TIFF Picks for 2017 - What made the list
TIFF is around the corner and I am officially booked!
This year, given I am no longer considered a "youth" by TIFF's pricing standards, I decided to select my tickets solely through their packages. Although this means one has to pick their movies a couple weeks in advance of the festival and thus, pick his or her movies more blindly without the help of other film festival reviews or buzz, it's a substantial saving otherwise.
Each year I tell myself I will see less movies or take it a little easier than I did the year before, but then I realize that's a dirty lie and I just want to consume as many different flicks as I can handle while still juggling various work contracts and sleep.
I thought about making a list of what I recommend from each category of the festival, but instead I figured I would list what I am seeing and why it caught my interest, hopefully helping someone out there also select a couple TIFF screenings to go to.
Without further ado, in order of the date I am seeing them, here are my 19 TIFF picks.
A Fish Out of Water
Although I am unfamiliar with director Lai Kuo-An's commercial or music video work, this was one of the films out of the Discovery program that caught my interest due to programmer Giovanna Fulvi's references to Edward Yang and the plot's potential melding of family drama and supernatural. Although I have only seen two of Yang's films (being that many are hard to find), he is one of my favourite international directors. I have always been drawn to films and stories about memories and dreams so this seems both like something up my alley, and a gentler(?) way to ease into the festival.
Occidental
This year I wanted to ensure I went to at least one Wavelengths screening as it is a program that has always fascinated me, in terms of feature film content, and it is a program I always miss out on each year. To be honest, "Occidental" caught my attention first from it's trailer. I knew nothing else about the film, but the trailer (and clearly the film too) had a very theatrical and retro vibe to it that I was drawn to. Of all the Wavelengths features that are playing this year, this film stood out most to me with it's cinematography and style so let's hope it holds up over it's 73 minute runtime!
Tulipani, Love, Honour and a Bicycle
Often when I am picking my TIFF selections, I realize at a certain point that most or all of my first picks are downers, thrillers, horror movies and the like. While there is nothing wrong with this, there is a point where all the dark and oppressive content wears on you, screening after screening. So, I go back and see what looks more upbeat to help balance things out. Last year, after seeing some positive reviews and a very authentic feeling 60's look, I picked "The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Maki" as my last screening of the fest and it turned out to be one of my favourite screenings. Despite an equally elongated title as "Olli Maki", "Tulipani" sounds like it has a lovely and offbeat story to tell, and serves as my sole kinda-not-really Canadian film pick of the festival (being that it is a Dutch, Italian and Canadian co-production).
As a side note, although I did intend to see a couple of Canadian films this year, particularly another lengthy title, "The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches", I could not fit them into my schedule.
Revenge
My first Midnight Madness screening of the festival looks to be French director, Coralie Fargeat's take on the rape-revenge sub-genre. Although in the past, I have found many films in that sub-genre lean more towards exploitation and cheap thrills, I am interested in seeing a female director's perspective on such subject matter and because France has had a good track record over the years for creating memorable and unflinching horror films. Last year's "Raw" satisfied my appetite for French horror and this one looks promising too.
Zama
This is a project I have been following for a little while and Lucrecia Martel's work has been on my
radar since I saw "The Headless Woman". I have yet to see "La Ciénaga" or "The Holy Girl", but Martel's style is one that fits to my sensibilities. Applying said style to an 18th-century period piece only put this film higher on my list. This may or may not be a more challenging viewing, it was an easy pick for me.
The Disaster Artist
Another easy pick for me. Based on the infamous bad movie, "The Room" and the titular book chronicling the film's production, early reviews for James Franco's re-telling of the production have been positive. It would be hard not to want to see James Franco put himself into Tommy Wiseau's shoes, but I'm curious if the film will hold up to someone who isn't as familiar with the bio pic's source material.
Thelma
Joachim Trier is another director who I have been following for some time. "Oslo, August 31st" was
perhaps one of the best directed films I had seen in recent years and since then, I will pretty much see anything Trier makes next. Suffice to say, when I heard he was making a new film in the sci-fi genre, it was one of the first films to go on the list. The film seems like a suspensful blend of romance, coming of age, and some potentially dangerous super powers, so count me in.
Brawl in Cell Block 99
Initially, when I saw this film listed in the Midnight Madness programme, I wasn't entirely sold on it. Vince Vaughn's casting in the lead role as a drug runner in prison sounded odd, but also like something a little more commercial than my usual picks. That said, this being S. Craig Zahler's follow up to the bloody and well-crafted "Bone Tomahawk" gives me more hope that this will be different than the usual action movie thrills. My first thoughts of Vince Vaughn might be "Dodgeball" and "Wedding Crashers", but he has put out some strong dramatic performances in recent memory and after new Midnight Madness programer, Peter Kuplowsky, described the film with great enthusiasm, I'm down to see Vince Vaughn punch cars and shoot people.
A Fantastic Woman
Director Sebastián Lelio has two films at the festival this year, similar to Chilean director Pablo Larraín's double bill of "Jackie" and "Neruda" at last year's fest. Lelio's "Disobedience" sounded intriguing, but I felt drawn more to "A Fantastic Woman" and it's plot of a transgender woman's grieving and personal struggles following the death of her boyfriend. I saw Lelio's last work, "Gloria", which I felt was a beautifully told journey of an older woman's relationship, so I am hoping for similar sensitivity and naturalism here despite a perhaps more dramatic narrative.
Radiance
Naomi Kawase is a director who has often eluded me come festival time. They often don't quite make the cut, but in the past few months, I finally saw her last film, "Sweet Bean" (or "An") and was really taken with it. Kawase clearly has a gently flowing style to her films from what I have seen of previous entries as well and the plot of an audio-description writer and a photographer losing his eyesight's connection through differing perspectives sounds like a really unique relationship to see unfold on-screen.
Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts
I'm not sure if it's just my picks this year or if it is becoming more of a trend, but there seem to be a
fair few films with lengthy titles. This doesn't necessarily mean anything, but they do certainly catch your attention. Described as an Indonesian feminist Western and the trailer giving me some vibes of "Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia", I decided this would be a Western worth seeing.
Manhunt
John Woo, lots of guns, doves on the poster, and actor/musician Masaharu Fukuyama. You had me at "John Woo". For the uninitiated though, "Manhunt" looks to be the famed action director's return to his early days of double-wielding pistols, explosions and slow-mo a la "Hard Boiled", "A Better Tomorrow" or "Face Off". This is one of the few movies I am finding hard to manage expectations for.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
"In Bruges" and "Seven Psychopaths" director Martin McDonagh and Frances McDormand team up to tell a tale of a greiving, potty-mouthed mother who seeks answers from her daughter's unsolved murder case. The trailer looks great, the plot sounds great, I like the people in front of and behind the camera, let's hope it's great!
Downrange
Ever the visual stylist, director Ryuhei Kitamura of "Versus" and "Midnight Meat Train" has opted for a seemingly more stripped-down horror film following a group of teens stranded at the side of the road, finding themselves the target of a rogue sniper. The plot doesn't sound special, but knowing Kitamura's penchant for blood-soaked thrills and spinning camera moves, this could be a lot of fun.
Angels Wear White
I don't know too much about this one, but the plot of two young girl's navigating their lives following an assault and director Vivian Qu track record as a producer caught my interest. It happened the timing worked out and I am looking forward to seeing how this one unfolds. I saw Qu's last producing effort on "Black Coal, Thin Ice" and if that's anything to go by in terms of her sensibilities, "Angels Wear White" should be a grim, but engaging mystery.
The Third Murder
Hirokazu Koreeda is one of my favourite directors, usually known for his family and personal dramas such as "Our Little Sister", "I Wish", "Still Walking" or one of my all-time favourite films, "After Life". To me, he handles familial relationships better than any other filmmaker and I always come away from his films with something to think about in general and in terms of my own relationships with others. This time around, he is breaking out of his usual subject matter with a legal crime thriller, starring "Manhunt" and "Like Father, Like Son" actor Masaharu Fukuyama, as well as Koji Yakusho, so I am looking forward to seeing how Koreeda handles what may be one of his darker films in a some time.
Under the Tree
This falls under another one of my "happier" picks. I am a fan of Nordic cinema and haven't seen too many Icelandic films, so this dark comedy of feuding neighbors looks like a good way to break up the potential doom and gloom of the last few screenings. From the programmer's notes and the recent trailer, I get the impression things will escalate dramatically over one tree's shade on another neighbour's lawn.
I Love You, Daddy
There is a lot of interest and mystery around Louis C.K.'s new film and rightfully so. The film, shot in 35mm black and white, was apparently made entirely in secret over the past year and sounds like it will be Louis at his most unfiltered and uncomfortable. Outside of that and a relatively stacked cast to star alongside our lead actor-director, I know nothing and will probably keep it that way until I see the movie.
On Body and Soul
Serving as my last screening, I always try to pick a film that will leave me satisfied. Sometimes it is a
thematically lighter film and sometimes it is just a film that I have a good feeling about. By the end of the festival, I'm a little tired and the movies have started to blend together so I want something that stands out for better or for worse and something that I will hopefully come out of with a smile on my face. "On Body and Soul" is a Hungarian drama following an unfolding relationship between two co-workers who have the same affectionate dream and who attempt to make such a dream a reality. The plot itself sounds both unique and preposterous, but seeing as director Ildikó Enyedi's film won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, my hopes are up that this will be a touching meditation on the dreams we have and relationships.
This year, given I am no longer considered a "youth" by TIFF's pricing standards, I decided to select my tickets solely through their packages. Although this means one has to pick their movies a couple weeks in advance of the festival and thus, pick his or her movies more blindly without the help of other film festival reviews or buzz, it's a substantial saving otherwise.
Each year I tell myself I will see less movies or take it a little easier than I did the year before, but then I realize that's a dirty lie and I just want to consume as many different flicks as I can handle while still juggling various work contracts and sleep.
I thought about making a list of what I recommend from each category of the festival, but instead I figured I would list what I am seeing and why it caught my interest, hopefully helping someone out there also select a couple TIFF screenings to go to.
Without further ado, in order of the date I am seeing them, here are my 19 TIFF picks.
A Fish Out of Water
Although I am unfamiliar with director Lai Kuo-An's commercial or music video work, this was one of the films out of the Discovery program that caught my interest due to programmer Giovanna Fulvi's references to Edward Yang and the plot's potential melding of family drama and supernatural. Although I have only seen two of Yang's films (being that many are hard to find), he is one of my favourite international directors. I have always been drawn to films and stories about memories and dreams so this seems both like something up my alley, and a gentler(?) way to ease into the festival.Occidental
This year I wanted to ensure I went to at least one Wavelengths screening as it is a program that has always fascinated me, in terms of feature film content, and it is a program I always miss out on each year. To be honest, "Occidental" caught my attention first from it's trailer. I knew nothing else about the film, but the trailer (and clearly the film too) had a very theatrical and retro vibe to it that I was drawn to. Of all the Wavelengths features that are playing this year, this film stood out most to me with it's cinematography and style so let's hope it holds up over it's 73 minute runtime!Tulipani, Love, Honour and a Bicycle
Often when I am picking my TIFF selections, I realize at a certain point that most or all of my first picks are downers, thrillers, horror movies and the like. While there is nothing wrong with this, there is a point where all the dark and oppressive content wears on you, screening after screening. So, I go back and see what looks more upbeat to help balance things out. Last year, after seeing some positive reviews and a very authentic feeling 60's look, I picked "The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Maki" as my last screening of the fest and it turned out to be one of my favourite screenings. Despite an equally elongated title as "Olli Maki", "Tulipani" sounds like it has a lovely and offbeat story to tell, and serves as my sole kinda-not-really Canadian film pick of the festival (being that it is a Dutch, Italian and Canadian co-production).As a side note, although I did intend to see a couple of Canadian films this year, particularly another lengthy title, "The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches", I could not fit them into my schedule.
Zama
This is a project I have been following for a little while and Lucrecia Martel's work has been on myradar since I saw "The Headless Woman". I have yet to see "La Ciénaga" or "The Holy Girl", but Martel's style is one that fits to my sensibilities. Applying said style to an 18th-century period piece only put this film higher on my list. This may or may not be a more challenging viewing, it was an easy pick for me.
The Disaster Artist
Another easy pick for me. Based on the infamous bad movie, "The Room" and the titular book chronicling the film's production, early reviews for James Franco's re-telling of the production have been positive. It would be hard not to want to see James Franco put himself into Tommy Wiseau's shoes, but I'm curious if the film will hold up to someone who isn't as familiar with the bio pic's source material.Thelma
Joachim Trier is another director who I have been following for some time. "Oslo, August 31st" was perhaps one of the best directed films I had seen in recent years and since then, I will pretty much see anything Trier makes next. Suffice to say, when I heard he was making a new film in the sci-fi genre, it was one of the first films to go on the list. The film seems like a suspensful blend of romance, coming of age, and some potentially dangerous super powers, so count me in.
Brawl in Cell Block 99
Initially, when I saw this film listed in the Midnight Madness programme, I wasn't entirely sold on it. Vince Vaughn's casting in the lead role as a drug runner in prison sounded odd, but also like something a little more commercial than my usual picks. That said, this being S. Craig Zahler's follow up to the bloody and well-crafted "Bone Tomahawk" gives me more hope that this will be different than the usual action movie thrills. My first thoughts of Vince Vaughn might be "Dodgeball" and "Wedding Crashers", but he has put out some strong dramatic performances in recent memory and after new Midnight Madness programer, Peter Kuplowsky, described the film with great enthusiasm, I'm down to see Vince Vaughn punch cars and shoot people.A Fantastic Woman
Director Sebastián Lelio has two films at the festival this year, similar to Chilean director Pablo Larraín's double bill of "Jackie" and "Neruda" at last year's fest. Lelio's "Disobedience" sounded intriguing, but I felt drawn more to "A Fantastic Woman" and it's plot of a transgender woman's grieving and personal struggles following the death of her boyfriend. I saw Lelio's last work, "Gloria", which I felt was a beautifully told journey of an older woman's relationship, so I am hoping for similar sensitivity and naturalism here despite a perhaps more dramatic narrative.Radiance
Naomi Kawase is a director who has often eluded me come festival time. They often don't quite make the cut, but in the past few months, I finally saw her last film, "Sweet Bean" (or "An") and was really taken with it. Kawase clearly has a gently flowing style to her films from what I have seen of previous entries as well and the plot of an audio-description writer and a photographer losing his eyesight's connection through differing perspectives sounds like a really unique relationship to see unfold on-screen.Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts
I'm not sure if it's just my picks this year or if it is becoming more of a trend, but there seem to be afair few films with lengthy titles. This doesn't necessarily mean anything, but they do certainly catch your attention. Described as an Indonesian feminist Western and the trailer giving me some vibes of "Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia", I decided this would be a Western worth seeing.
Manhunt
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Downrange
Angels Wear White
I don't know too much about this one, but the plot of two young girl's navigating their lives following an assault and director Vivian Qu track record as a producer caught my interest. It happened the timing worked out and I am looking forward to seeing how this one unfolds. I saw Qu's last producing effort on "Black Coal, Thin Ice" and if that's anything to go by in terms of her sensibilities, "Angels Wear White" should be a grim, but engaging mystery.The Third Murder
Under the Tree
This falls under another one of my "happier" picks. I am a fan of Nordic cinema and haven't seen too many Icelandic films, so this dark comedy of feuding neighbors looks like a good way to break up the potential doom and gloom of the last few screenings. From the programmer's notes and the recent trailer, I get the impression things will escalate dramatically over one tree's shade on another neighbour's lawn.
I Love You, Daddy
On Body and Soul
Serving as my last screening, I always try to pick a film that will leave me satisfied. Sometimes it is a thematically lighter film and sometimes it is just a film that I have a good feeling about. By the end of the festival, I'm a little tired and the movies have started to blend together so I want something that stands out for better or for worse and something that I will hopefully come out of with a smile on my face. "On Body and Soul" is a Hungarian drama following an unfolding relationship between two co-workers who have the same affectionate dream and who attempt to make such a dream a reality. The plot itself sounds both unique and preposterous, but seeing as director Ildikó Enyedi's film won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, my hopes are up that this will be a touching meditation on the dreams we have and relationships.
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