Report from the Toronto International Film Festival
by Film Streams Director Rachel Jacobson

I watched 21 of the nearly 300 movies featured at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. A quick run-down below. As always, please feel free to email me with films you’d like to see at Film Streams Ruth Sokolof Theater.

Favorites:

THE MASTER:  My favorite film of the year so far. Joaquin is such an amazing force, he’ll keep you on the edge of your seat. And a wonderful supporting role by Film Streams’ friend, Laura Dern. Very excited to open this Friday!

FRANCES HA:  Noah Baumbach’s latest, starring Greta Gerwig as a 27-year-old dancer. A platonic love story about her deteriorating relationship with her best friend Sophie (played by Sting’s daughter, Mickey Summer). Great cast, including GIRLS’ Adam Driver. It’s funny and lovely.

SPRING BREAKERS:  Directed by Harmony Korine, so will be offensive to many, but I think it’s his most accessible film ever. Almost seems like an anthropological study of spring breakers in Fort Lauderdale. Will likely be popular—plenty of sex and Korine cast hot teeny boppers Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, and Ashley Benson + James Franco in a hilariously irritating role as a Florida gangster. He used French director Gaspar Noe’s cinematographer (IRREVERSIBLE, ENTER THE VOID), and the sound design is unique and impressive, so it works for us film snobs, too.

STORIES WE TELL:  Sarah Polley’s moving autobiographical doc.

Strong ones, we’re likely to try to play:

FREE ANGELA & ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS:  Well-done doc about the fascinating Civil Rights Activist Angela Davis.

GINGER & ROSA:  British filmmaker Sally Potter’s period piece is beautifully acted & shot, so vivid it must be autobiographical.

HANNAH ARENDT:  Biopic by Margarethe von Trotta (VISION) about the important political theorist through the publication of her most controversial articles.

HOW TO MAKE MONEY SELLING DRUGS:  Entertaining doc about the US’s counterproductive war on drugs.

MEKONG HOTEL:  The latest dreamy ghost film by Apichatong Weerasethakul (UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES).

ROOM 237:  Cannes doc about obsessive interpretations of Kubrick’s THE SHINING. Pretty hilarious, especially for cinephiles.

THE SESSIONS:  John Hawkes’ gives an unbelievable lead performance as a polio survivor living in an iron lung who hires a sex surrogate (Helen Hunt with a bad Boston accent). Vastly different from Hawkes’ miraculous supporting roles in WINTER’S BONE and MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE. Look for this traditional narrative about an unconventional subject at the Oscars.

Great buzz, sadly missed:

AMOUR: Michael Haneke’s Palme d’Or winner played after I’d already left Canada.  I was so bummed to miss this one.  It was at the top of my wishlist.  Alexander Payne was on the Cannes jury earlier this year that chose AMOUR for the Palme d’Or.  He’s raved about it since.

THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE:  Ken Burns first theatrically-distributed feature.

MUSEUM HOURS:  Jem Cohn (INSTRUMENT, BENJAMIN SMOKE)

NO:  Chilean Director Pablo Larrain.

PIETA:  South Korean director Kim di-Duk.

THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES:  Derek Cianfrance (BLUE VALENTINE),

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK:  Festival winner! David O’Russell’s follow-up to THE FIGHTER is supposed to be excellent.

TABU:  Portuguese Director Miguel Gomes

Fantastic word-of-mouth, coming soon to the multiplex:

ANNA KARENINA, ARGO, THE IMPOSSIBLE, LOOPER

Biggest Dissappointment:

TO THE WONDER: I am a big fan of Terrance Malick, including TREE OF LIFE, so watching his first non-masterpiece was a tough experience for me for sure.

Much more detail on the Fest from Indiewire here.