Toronto film festival: A Cannes colony?
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Variety reports today that the upcoming Toronto Film Festival, which runs Sept. 4 through Sept. 13, is lousy with movies from this spring’s Cannes Film Festival. The Cannes contingent includes a host of prize winners, including Atom Egoyan’s ‘Adoration,’ which won Cannes’ Ecumenical Jury Prize; Arnaud Desplechin’s Special Prize winner ‘Un conte de Noel’; Matteo Garrone’s Grand Prix winner ‘Gomorrah’; and Sergey Dvortsevoy’s Camera d’Or winner ‘Hunger.’
But what movie should I put at the top of my list to see in Toronto? I called on Times Film Critic Kenny Turan, who has not only seen all the movies, but can actually correctly pronounce all the director’s names. Here’s his quick-take review of some of the more prominent Toronto entries:
‘Gomorrah’ (directed by Matteo Garrone): It was a big year at Cannes for Italian films (they had two films that won prizes, which hasn’t happened in years) and this was an especially good one. It’s a very suspenseful story about a Mafia-type crime organization that controls a certain area of Italy. The film shows how the crime organization controls everyone’s lives and how difficult it is for people to escape its grasp. Garrone is a young Italian director who is clearly a real talent.
‘Le Silence do Lorna’ (directed by the Dardenne Brothers): The Dardennes do highly dramatic, socially conscious films that are very compelling without ever being preachy. They marry social commentary to drama in a very natural way. In this film, they look at illegal immigrants from Eastern Europe who have come to Belgium in the hopes of getting citizenship there.
‘Adoration’ (directed by Atom Egoyan): The prize it won notwithstanding, I did not find it one of the festival’s stronger films. Sometimes Egoyan’s films expand beyond his core fan base, but this is far too convoluted to do that. It was a disappointment.
‘The Class’ (directed by Laurent Cantet): It won the Palm d’Or and was almost a unanimously popular choice. It’s a really good film. Cantet has made a whole string of dramas about social issues--one of my favorites was a movie he did a few years ago called ‘Time Out’--and this is one of his best yet. Definitely a movie to see.
‘Un Conte de Noel’ (directed by Arnaud Desplechin): This was one of my favorite films at the festival. It’s about a family gathering that happens over Christmas and is full of intense, crazy characters who always do unexpected things. Catherine Deneuve plays the mother and Mathieu Amalric (the star of ‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly’) is the most troublesome son. I thought the film was terrific. Desplechin is one of France’s top young directors and the film is smart, outrageous and a real treat.
Top photo of ‘Gomorrah’ from IFC Films