles, so I feel super lucky that i got to see it.

This year I got tickets to 4 films, and hopefully I'll be able to make all the showings. First up is tomorrow where i have a ticket to see Hirokazu Koreeda's latest film Our Little Sister. Koreeda's films have sadly not found their way to North America often enough, or with enough care. The Criterion Collection released the excellent Still Walking, but films like Like Father, Like Son just end up getting a bare bones DVD only release in states. A lot of his other films can only be acquired as DVD only releases from other territories. Hopefully this trend reverses sooner rather than later.

On Monday night i hope to see a double feature, including Sion Sono's Whispering Star. This might be the film I'm most excited about as Sono is the type of director who can pull off almost any genre of film, and is always able to surprise you. Some of his films I love, and others I'm much cooler on, but I'm always glad I've watched another of his films. There can never be too many Sion Sono films in my collection (and considering he's already directed 7 films in 2015, it will be a long time before i have them all).

Rounding out my Monday night is a super interesting looking film called Imbisibol about undocumented Filipino workers in Japan working jobs under the table.

My final film of the festival will be next Sunday as i start my vacation. Naomi Kawase's latest, An. Every time i read a review of a Kawase film at a film festival it always gets ripped about, but I've enjoyed both films (Still The Water, and The Mourning Forest) that I've seen by her. I guess no likes her films except me and the festival programmers?