Shane: Festival Wrap and Top 5!
Posted by Shane McNeil on September 24, 2010 · Leave a Comment
So, now what?
The fest is done and now I’m supposed to, what, just go home after work? I’m not supposed to wait for an hour to get into a jammed theatre and watch obscure gems from around the world? I have to eat at home instead of perpetually dining at Big Slice and the AMC food court?
What is this, war-time?
Of course, I jest. I’m as wiped as everyone else and am happy to report that I made the most of my Fest week, seeing an even 20 films. Oh, and for those of you that have been reading these diaries all along, I did manage to bring my lifetime TIFF film total up to an even 100 thanks to catching a break on seeing the Saturday screening of 127 Hours.
It’s funny that, by the end of the fest, so many of us are running on vapours and just hoping to get back to normalcy. While I am one of these folks (I was a big whiner on Sunday… never having done that extra day), I can also readily admit that I wouldn’t trade the opportunity to do this once a year for anything.
I love that, for all its flaws, TIFF as an organization gives this city as much an opportunity (possibly more of one) to see these world class films as the press and industry who have helped this make an international staple for distribution and early audience buzz. We get to spy in on world premieres and North American premieres that even folks in New York and Hollywood don’t get a crack at.
Hell, my relative lightning rod of a review for Gorbaciofis ahead of Variety’s in the queue of Google search results right now for the simple reason that I live here (and because we’re wizards at the internet here at TFS).
So for that, despite all its flaws and hiccups, I’m willing to give TIFF all the credit in the world for making this city the most exciting place in the film universe for at least one week every year.
With that in mind, some final thoughts on the films from this year’s slate. While I wasn’t as blown-away as I have been in past years, a few films emerged (especially in the last week-end) that brought a quality roster, if not a team of all-stars.
Without further procrastination, I wrap TIFF10 Rob Gordon style, with my personal Top 5!
- Submarine(Richard Ayoade): These films seem to come about once every decade. The loveable misfit who tries their hardest to change their lives and ends up making a relative mess of it in the process. I got most of my feelings out in my review, but I’m glad films of this caliber are so rare, because when one comes along, it just feels special. I’m trying not to oversell it, but there’s so much to love in this film, it’s deserving of the top spot.
- Black Swan(Darren Aronofsky): Not everyone is going to love this movie, but Aronofsky keeps on showing how he can make something stunning out of the most diverse subject matter. As I said before, if wrestling is the natural predecessor to ballet I can’t wait to see where he goes next.
- Tabloid (Errol Morris): How Morris continues to find this brand of crazy and continually get this brand of crazy to let him make a film about them is beyond me. While this may lack some of the cultural implications of his heavier fare like The Fog of War, it still has plenty to say about tabloid culture and, in true Morris fashion, he somehow gets everyone else to say it for and about themselves.
- Crying Out (Robin Aubert): I didn’t even want to see this movie. It was an assignment that slipped through several cracks that wound up with me seeing it while someone else did the review. That said, it’s one of the funniest movies I’ve seen come out of Quebec in some time and really hits home (especially if you happen to be a younger man who has close ties with your paternal lineage). Simultaneously bitter and sweet, I hope this film sees a wider audience here on home soil.
- Bunraku (Guy Moshe) and 13 Assassins (Takashi Miike): And sometimes you just need to switch right off and enjoy the ride. These two films both left an indelible mark on me for being able to simultaneously be high on entertainment value while both being clear in their artistic vision. While I didn’t get to review 13 Assassins, it follows in my thoughts concerning Bunraku, being able to take a very simple action premise and set it against a singularly unique motif (in this case, a cult master seeming to be at ease in new Shogun-era territory). See both on the biggest screen possible.
Related posts:
